Cherry Adam From The Wood
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company / Brewery And Tasting Room

4.29/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by darktronica from Indiana

2021 vintage, a pretty lightly carbonated one at this time. I love the subtlety and balance of HotD's approach, where even sour cherry variants are highly complex.

Feb 16, 2022

4.31/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by zac16125 from South Carolina

A: Very dark brown, essentially black. Small fizzy tan head dissipates quickly and leaves no lacing. 4.25

S: Smoky char, molasses, earthy, ripe red fruits. Pretty big oak, herbaceous, cherry is moderately strong. 4.5

T: Taste is an almost tart cherry up front, followed by the typical dark charry roast characters of HotD. Pretty big raw oak. Fig and dates, subtle caramel round it out. 4.25

M/D: Full bodied, low carbonation, ABV well masked with average drinkability. 4.25

O: Overall, very good but not mind blowing, which seems to be where I settle with most HotD beers. Certainly worthy of a drink, a cellaring, and a revisit but an all time BA top 5 Old Ale? Not at that level for me personally. 4.25

Dec 24, 2021

4.44/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by VABA from Virginia

Pours a dark cherry color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has intense cherry and Oak barrel hints
The taste follows the nose with very well balanced cherry and woody oak flavors
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A very well balanced Old Ale

Nov 24, 2021

3.9/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
by kitch from Hong Kong

A 12 fl. oz. bottle, 2015 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: A dark brown colour with slight purple notes and pretty much no head except for a few bubbles and no lacing.

Aroma: Tarty cherry, mixed berries, roasty malts, chocolate, vanilla, with notes of oak and bourbon.

Taste: Tart and sweet cherry, dark fruit, plum, prunes, honey, bourbon, oak, booze, and a light hint of chocolate and vanilla.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with no carbonation (as stated on the bottle).

Overall: It’s a sipper, but maybe on the verge of being too sweet for my palate.

Aug 22, 2021

4.45/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
by REVZEB from Illinois

Cellared bottle for 1 year. Black edges on a dark brown body with a brown cap. Wood leads the nose, cherry right behind, with the sherry trumping the bourbon as they integrate with the dark fruit, toffee, and dark cocoa. Taste is impressive by how much nuance it gets out of the wood, tastes like it is right down to the grain. Caramel, toffee, cherry, light vanillins, elevate with dark cocoa, licorice and leather in the finish. Feel is classic HotD, dry, velvet smooth, warm and in this case has a large wood presence that is so pleasing.

Aug 19, 2021

4.37/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by tdm168 from Pennsylvania

2021 bottle.

Pours a deep, viscous purple with no head to speak of. The nose has a huge cherry aroma with some candy sugar and dark fruit. Big cherry flavor up front with just a slight sourness from the fruit. Some underlying candy sugar, plum, and dates to round it out. The alcohol is present but no burn; almost like a rum. The mouthfeel is velvety and viscous.

This is a damn nice beer. I am very glad to have tried, and I wish it was easier to procure.

Aug 04, 2021

4.53/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by DIM from Pennsylvania

2018

This is a beauty. A lot of these aged beers from Hair of the Dog have a wonderful honey note that I've come to love. This has a plethora of it. Leathery oak, smooth chocolate, faint toffee and vanilla...just so much going on here beyond my ability to describe. And of course cherry! Nicely balanced between tart and sweet. Low carbonation and a thick body. This is just outstanding.

2015 bottle opened in March 2022 is a different animal altogether. The honey, chocolate, and vanilla are replaced by musty leather and mild umami. The tart cherry is still there. Enjoyable enough but falls far short of my previous experience.

Aug 04, 2021

4.29/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

12oz bottle into a goblet. 2018 vintage.

Looks interesting in the glass. Body is almost a glossy black, with some reddish hints here and there. Head quickly shrinks to a thick ring, no lacing. Ring completely disappears halfway down.

Aromas of booze, vanilla, cherry. Faintly musty, smells "old", like grandfathers leather chair in the library with a cigar and brandy snifter.

On tasting, this was kept at room temperature. Warming from the barrel, still luscious cherry with a tart finish. A little vanilla here and there. Lightly sweet.

Mouth just above medium, finish a warming tart but smooth cherry.

Overall, an excellent slow sipper. I say slow, but it's one of those drinks where you are reaching for the next sip pretty quickly. Rolls around the tongue beautifully.

