Polka Dot
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company / Brewery And Tasting Room

Quite hazy with plenty of foam in the Troubadour tulip. Aroma is quite intense and so familiar. I immediately thought of home brew I made decades ago, so maybe Cascade and plenty of it. I keep expecting to spit bits of hop cones out.

Very piney, I guess is the Discouragingly bitter. Intriguing for a few sips, but not worth finishing. Found this in the cooler at Garden Path by Skagit County airport. The usual 16 oz, canned on 11/16/21.

 

 

Monday, March 30, 2020 9:18 PM
16 ounce can poured to wine glass
Sight: very good, light amber/yellowish, very hazy, cloudy, lacing, small off white foam
Smell: very good , fragrant, hoppy
Taste:very good, not too bitter, but not a lot of bold flavors similar to other IPAs
Mouthfeel: very good, good carbonation, sticky
Overall: very good beer,but feels like something is missing compared to other IPAs

very cool to see these guys canning, i had to do a double take when i saw this one. its a sturdy and almost aggressive ipa, i have not had a lot of hoppy stuff from them, so this caught me off guard a little bit. its a nice beer, but there sure is a lot of sediment in the can, like it all settled down around the ring base and i poured aggressively enough to stir up chunks of it, that retained some sort of broken circle piece shape, its not real hazy or anything, but the bits of sediment in it are big and off putting, at least to some extent. the beer is light amber, exceedingly bitter, and very northwestern to me, with a yeast component but not yeasty per se, just with something other than a totally neutral fermentation profile, which i like. the hops could be simcoe or centennial or both, woodsy and piney and high alpha, fresh enough, but with the malt heft and sweetness and the sediment in here this doesnt seem super new or jovial or drinkable, even though there is good carbonation and no appreciable fade to it. the hops are more bitter than flavor, light lumber, cardboard, and pine, but mostly just bitter. this stays with me awhile, a hint of sweet orange and honey too, but its the green resinous bite that outlasts everything. sturdy, even punishing in some ways, but a nice wake up call and recalibration after a bunch of mediocre local hoppy beers. always an honor to drink beer from this iconic brewery, this sets some sort of standard, even if i dont love it...

(16 oz can, purchased at Bella Vista as part of cold 4-pack; did not notice any dates/codes... decanted into a nonic)

L: amber liquid, mild haze; off-white, loose foam on the pour, keeping only a thin cap after receding... milky sediment slug eventually poured in, completing the shitty makeover... very little lacing

S: mashed grapefruit and lemon, lightly toasty caramel malt background, bit of floral spice... definitely citrus oil-heavy overtones; touch of alcohol detected... toasted grain presence increases as it goes; bit of pine and spicy herb creeps in... overall intensity mellow (all but dead), but concentration dense

T: spicy grapefruit zip immediately up front, with a tidal wave of caramel malt and dried fruit starting midway, slowly rolling back and fading out, leaving a relatively-dry, resinous, peppery aftertaste... spicy, almost oniony bitter zip continues; after the sediment enters the mix, a bit of a NEIPA character develops, especially oat brose flavors... lovely taste, but certainly lacking fresh vibrancy

F: resinous, thinly-oily, thinly-milky nectar; strident bitter sting, peppery warmth, and mellow ethanol jolt all help keep the palate lit up well after the liquid is gone... could honestly slug back 4-5 in a row; relatively wonderfully cut and dry finish; relatively little residual textures left upon the palate

O: I'm sure this is from the same shipment/stock I first saw at BV months ago... has a NW-style Real Ale quality to it, which I enjoy... the darker malts and ripping NWIPA hop character seem to prevent this from entirely resembling a NEIPA - perhaps a blend of the two IPA styles?... I'll see how an ice-cold, can-swilled version compares (1632)

16oz can poured into 14oz teku. Poured an opaque dark yellow-light orange color with 1/3 inch of white head that OK retention and good lacing.

Fruity hops are at the front of the nose, but as Froot Loops-ish as some murkbombs. very low malt/grains.

Very similar on the tongue, with just a slight touch of bitterness at the back of the palate.

The body was the typical light-medium of the style, and had a medium finish.

Drinkability was fine, I enjoyed the can well enough but wasn't left wanting another.

Overall, a solid example of the style, try it if you're on the Hazy Train.

My first from this iconic brewery, now 25 years old, that just does its thing: brews unusual beers, usually strong; they have an interesting food menu; seemingly designed to pair with their ales. But despite their popularity, they have only one site and limited production and distribution.

I’d like to give Polka Dot a better rating, but it is too bitter for me. The hops linger and penetrate and even distract me from "sitting on the dock of the bay watching the sun go away" behind the Golden Gate Bridge. But, Polka Dot is refreshing.

Very hazy gold with one finger of foamy white head. Rings of lace as the head drops.
Smell is pungent dank hops with some bready malt.
Taste is dank hops some stone fruit and bready malts.
Mouthfeel is medium with alright carbonation. The finish is mildly dry and fairly well balanced.
Overall a strange pleasant and unusual IPA.

Poured from 16oz can into a dimpled mug.

Appearance: medium orange hue with a finger of frothy white foam atop. There's a moderate amount of haze in this one.

Smell: there's a super berry-like quality to the hop aroma on this one, along with a mild dankness. It's not bad.

Taste: again, berry-like hops atop a moderately sweet malt base. It's not multidimensional, but it's not bad.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and a pretty solid creaminess for the style.

Overall: this beer is not especially remarkable to me, although it seems well-made and perfectly serviceable.

 

 

 

 

16 oz. can from Lifesource in Salem OR.
$3.79
Slightly hazy ( compared to others nowadays anyway) range body, with a gorgeous creamy white head.
Aroma is "different" at first i thought "OFF"..then i got into it and its fresh peaches, apricots, and spicy hops.
Taste is similar..but more stone pit fruit..bitter but mellow. Getting a bit of the pils thing now. Interesting.
Mouth feel is very smooth and substantial ( oats?)..nice.
My first HOTD beer fr a decade and i am hooked, really nice weird beer.

 

Muddled and coppery orange with a thin, unusually thin off white ring of foam.

Citrus rind meets vomit (in a good way... I can't find words to defend this, but it is). Earthy with a licorice like quality.

The flavor is also citrus pithy, earthy, herbaceous, and recreational. Meaning weed. Definitely weed in the end.

Mild carbonation meets chalky and bitter bite. Not much sweetness at all, really.

Polka Dot is without question my least favorite from the pound. Having said that, it's still decent. Better at the source in draft for sure, but I don't mind this canned format at all.

Cheers.