De Achste Hond (Peach Sour)
Laughing Dog Brewing

Let me explain my rating that is 9.2% above the average. I have an estranged relationship with Wilds. I never liked them and 76 Wilds later, I still don't. Because I am a slow learner, it has taken several years for me to rarely buy Wilds. But, I bought De Achste Hond because I thought I'd never had a brew from Laughing Dog. (Turns out, I had their flagship Imperial IPA because it was listed in the book "1001 Beers To Taste Before You Die." So because of my mid-term memory loss and mistake, I'm actually enjoying a Wild. Life is good.

De Achste Hond Looks great; amber, but also pretty like a peach. Of course, it Smells like a peach, a ripe one that is ready to be enjoyed. What makes Hond unusual is the tart is tame; doesn't try to do too much, it just is a natural fermentation undisturbed by the human ambition to be extreme. Medium-mouthed, I'm enjoying the drying sensation of an otherwise fruity ale. I think I'll finish this magnum all by myself tonight.

I also owe Laughing Dog a micro-review. Their website is not too forthcoming about them. But, their business probably should have expanded more than they have; having been started in 2006. But this is a small town and for it to have a brewer this good, they are fortunate. And I have been fortunate enough to have gone through Ponderay twice; once on Amtrak's Empire Builder which stops in neighboring Sandpoint; and that other time when flying in a one engine and we got lost in the mountains and found the Sandpoint municipal airport. (We could have used a Laughing Dog then.) So while I may not replicate either of those experiences, I hope to replicate the pleasure of spending an evening with De Achste Hond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Laughing Dog Brewing "De Achste Hond"
22 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, "BOTTLED 5/14/201" - I hope that's not supposed to say 2014 :(
$6.99 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: So this is the eighth dog? Under "detect language" Google translate told me it was the "worst dog" but let's hope not. It's poured a cloudy dark-orange/copper colored body beneath a short head of creamy off-white foam. It sure smells good! I get peach, but also some generic fruitiness, maybe like apricots and ripe red apples, but also some herbal notes as well that are similar to cannabis. That's unusual, and I wonder what hops they're using, or is that just coming from a combination of hops and malt? I'm not finding anything that would indicate it's sour though, which is fine. On to the flavor... there's some tartness there, and some of the fruit but it's not nearly as fruity as the aroma suggests it will be, and there's some caramelish, bready, and almost toasty malt to it. For some reason at first taste that maltiness didn't seem to fit, but now I'm getting more used to it. I guess it's just a little unexpected, I'd have thought it would be more of a golden malt to allow the fruit and tartness to shine, but whatever. It's fairly tart but not what I'd call sour, and there is some bitterness to it which is also a little odd, somewhere in the 25 IBU range. That's OK, it's nicely balanced with the bready malt that's there, and I think without it it might be too malty. And maybe I haven't gotten used to that malt, there's a toasty and bready note that lingers in the finish and it just doesn't seem to fit for me no matter how hard I try to be open to the fact that this is a brewer's different take on things. I do like the peach though, and the finish is malty, fruity, and herbal - again, kind of like cannabis. Weird. Ahh, but there's also a honeys note that lingers, and that works nicely with the residual peach. The head has dropped by now, well actually a while ago, and there's just an average collar and only minimal lacing about the glass. That's pretty common with sour beers though so I'll give it a pass. In the mouth it's light-medium in body although there is a somewhat dextrinous edge to it, almost as if they'd used Cara Pils but I doubt it. So, what to say overall? It's unique, that's for sure. And it's nicely balanced and well-polished. The peach is pleasant, and it's overall refreshing and tasty. I don't recall the price on this but if it's not that expensive I'd revisit it.
Review# 6,203

 

i liked this a lot, a really unconventional sour beer, and anything new in the category these days is exciting to me. beautiful packaging on this one too. deep golden brew with a little hazy and an airy white head slowly fading. it smells like a baked peach dessert in late summer, more specifically a peach and maple cobbler or something, there is a strong, earthy, distinct maple sweetness to this that i super dig, especially on the nose, you would swear there is maple syrup in it, but it may be caramelized sugars from the peaches or something, its tough to say, but its mighty attractive. there is a tartness to the nose, but its not overly sour by any means there. the fruit is pretty pronounced in the flavor, but its so well balanced with all the other ingredients, namely a cerealy grain base and an almost toffee sweetness, in addition to a quick lactic bacterial souring, almost like a berliner, fairly clean, a little citrus, and overall pretty mild as they go, i could drink a couple glasse of this and not have rot gut. dynamic beer, with a little less of the maple i smelled in the taste, but a great autumnal peach flavor and a unique overall vibe. enjoyable and affordable sour beer, picked up in utah. id love to try other fruited editions of this, a blueberry one seems like an obvious choice with the baked dessert elements...

