Doggie Claws
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company / Brewery And Tasting Room

Doggie ClawsDoggie Claws
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company / Brewery And Tasting Room
 
Oregon, United States
Style:
American Barleywine
ABV:
11.5%
Score:
92
Avg:
4.14 | pDev: 11.84%
Reviews:
588
Ratings:
1,267
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Nov 05, 2023
Added:
Oct 12, 2001
Wants:
  402
Gots:
  267
"a Barley Wine made in the West Coast style. Big malt and hops make this copper colored ale one of our most popular products. Produced in September and October and released in November, this Beer will improve for years to come. Alcohol: 11.5% by volume. IBU's 70"
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by beerguy101:
Photo of beerguy101
Reviewed by beerguy101 from California

3.88/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Doggie claws in the woods was available at the 2002 Oregon Brewers Festival. Light brown color. A medium bodied barleywine ale. Malty with a fairly strong alcohol overtone. Citrus and orange flavor. Complex undertones. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is malty.
Aug 20, 2003
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by Fettpopps from Massachusetts

Nov 05, 2023
 
Rated: 3.5 by trevorpost from Pennsylvania

Oct 28, 2023
Photo of MikeWard
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

4.19/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
12oz bottle into a teku. 2017 vintage

Looks very nice, dark reddish body with a surprisingly persistent off white head. Aromas of spice and dark fruit. Taste is a spiced bitterness with a solid sweet malt bed. Sweet and warming on the finish. A level of bitterness continues throughout. Very good beer.
Sep 10, 2023
Photo of Jwale73
Reviewed by Jwale73 from Rhode Island

4.03/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2010 vintage served in a flute. Pours a lovely mahogany hue with a slight haze to the clarity and a loose, quarter inch, khaki-colored that dissipates into a soapy cluster across the center and a tight band around the shoulders. Nose reveals piney, resinous notes as well as caramel malts. Taste follows nose - hoppy with hints of oxidation added to the flavor profile. Mouthfeel is light-medium in body with a slight oiliness and the carbonation is still hanging in there. Overall, this beer has held up for the most part after 13 years. Still hoppy and resinous with a malty backbone that is not cloying. So sad this brewery is no longer around.
Sep 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.83 by vfgccp from New York

Apr 24, 2023
Photo of Rug
Reviewed by Rug from Massachusetts

4.27/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2020 vintage

We’re approaching the end of the “new” bottles I have to review from the HotD box around here. I got this one as part of a split 12 pack, with 6 vintages of this and 6 vintages of Cherry Adam From The Wood. I wanted to start off with the freshest of the 6 (despite the fact that it’s still 3 years old) but I have vintages of this dating back to 2005 that I’ll get to eventually

Pours an opaque reddish brown with just a few brown bubbles that leaves no lacing

The nose here is intriguing; it seems to display the extremes of both the bitterness and sweetness often found in the style, simultaneously. I’m picking up on aromas of leafy hops, grilled peach, burnt caramel, toffee, red grape, molasses, black tea, brown sugar, old leather, and tobacco

It doesn’t display quite the same balance in taste, leaning more into the abrasive bitterness before some mellow sweetness kicks in. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting burnt sugar, herbal hops, red grape, dark bread, orange marmalade, black tea, and pepper. The swallow brings notes of leary hops, grilled peach, molasses, brown sugar, burnt caramel, orange marmalade, and toffee

A medium body pairs with gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a beer that is both sweet and dry. Finishes neutral with a firm lingering bitterness

I was going into this expecting a run of the mill, hop bomb American Barleywine ala Bigfoot. What I got was much more complex and interesting while still retaining some nice bitterness. Good stuff
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2005 vintage consumed 2/23/24

Regrettably, I drank my way through a mixed vintage 6 pack of these while only properly reviewing a 2020 vintage in 2023. The fresh(set) one was wonderfully balanced and have gotten sweeter as I’ve worked backwards through the vintages. The most recent bottle I had was a 2009 and was quite sweet so I’m assuming this one is well past its prime. It’s also worth noting that this vintage is 10.5% vs 11.5%. Let’s get into it

