Rose Cassis
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle shared by ChrisPro. Served in a snifter.

A - Minimal head settles to a partial ring of bubbles. Murky purple-tinged salmon body.

S - Odd mix of cassis, some pale malts, a light yogurt touch. There's an odd medicinal note, but somehow this is strangely compelling. Not much tripel character left - if it was ever there in the first place that is.

T - The taste is a mix of cassis and Hair of the Dog's distinctive German malt backbones. The fruit is quite natural and less medicinal than the aroma. Less lactic too - just straight-up fruit and malt, with a touch of oxidation.

M - Lower carbonation, some surprising albeit low-to-moderate alcohol warmed after 7+ years. Chewy texture, medium body.

D - Better than expected, as the reviews seem somewhat bipolar on this one. I can't tell whether this is past its prime or if the aging smoothed out its flaws. I'd certainly be willing to drink another bottle, but I don't think I'd actively seek it out, especially considering the scarcity. I think everyone else liked this more than I.

 

 

 

 

reviewed from notes

muddy and rustic brownish red with a huge off white head and a huge amount of lace.

Smell is a strong dark fruits, mixed with licorice, with hints of caramel and rasberry dark plums and figs as well. The taste is very very sweet. Deep flavors of licorice and candy, is that dark cherry I taste.then the currants and figs come through with a touch of spice and a nice well rounded finish, very nicely put together

Appearance: Very cloudy, muddy pour, a dark ruby-purple.

Smell: Black currants, brandy, spice

Taste: Similar to the smell, but a bit muddled - I get black currants, spice, brandy and brown sugar

Mouthfeel: Very full body, alcohol is very noticeable.

Overall: I'm glad they retired this one.

12 ounce bottle poured into a Duvel tulip. The hiss upon popping the cap suggests that plenty of carbonation remains after 5+ years, and that indeed is the case. A steady stream of visual bubbles continually replenishes the modest head. What lies underneath is frankly a little odd, though; it sort of looks like a purplish mud puddle.

Thankfully it smells better than it looks, reminiscent of mixed berry jam. Tastes even better. Sweetness comes in the form of spiced french toast. A general berry fruitiness up front gradually evolves into tart currant midswallow and into the finish. A nice soft feel that seems to gently usher the Belgian aspects of the base beer into the mix. Banana bread and a gentle clove character reveal themselves as it warms. Perhaps a touch of white chocolate. A little must.

Overall impression: Not much to look at, but otherwise quite enjoyable.

Thanks to mday for opening this bottle. Served in a snifter.

Pours near purple and it is quite cloudy. No real head or lacing. Maybe a bubble or two on top. The nose is a bit herbal and fruity with a bit of the fruit coming through. The taste is slightly sweet with a bit of an astringency. The fruit doesn't really come through. The finish is really quite dry on a fairly-light body for what it is. Slight vitamin character on the finish. Overall, decent enough but I'm guessing this has seen better days.

Decanted carefully off the yeast, it pours an amberish brown, but gets murky in the glass. More like a purplish red mud puddle. A finger of foam rises and vanishes. There's a white ring around the edge, and it's glassy still in the center. A swirl rekindles the skim momentarily.

Big wine must aroma, juicy berry/currant, yeasty sourdough, it shows it's age a bit, but still is pleasant.

Grape jelly minus the sweetness, tart currant, tannic bitterness, full bodied and savory, mellow carbonation. Dry herbal bitterness and oak in the aftertaste, sort of musty. Probably wouldn't hang on to this any longer, drink 'em if ya got 'em.

Thanks to Jason for sending this some time ago, it held up over 5 years...

It is not often - in fact, never - that I get to describe a beer as mauve. That weird brown that's in between gray and purple. Low carbed and very murky, but the fascinating color wins it style points.
It is of currants and roses, sweetly wafting its fragrance upon my face. Tastes similar, very floral, quite a bit curranty, earthy yeast presence. It was delightful to try this and worth the chance even if it wasn't completely fantastic.
Alan had this 2005 vintage in bottles at the place for $15.

3rd cassis in 5 days. This aged bottle had vegatable flavour in it. Poured very cloudy fruit mixture, with Caesar head. Emits a refreshing fruit, with grapefruit notes. The mouthfeel is creamy with an acidic element. Outside of the veggie aspect, there is a mostly green grape and raisin flavour. A good tart berry? Only in those last little residue drops.

Received this brew quite a bit ago from JohnGalt1. I love Hair of the Dog and I really love fruit beers so this is gotta be good right? Drank from my Ithaca Excelsior tulip.

Brewed on July 12th and bottled on September 8th, 2005.

Appearance- Pours an extremely murky pinkish purple with a nice half finger creamy pinkish hued head. Amazingly that beautiful cap and collar remains the entire beer yet no lacing is to be seen.
Smell- Wow, extremely pungent. Loads of earthy currants tingle the nostrils as a slightly tart zing is present. Dark black cherries and even a bit of strawberries peak out as well. It has a bit of a yeasty Belgium thing going on as well. Caramel and toffee get into the mix as well. Definitely an odd sort of combination but interesting.
Taste- The nose sort of translates into the taste pretty well. Starts with a fairly big blast of black current that is earthy and lightly tart. I don't think I can stress the earthy part enough. Maybe some raspberries and blackberries as well. A pinch of rhubarb gets in the mix as well as an underlying bitterness. The beer is slightly sweet overall but there is a bit of pithy tannic bitterness under it all. I don't get the oak per say but I get the tannic vanillin that it's left behind. The beer finishes with a long lingering raisin finish and a tiny tart twang.
Mouthfeel- Really heavy body with a soft kiss of carbonation that is barely noticeable.
Drinkability- Quite an interesting beast we have here. The beer is deep and earthy and fruity all at once. It's like liquid raisin bran or something. An extremely interesting beer that I'm glad I had the opportunity to try. Thanks Toby!