Jun 18, 2021

3.76/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
by Bouleboubier from New Jersey

(12 oz bottle, 2018 vintage, 13.5% abv; sampled on 19 Sep 2020, shared w/ my brother, who purchased this off shelf at Shangy's... split between two Victory Golden Monkey glasses, poured by my brother... review copied from written notes taken in AHA Tasting Journal)

(head) no lasting head, minimal collar; (refresh pour) foam med-dark, mocha brown... (appearance) chestnut-brown liquid, mild (chill?) haze... (aroma) leather, dark cocoa; slight ethanol; cakey baked-ness... (initial) slightly-smoky, roasted grain, washed out by dry(ness), dried fruit, malt nectar... (second) maybe a subtle cherry liqueur in the center; mostly a subdued version of Adam's bold (nuanced, dynamic) roast; soft choco-caramel note... (finish) smoke lingers; mildly doppelbock(-like), complex, caramelly film lingering; mellow medicinal alcohol... (notes) deceptively smooth; arguably too dry; but the earthy hops and almost dark-rum-like malts show well enough... (my own extra notes on its feel) subtly silky body, but perhaps too ghostly in texture; cut w/ booze, dry... compared to the Maja, the pour on this was more careful; still, I'd prefer to try a bottle procured in the Portland area (1692)

Sep 22, 2020

4/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by patre_tim from Thailand

Dark brown and slightly hazy with no visible carbonation, and a finger of beige head. There’s a slightly amber tinge.

It smells of cherry, black licorice, Carmel, Oakwood, brown sugar and dates.

The taste follows the nose.

Moderate carbonation.

I got this in Portland Oregon and I’m drinking it in Redding California February 17, 2020. This is the 2018 version.

Feb 23, 2020

4.45/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by ajm5108 from Pennsylvania

Pours a deep mahogany, very little head, slight fizz. Aroma is wet bourbon oak, some mild caramel malt biscuit, no real cherry notes. Black cherry juice upfront, lots of caramelt malt / toffee flavor to follow up, backend has drier oak tannin / leather and dashes of bourbon. Just a little cherry pit on the back as well. Marries different tones & flavors well, interesting without being gimmicky but lots of depth to explore.

Feb 23, 2020

4.45/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
by cjgiant from District of Columbia

Bottle of 2019:
Comes from the bottle like a dark black cherry soda, but nears black in the bowl of the glass. A deep ruby brown I’ll go with, with a matching red shading to the tan head. Each top of my glass leaves a sheet on the other side, but as a sipping beer, I don’t take enough liquid to avoid the body from reclaiming each bubble.

Nose is a tad deeper than regular Matt, even ignoring the specific additions that enhance the overall experience. Leather, tobacco, vanilla, cherry, and a bit of burnt toast char. Regular Matt is more earthy, while this has a variety of scents to wrap around.

In taste, where regular Matt has a toffee note with its earthy, peaty notes, this Adam has a bit more acidity and fruity notes from the cherry. A little bit of that cherry cola up front, with a bit of the peat sneaking through. Barrel joins the cherry, but the fruit itself remains the star. A little leather note in the end comes after the moderately prickly carbonation subsides.

Adam is transformed to a fairly different beast with the cherries. Different but equally enjoyable.

Dec 27, 2019

4.09/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by LiquidAmber from Washington

2019 vintage (I couldn't wait). Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark reddish mahogany brown, nearly opaque in the glass with a thin, fizzy head that dissipates quickly, but with a thick ring around the glass and light lacing. Aroma of lightly toasted and biscuit malt, cherry, light cardboard oxidation, bourbon mild dates and raisins. Flavor is biscuit malt, cherry, raisins, bourbon, hints of cocoa and oaky vanilla, oxidation and sherry notes in the finish. Medium bodied with sharp carbonation. As I popped this open, I wondered whether I should hold it for a year (regular Adam is quite nice with a year or two on it). While retrieving the glass, the bottle started to slowly bubble over with quite fizzy action and was a bit fizzy in the glass with active carbonation. I'm now glad I drank this right away; this amount of carbonation rarely turns out well with time, in my experience. And right now, it is exactly what I'd expect from the name, a cherry and bourbon barrel forward version of Adam, although the malt takes second fiddle to the brighter fruit flavors. There is a lot going on, with English barleywine style dark fruit, strong cherry, good oaky bourbon notes. I like this quite a bit, but old ales are one of my favorite styles and the malt here is completely subsumed into the cherry and barrel character. The old ale malt is detectable and actually does a decent job of supporting the brighter flavors, but I do miss the biscuity old ale malt of the base beer. I've been wanting to try this Adam variant for a very long time and glad I had the opportunity. The depth of flavor covers the ABV quite nicely. I'm on the fence, but I think I prefer this slightly over-carbonated HOTD than the sometimes still variations that often happen. Interesting and flavorful, as expected.