The only aroma and flavor seems to be peach. It has a nice slight sweetness at the start and ends dry and tart. It does not taste bad, but it has almost no complexity. Hope my wife wants the rest of my bomber...

Served on tap in a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a hazed yellow-orangish color with a tiny white head. The head fades almost instantly to leave just a trace of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is dominated by a slightly sweet peach smell mixed with some other aromas of a sour apple cider vinegar smell. Along with these smells comes some light grainy smells as well as a little bit of yeast.

Taste – The taste begins with an apple cider vinegar flavor that has a decent cracker taste with it. There is a bit of a lemon flavor upfront as well, and while there is both the vinegar and the lemon, the flavor is not over the top on sourness. The peach which is very light upfront grows in strength as the taste advances to the end and with some sweetness accompanying the peach, one is left with a modestly sour (for a sour) and lightly peachy flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is rather light and thin with a carbonation level that is rather average. The thin body makes for an easier sipping brew for a sour and with it at 7%, somewhat dangerous…

Overall – A fairly easy going sour with a nice light peach flavor. Rather good overall.

 

 

Pours pale ale like, orange to brown. The nose is of tart peaches and that's about it but it does smell amazing. They really were able to get the peach to come through! Sipping this beer, it is peach nectar like in taste but with a very tart kick and super dry finish. The peach is there and it is forward but I didn't find it overly sweet. It's a good beer.

 

 

 

 

L: Light see through brown with an almost pale yellow color as well.

S: Peachy and slighty tart smelling.

T: Peach and slighly tart with almost a little bit of orange to it, but it also has a little bit of an acidic taste to it. I like it but I'd how to feel about it.

F: Very light on the carbination almost like a juice.

O: A pretty nice beer, would enjoy this on a hot summer day.

 

 

Candied peaches. Not much sour at all. Quite sweet. Apples. Pretty good.

 

 

22oz bottle. Poured out a slightly cloudy, golden orange color with a small, off-white head of foam. It smelled of fresh peaches, lemon and caramel. Nice tart peach taste with green apple notes and sweet caramel.

 

 

 

 

A- Alright....this pours an orange/brown color with tinges of red/pink....carbonation appears fine and plentiful and the head...well, its about 2 fingers thick at first then settles quickly into a ring around the glass.....it is white in color. Lacing is quite robust, with lots of foamy fingers clinging to the side of the glass. Overall, slightly above average looking.

S- This totally smells of fuzzy peaches, the candy, not the fruit. There is a sour aspect on the nostrils......I agree with the previous reviewers and find there are aromas of strawberries and plain yogurt too. Floral hops on the finish as well....not bad but sweeter and not as sour as I though this would be.

T- Ok, I'm kinda/sorta lost on the flavor profile here for what this style is supposed to be.....while there are tinges of sour peach fruit here, it is rather candied and sweet for my liking....the peach fruit is most definitely there....reminds me of fuzzy peach candy again! There are underlying fruit flavors of strawberry, rhubarb, raspberry and even hints of orange zest.....not against the flavors here, but it is not of the style in my opinion.

M/O- Nicely carbonated and a light/medium body, this is definitely refreshing and would make an ideal hot summer day quencher! Not really what I expected but it's a very nice fruit beer for sure....alcohol is hidden well, it is slightly tart, but overall it's lacking in what I thought the style should be...too sweet....not offensive beer by any means however.....

 

 

Pours copper and golden and settles a deep copper. Foamy and sticky head and lace. Looks full-bodied. 4.5

So ridiculously fruity on the nose. Popping with peach and strawberry. Highly resembles a fruited yogurt. Candied fruit too. Insane nose. 4.5

Taste is still like yoghurt with fruit at the bottom. More of the fruit quality than the yoghurt. It's that artificial or maybe canned fruit. On second thought, it's kinda yoghurt-like in flavor. Finish is candy-like fruit. 3.5

Feel kills this beer. Tastes immediately thin and flat up front. Fills out but becomes bitter before a tart and yoghurt-y finish. 3

Smell showed so much promise. Taste and feel don't quite deliver.

The beer has a fresh peach aroma. The taste is very much peach also with very little tart or funk. Not much of a sour but the peach is spot on and the beer is very drinkable b

 

Slight tartness from the peach, but the beer it self is in no way sour as advertised (and priced). Pretty good as a peach beer, fails completely as a sour beer. As a fan of wild ales it kind of irritated me. Will not be buying any future Laughing Dog 'sour' beers. Very disappointed, as Laughing Dog's Anubis was one of the best porters I've tried. Buy that one instead, folks.