Heller Hound Old Ale - Flying Dog Brewery

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.78/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

At Max's this was listed as the Heller Hound Old Ale, at 6.8% abv. Sampled on tap at Max's in May 2010.

The beer pours a reddish amber color with decent head retention and lacing. The nose is malt forward with a hint of sherry (suggesting mild oxidation), and is attractive. However, the aroma profile really doesn't prepare you for the flavor profile, which is impressive. The beer delivers considerable smokey, sweet malt, with vanilla, cherry syrup and bread dough. The beer delivers plenty of flavor, with a fairly long and smooth finish. Drinkability is OK, though the sweetness and alcoholic heat in the finish wear me out just a bit. The beer's abv. really seems a bit higher then 6.8%, but what do I know.

An interesting and enjoyable beer, though it's not the sort of thing I can see myself drinking a lot of.

Serving type: on-tap

11-05-2011 13:44:43 | More by johnmichaelsen

OneDropSoup

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on tap at House of 1000 Beers in New Kensington, PA.

Poured into a stemmed tulip: Beautiful deep plum with ruby highlights, 1/2 finger of tan head with leopard-print lacing. Really nice color, gotta give it that.

Dark fruit in the smell, but not dry & boozy like a lot of "dark fruit" beers. This is more like a sweet plum sauce.

Dark jelly-like sweetness & fruit character. There's a kind of syrupy sweetness that's not unpleasant. The tiniest bit of booze creeps in. A good, cooked sweetness overall.

Full-bodied. A bit sugary, but well-rounded.

All in all, the most jelly-like beer I've had. Not what I expected but nicely done.

Serving type: on-tap

11-05-2011 12:30:47 | More by OneDropSoup