Hair of the Dog Brewing Company / Brewery and Tasting Room

StoneTSR

Colorado

4.03/5  rDev -7.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

I came for the Doggie Claws, I stayed for the Mac & Cheese.

Visiting Portland last weekend, the Hair of the Dog was my first stop. I am currently on a Barleywine kick and I have been excited about trying Doggie Claws.

Someone in the past here mentioned that the taproom looked like an old warehouse in an industrial part of town. It does look like an old warehouse for sure, but the interior and the surrounding neighborhood feel more like an area of town that is being revitalized. It is quite a comfortable, open and bright space with a view of downtown Portland out of the giant window on the western wall.

The quality of the beer overall was excellent. In addition to my big tulip glass for of Doggie Claws I also had the "Walk the Dog" flight of Adam, Fred, Blue Dot and Little Dog. It was $7 for 3oz. pours of each.

The bartender was fairly busy while she worked, but was still able to take the time to discuss each beer in the flight when she dropped it off. After a brief conversation with her, she was also kind enough to add a 3oz. pour of the Adam from the Wood. I also had time to chat with one of the managers there who was very informative and hospitable.

The selection was a bit underwhelming, only eight beers on tap. There was a small bottle list as well, which included '05 and '07 Doggie Claws for only $15 a bottle. Some other aged selections were there as well and they all seemed reasonably priced. The problem, however, was that I had a busy weekend planned and I could not manage to get back to the taproom before 8:00 on Thursday and 10:00 on the Friday or Saturday. The very early close was a bit of a disappointment.

Anyhow, on to the food - which was a pleasant surprise. I went for the mac & cheese with pancetta. At $10 it seemed a bit pricey, but my portion was enormous, filling and very tasty. The pancetta was a small let down, not as flavorful as I thought, but the rest of the cheesy, breadcrumbed bowl of pasta was worth the $10.

If you're in Portland, make a stop.

11-03-2011 01:55:33 | More by StoneTSR

rikatine

New York

3.8/5  rDev -13%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Fourth stop on our walking tour of the SE. Picnic tables outdoors, nice big bar with a/c indoors. Took a couple of seats at the bar and were served ice water before we could even say Hello. Nice.

We decided to order a taster flight which included Lila, Ruth Fred and Adam. We enjoyed all of these beers. If you are researching for a trip here, include this stop. We are huge IPA fans and didn't know if Hotd beers would be for us, but the answer is YES. Followed up with a pint of the Blue Dot IPA. Different, but really good. A nice respite from all of the beer we had had so far on our visit. The service was attentive and friendly.

We bought two bombers of the Blue Dot to share back home, and a nice tulip glass.

06-09-2013 16:11:01 | More by rikatine

drrone

Utah

4.48/5  rDev +2.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | $$

One of the stops on my road trip up the West Coast. HOTD has a decent location downtown, with a cool garage door that was open to enjoy the beautiful weather outside. It has lot of open space and nice vibe. Their beer is excellent. I had not drank much of their beer before I went there, but I was very impressed by the range and quality of their offerings. I am now a fan. They had a great selection of current beers and several BA goods (that were pricey, but that's the way it goes). I didn't eat, but the food looked great. The service was very good with knowledgeable waiters.

Great brewery that really surprised me. I look forward to going again some year.

05-24-2013 18:57:01 | More by drrone

Forrest222

California

3.34/5  rDev -23.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | $$$

We stopped in here while on our via sit to Portland. It's a bit of a way from the downtown area, but easily walkable. The place itself is a nice little taproom with food and beer. The food looked good but we didn't try any. The beers on offer covered a reasonable selection (about 7 available) but unfortunately they aren't entirely to our taste. If you like hair of the dog it's worth visiting here, but otherwise there's nothing special to warrant a particular visit. Personally, I'm not so keen.