Jun 11, 2019

3.91/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by Ozzylizard from Pennsylvania

$ 21.19 (including tax) for one 12 oz bottle ($ 1.77/oz) from Shangy’s, Emmaus, PA. Reviewed 4/27/19.
“YEAR 2018 MADE” on front label. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 55 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 58 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
Body – Jet black and opaque, constant weak effervescence.
Head – Small (Maximum one cm, aggressive center pour), brown, low density and fizzy, gone within five seconds of completion of pour.
Lacing – None.
First pour – Dark brown, nearly clear.
Aroma – 3 – Weak “dark fruit”.
Flavor – 4.25 - Begins tart with raisins and weak tawny port, some subdued oakiness. No ethanol (13.5 % ABV) taste, no hops, no dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 4 – Medium, oily, lively carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 4.25 - Despite the lack of head and lacing, appearance of this black, seemingly viscous, pool of liquid is captivating. The aroma is mild – I must put my nose on the rim and really horn it in order to detect the “dark fruit”, although, at the 58-degree end, the odor intensifies – oh the difference a couple of degrees make! After the first slow swallow, napalm hits my stomach. Subsequent bombs are not even noticed: nothing is left to burn. The absence of cherry is disappointing – cherry is one of my favorite flavors – but this is still an excellent brew. I’m glad I finally found a bottle, but at the cost/oz I won’t be buying a second.

Apr 27, 2019

4.75/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
by Lingenbrau from Oregon

2009 edition. A ten year old bottle on a random Friday night....

The pitch black mass with the faintest suggestion of deep, dark, beet red cherry juice was exactly what I had imagined from this elusive edition of good ol' Adam. The magnificent stillness, equally predictable and in the most odd of ways, exciting.

Oxidized? Yes, but still glorious. All the quintessential Adam traits... leather, stone fruits, tobacco, molasses, booze. Then the faint oak and still obvious cherry influence is simply mouthwatering.

With one sip, I wish I hadn't opened it. It's too magnificent to enjoy on such a mediocre night. But maybe that's the point. Every night is worth celebrating. Flavor overload, yet so simple to describe. Smoked figs wrapped in sopping, juicy tobacco leaves. Charred oak and brown sugar, worn leather, and finally, the literal cherry reduction drizzled on top.

The still, smooth, and rich body is exactly what this beer needs. Simplicity once again goes against the grain, and is still masterfully appropriate. No distractions. Just a smooth, booze, syrupy, sweet and smokey mass, undisturbed by bubbles and balance.

Sometimes, you just need to have something special. Sometimes, for no apparent reason at all. This bottle scared the shit out of me. I knew what to expect, and absolutely had no idea what to expect at the same time. Ten years later, this bottle still managed to blow me away.

Cheers.

Mar 16, 2019

3.12/5  rDev -27.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
by johnnyboy76 from Oregon

Opened a 2014 in 2019. Totally flat. Way disappointing. Soy sauce. Unfortunately a drain pour. Really bummed. Would probably be ok with carbonation, but this is undrinkable

Feb 03, 2019

4.5/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by OompaMentor from Georgia

11/3/2018; 2014 Bottle -- dark pour, no carbonation. Oak barrel to nose with cherry. Soft MF - somewhat thin. Nicely balanced for a HG

Jan 04, 2019

4.46/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
by emyers from Illinois

2015 vintage. From 12 oz bottle at Hair of the Dog taproom.

Pours ruby-hued dark brown, very little head

Nose: balance between bourbon and cherry dominates with subtle hints of dark chocolate and smoke.

Taste: Cherry up front along with bourbon, oak, and some roasted malt. Finish is pretty sweet with more cherry and bourbon.

Feel: extremely low carbonation which works well for the flavor profile. Full-bodied.

Aug 04, 2018

4.72/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
by wmartin from North Carolina

Now this is a dessert sipper! Very sweet, and high ABV. You better have it for dessert because a 12 oz. bottle of this will send you straight to bed with a smile on your face.

Have a 2018 12 oz. bottle. Bottle says it should be ageable, as all of their beers, but I have found cherry flavors to seem to fade quickly after bottling. Cherry flavor still comes through nicely, but I wouldn't save any for later for fear of cherry fade. If it did fade, you might still have a nice back-bone of a beer. Back-bone of beer is more like a dark fruity quad than an old ale, with cherry, wood, and malt flavors balanced and forward.

Very flavorful and excellent. High ABV gives it a nice dreaminess. Worth the premium price and wish I had more.

Apr 19, 2018