Like the rest of the vintages, this is still not a looker just a few light brown bubbles over a murky reddish brown body. The nose here is actually suggesting some bitter elements, a welcome surprise. Lots of molasses, brown sugar, leafy hops, golden raisin, orange marmalade, toffee, toasted walnut, and black pepper. It shows its age a bit more in taste, but it’s still nicely balanced and has a kick of bitterness on the back end. Up front it's orange marmalade, wildflower honey, sweet caramel, black tea, brown sugar, molasses, golden raisin, and light peppery hops. The swallow presents molasses, grilled peach, leafy hops, orange marmalade, golden raisin, burnt sugar, black tea, and black cherry. Medium full body with almost no carbonation and a slick finish. This one genuinely surprised me. I wasn’t hoping for the best and I got something goddamn awesome. Honestly it’s almost as good as the fresh one I had
Feb 03, 2023
Photo of VABA
Reviewed by VABA from Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very nice dark amber color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has generous fruity and malt hints
The taste follows the nose with a pleasant fruity and bittersweet malt flavor
A medium bodied well carbonated beer
A great well balanced Barleywine
Oct 23, 2022
Photo of Ozzylizard
Reviewed by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

3.3/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Doggie Claws 2014 from Hair of the Dog Brewing. Purchased on-line from the brewer. Stored at 37 degrees at home. Reviewed 16/08/22. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle appears with only “2014” on the label, otherwise undated. Price for 12 oz bottle $ 11.24 (Including shipping) = $ 0.94/oz. Served at 57.2 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King Snifter. Final temperature 61.7 degrees.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), hazy (Bottle conditioned).
Body – Caramel, opaque. Under direct light, precipitate shows up on the inside of the glass. When rear-lite, some light penetrates at the edge, still caramel. Some sediment sloshes about the bottom of the empty bottle.
Head – None (Aggressive center pour). Initially, about 50 large bubbles which quickly burst. A few tiny bubbles align around the rim.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 3.5 – Begins with a burst of dark fruit when the cap is popped; this quickly fades to no aroma. No hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 3 – Slightly sweet with malty flavors, no hops, no yeast. Some weak dark fruitiness. No ethanol (11 % ABV as marked on label) aroma or taste. Weak upper gastric warming which slowly settles into the lower gastric tract. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, almost creamy, barely noticeable carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.5 It’s an old (8 years) barleywine so some degeneration of hop flavors was expected. The maltiness remains. Unfortunately, the flavor is very one-dimensional. But it’s still good.
Aug 16, 2022
Photo of Sludgeman
Reviewed by Sludgeman from District of Columbia

3.95/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
2009 vintage on July 14, 2023.
This beer came from the purchase noted below.
Way past its prime. It's not poison. Some might even say its drinkable. For me the worst part is the mouthfeel and aftertaste. I cannot drink the entire bottle.
A - Pours an incredibly beautiful very clear dark amber. Totally still.
S - Aroma is malty, sweet and chemical-like.
T - A heavy malty taste with brown sugar but not sweet. Some cardboard and solventy, but not hot. No hops that I can taste. Almost like there is no ABV.
MF - Medium body mouth feel with a wet cardboard coating aftertaste. Maybe like an over chewed piece of gum that has lost all of its flavor.
-------
But drinking a 2016 vintage right now and I believe the age has benefited this beer.
--------

Hair of the Dog was closing so I mailed order several bottles. This is the 2020 vintage of Doggie Claws. Poured into a small-stemmed tulip.

Definitely an American style barleywine. More bitter than sweet. A very complex beer. Not to my liking and overrated. I don’t blame age for this rather negative rating, but I do have older bottles for a comparison. 3.75

A – Pours a slightly hazy amber. Almost still. No head. A good amount of sludge/dregs at the bottom of the bottle. 3.75

S – Sweet, brown sugar, grassy, minor pepperiness, woody, no fruitiness. 4.0

T – Herbal and medicinal bitterness hits first. This was unexpected based on the spicy/herbal aroma. Woody with a hint of smoke. Almost phenolic. 3.5

MF – Medium bodied with a dry finish. I get a slight medicinal finish/almost acetone or antiseptic. Lasting finish on the palate. Thin for the high ABV. Lacking any smoothness. 3.5
Aug 14, 2022
Photo of MutuelsMark
Reviewed by MutuelsMark from Kentucky

4.21/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Thanks to a good man that helped me with many of my hard to find/get beers, this one was a 2015 bottled date, tried in 2022. Could not create a head with this one. Pours dark like a well steeped tea. Nose very dank and almost has a tobacco soup smell. Malty, prune, currants all those come through on the nose and palate along with the high ABV. Wow what a barleywine!
Jun 21, 2022
 
Rated: 4.4 by Hawkfish from Washington

Jun 05, 2022
Photo of MNAle
Reviewed by MNAle from Minnesota

4.42/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Dark brown body from the front with a quite tall off-white-to-tan thick head with excellent retention, creating a domed top as it recedes. A back-light reveals a hazy but bright red body with ample carbonation. (The final ⅓ of the bottle poured into the glass brought the sediment to make the beer darker and cloudier.)

The aroma is earthy and fruity. I teased out molasses with deep whiffs.