12-27-2012 00:28:47 | More by Forrest222

slander

New York

4.3/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Not the same place we saw 5 years back, that functional brewery on the back side of an industrial complex, taxied to by a wild driver, if I recall correctly, and I always do. No, this is a corner brewpub, although I haven’t yet seen the brewery. Is it here, attached and hiding, I wonder? We’ll see, I’m in no rush to walkabout without a beer in hand…

Vestibule entrance on the far corner on SE Yamhill, but we came in through the large open garage door entrance alongside. Industrial space, with upright pieced wood beam pillars, angled supports, & crossbeams. Interior walls painted bright turquoise & lime, offset by a gray exterior wall painted over brick face lowers, and some large panel windows grouped. Concrete floorings, and a light gray ceiling slightly arched to a high point with a small center skylight & ductwork. Drop 7-sided colored panel glass lamps around the bar and crown lamps dangling in rows on the ends.

‘U’ shaped bar messin’ with ma’ mind. Wood plank topped somewhat warped & distorted giving the appearance of off it being uneven, but the whole deal laminated over level. Wood plank base, wrap around piping foot rail, and seating for 18 on high teal leather chairs. Bar counter space for a half dozen+ on the wall behind me, and a single hightop in the corner. 10 fat wood block tables forward the bar and out across the room to the far wall, and another hightop, plus a few picnic tables curbside.

A symmetrical hexagon shaped stained glass piece mounted from a beam off the bar, with a colored pebbled exterior, and cool circles & lines wrapping and inlayed. Shirts & hoodies on the near wall displayed, a sprawling plant in an old wood barrel in the corner, some brewery prints, and a framed Michael Jackson ad piece.

A pair of handgrip looking stainless steel towers holding 4 taps each on our side of the bar with wood block logo handles. 8 beers on tap; 6 of them house offerings (Lila, 6%, Maibock, great maltiness, a bit spicy, excellent; Blue Dot, 7%, Double IPA, nice hoppy profile, not overly bitter, a real great IPA; Will, 8%, Scottish Ale done Willamette, a malty bomb, and a bit phenolic bandaidy; Fred, 10%, Golden Strong Ale, big big, Belgian candi sugar; Adam, 10%, Old Ale, chocolate, leather & smoke as described; Peach Fred, 10%, on bourbon with fresh peaches), and 2 guest taps (Sierra Nevada Summerfest & De Struise Tsjeeses), in the absence of the kicked Little Dog (English Mild) and Greg (beer with no hops using Kambocha squash instead). Did the sampler of what 6 house beers they did have on (served in cool little taster glasses that would never survive the flight back), and deemed the Lila, Blue Dot, & Fred to be the best of ‘em, although, really, Blue Dot is king.

House bottled beers and glassware lining the sill to the rear off the kitchen, and specialty bottles for sale, too. Things from the wood, bourboned, and/or cherried, various vintages, and things of collaboration & commemoration, but for consumption here only.

Kitchen to the rear somewhat concealed, with turquoise tilings behind it with a red & yellow trim. I would have liked the ‘Chuck Norris Duck Wings’, but it was not to be. And off in the rear corner, views of the brew room and goings on. Wow, a 4 barrel brew house doing just 600+ barrels a year. Expected much more somehow.

Janet & Ed showed up, and then the Geek & Tom. Seems a bunch of people we know opted to start their day of play here. Just the natural progression of OBF weekend, I suppose. It was dead when we got here but is now hopping & happening. Good house, mind you, I would have liked to have caught 8 house taps up. Well, next time around, I suppose. Sampled up, now it’s time to move on. Much to see before tomorrow’s out.

11-25-2012 05:19:39 | More by slander

AxesandAnchors

Oregon

4.55/5  rDev +4.1%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

The atmosphere isn't great, your basically sitting in a warehouse. That said, who cares their beer is amazing! Hair Of The Dog is easily one of the best breweries in the Nation, so if you wanna taste a member of the holy grail of beers then you sit in a warehouse dammit. Probably the greatest part of going to the tasting room is the opportunity to drink vintages of Adam & Fred (as well as variations, like "from the wood" and "cherry"). They also fill growlers for only $15.

Go and do a vertical, it will change your life!

11-22-2012 20:21:48 | More by AxesandAnchors

Scotchboy

Idaho

4.13/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited Sunday afternoon 7/22/12 with my wife.

A: Cool place, modern looking upgrades combined with that a-typical refurbished warehouse beer place look. Warmer, breezy afternoon so the garage door was rolled up. Plenty of tables available plus some seating at a cozy bar.

Q: Beer and food seemed like good quality to me.

Service: Good service, but nothing out of this world. Our server was prompt and courteous but did make a comment about me being 'one of those' out-of-towners. Whatever. I'm sure they do get a lot of beer snobs swooping in to grab all of the FTW series stuff.

Selection: There is a good selection here, with all of their regulars on tap, as well as a FTW offering, plus a bottle list that includes an original Adam from the '90's. All of the bottles are spendy and must be consumed on site, but its really cool to have the option.

F: Semi-limited menu with good quality foods; salads, pasta, soup, cheese & meat plates, brisket and short ribs. We paired finger foods with the Maple Bourbon Fred FTW and everything tasted good. Love their bread.

07-26-2012 18:20:36 | More by Scotchboy

Mebuzzard

Colorado

3.86/5  rDev -11.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

A must stop in Portland, although walking there is a bit of a stretch..but do-able.

On the corner, some tables out front. Nice sized place, while not big. Tight horseshoe bar, small kitchen. Not sure what they served, I was there for the beer.

Pretty solid list and while it's not a lengthy one, you'll find what you're looking for here. Bottles can be purchased, but some you have to drink there...like the barrel aged stuff.

Above average service, but it was a Friday and they looked tired. No worries.

Only gripe is the stickers...you have to pay for them. I understand paying for shirts, but stickers are advertisements. Hurrumphf

07-26-2012 06:41:43 | More by Mebuzzard

KDawg

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I really did dig it here. It's in an industrial area with not much else immediately around, but it has just the vibe that I like. The bar area is well spaced out with a good amount of seats that wrap around. There are also a good amount of tables to sit at and I'd have a hard time imagining this place getting extremely packed.

It's a really nice brew list that they have. They have a good amount of their brews on tap along with having aged bottles of theirs as well.

The food was also pretty good as well. I got a grilled cheese sandwich and really enjoyed it. The bartender was nice and it was never a problem getting a beer.

This shot right up onto my revisit list.

07-03-2012 00:51:41 | More by KDawg

Flightoficarus

Washington

4.19/5  rDev -4.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Another stop on my mini-brewery tour while in Portland, this one was definitely on the "must try" list.

A - Atmosphere was inviting, in an old, industrial downtown area kinda way. Inside is clean, but cozy. On the smaller side for a brewpub as well.

Q - Hair of the Dog beers are one of the many Portland breweries on the world class level IMO, and getting to drink them from the keg just makes it better. Tried barrel-aged Jim, which was a great, complex ale in line w/their other stronger offerings.

Aside from draft offerings you won't easily find outside their distribution network (or away from the tasting room, period), there are also vintage bottles offered as well. Any true beer enthusiast would not be doing themselves a favor by skipping this place.

S - Service was friendly, although a bit slow due to getting there around lunch rush time. That is forgivable though. The bartender was happy to explain and describe their special beer offerings.

S - Selection beer-wise is a 5, as I'm pretty confident that the tasting room is the only place you actually have all the HotD offerings in one setting. There is also a small, but varied for it's size food menu. I didn't have anything though, so I can't comment much further than that.

F - Didn't try the food, but it smelled/looked good :)

V - Great beers and pretty inexpensive eats. What's not to love? Well worth the visit if you're in the Portland area.

03-31-2012 22:39:37 | More by Flightoficarus