The taste continues the flavors from the aroma, but in a more complex and varied way. The earthy flavors add a leathery component. The fruits are more apparent than in the aroma, and more distinct and varied as raisins, figs and plums are detectable. And what I perceived as molasses in the aroma also is more complex in the flavor: caramel, perhaps dark sugar, along with molasses. I also get some piney resin bitterness right away that intensifies though the middle and into the finish. The aftertaste is piney bitter mitigated with the earthy/leathery hops, caramel/molasses and dark fruits. Quite an interesting beer.

Apart from the quickly developing buzz, the alcohol is not apparent initially, but it does develop a definite alcohol warming as the beer itself warms.

The body is moderate, just a touch on the thicker side, sticky and smooth but with carbonation and sharp resin.

Overall, this 2021 bottling of Doggie Claws is excellent, indeed.
May 31, 2022
Photo of SABERG
Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.19/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Poured from the 12 oz bottle, 2021 version into the test glass.
A - Bottle opened with a loud pop, carbonation is strong, a lasting off white cap resides the duration. Color is red cedar, with enought clarity to watch the busy subway station of carbonation at work.
S - Candied orange, honey, some brown sugar, fruity esters from the yeast, with a bit of pineapple, alcohol rises off the glass with each inhale.
T - Sweet grains, orange mamalde, burnt sugar, a bit of toffee, earthy piney hop, all add to the aspects from the aromatics.
M - Meium in body, with all that carbonation the texture is soft, and crisp, with a sweet start, and rapid bitter correction midway. The finish is delightfully dry.
O - A real treat here, the hop and honey use make the fresh version a fruit mainly orange experience, all the definitive Barleywine elements are in place for certain. I like the trajectory this is on, and look forward to a revisit in 2 years.
May 22, 2022
 
Rated: 4.1 by mattmarka1 from Minnesota

Apr 02, 2022
 
Rated: 4.42 by AirBob from Massachusetts

Mar 19, 2022
Photo of woosterbill
Reviewed by woosterbill from Kentucky

4.09/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
2020 vintage into a #BiL glass.

L: Slightly cloudy dark brown body under a thin cap of tight tan foam. No better than average.

S: Straightforward balance of caramel malt and grapefruit hops, with just a hint of cheesy aged hop character. Intense and completely to style.

T: Follows the nose, with some additional complexity showing up in the form of dark fruit and tobacco. Tons of flavor.

F: Thick, rich, and just carbonated enough to avoid being cloying. Pretty great.

O: Enjoyed simultaneously with bottles from 2015 and 2010. Solid American Barleywine in every way, but better at 2 years than at 7 or 12. I think I prefer young DC to young Bigfoot, but aged Bigfoot is much better in my experience.

Beers of Fame tick 214/250. Cheers!
Feb 05, 2022
Photo of BMBCLT
Rated by BMBCLT from South Carolina

4.12/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
2010 Vintage
Dec 30, 2021
Photo of Harrison8
Reviewed by Harrison8 from Missouri

4.17/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Pours a ruby-brown with a hint of haze and fog to the translucency. Some sediment at the bottom of the bottle gives the pour floating sediment that twirls around the glass every swirl. Head is a finger of dense off-white foam after a half pour from a 12oz bottle. Aroma is piney, resiny, dank, and earthy hops that mold and meld into sweet caramel, brown sugar, fig, and molasses. Some heat rises at the back, but remains well incorporated to the point of not sticking out or throwing off the balance. Flavor profile is caramel, molasses, figs, raisins, plum, and resiny, piney, and earthy malts. Those earthy malts come on more towards the finish as they linger as the rest of the flavor profile says goodbye. It's a smooth induction of hearty old school candy malts and some sticky hops around the edges. Alcohol is not featured in the flavor profile. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a consistency neppy and fuzzy texture, akin to licking a washed sweater. Overall, between the heavy sticky, and piney hops, and the hearty malt undertones, this carries all the characteristics of an old school American barleywine. It's sticky, semi-sweet, and hearty without ever being heavy.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 12oz bottle. 2020 vintage. Consumed / reviewed 12/27/2021.
Dec 28, 2021
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.17/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours opaque brown with a khaki head. Smell is led first and foremost by the barley, sweet and dry dark fruit are met by piney hops, toasted caramel, and dry earth. Taste features the barley powerfully too, prune, various dark fruits, big anise, leather, dry earth, tobacco, and finished with piney hops. Great complexity but the hops are aggressive for the style. Dry, medium bodied and has a great barley and hop snarl for the feel.
Dec 27, 2021
Doggie Claws from Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company / Brewery And Tasting Room
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 1267 ratings