Opia
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company

2021 vintage. Opened 12-31-23.
Zero head on an opaque stout with some dark brown at the edge. No lacing.
Big wood aroma with some cherry cola and dark malt.
Tart red cherry and chocolate with a light roasted malt and wood bitterness. The initial flavor reminds me of a chocolate-cherry cake that my wife makes. Good stuff. Not gettiing much bourbon, just wood.
Full body, low to no carb with a silky mouthfeel. Lingering heat and a dry finish.
Good to Very Good.

Pours a very dark opaque color with a little head and slight lacing.
Aroma has hints of bitter cherries, bourbon, and chocolate.
Taste has cherries, chocolate and bourbon
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A well done Imperial Stout

Dirty brown pour, appears opaque in the glass; initial rough and fizzy head that quickly dissipates, settles to a thin yet lasting ring inside the glass. Bold sour cherry and white oak aroma even from an arm's length away; more of a wet red oak with a touch of fruity esters later. The taste brings a bold cinnamon tone to the palate; cherry flavor forms a stabilizing base along with notes of chocolate and cocoa. Medium-heavy body; flat yet silky on the palate; strong dryness overall.

I loved Hair of The Dog's 'Putin' and was hoping for something similar to this with 'Opia', but 'Opia' is just a different animal. To me, I think of a Belgian stout with the flavor profile I get with this beer. I like the beer (and have two more bottles), but I much prefer a less sour taste angle and a more hefty and chewy mouthfeel for my stouts.

ABV: 12.0%; pouring temperature: 53.2 °F; bottling info: 2021
Source: direct from brewery online purchase

No head but low-to-medium carbonation. Smells of cherries and smoke. Tastes of tart cherries (overwhelmingly dominates), bitter chocolate, some raisin, oak, and faint bourbon. Lingering tartness on the tongue and dark chocolate on the finish. As it warms, tart cherries are even more pronounced. Not sure I would consider this a stout but rather a cold-smoked, cherry-forward strong ale.

2021 vintage. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter. Served in the high 50s to low 60s F.

A vigorous pour yields a clear bistre body with harvest gold highlights and a fine beige cap receding to a vague collar. Barely rousable lacing; moderately viscous legs.

Bourbon, cola, and chocolate covered cherries in the nose.

Fruit forward palate entry, tart cherries leading into a leathery old-ale-like malt delivery with not-quite-vinuous stewed fruit/mincemeat notes. Bittersweet finish with more acidity from the chocolate. Earthy mild bitterness. Strawberry wine, wax seals, and faint smoke. Barrel notes are present but surprisingly delicate (not muted). Perhaps some esters from the yeast...

Oily, creamy, thick mouth-feel with very light carbonation. Alcohol is warming but fairly restrained.

Big, cherry-forward, English-influenced curiosity from some masters of their craft - albeit not really to style at all.

 

 

 

 

2021 Vintage

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown appearing nearly opaque in the glass. Relief at a carbonation pop on opening, this poured with classic HotD stillness, a faint ring off-white bubbles around the glass. Aroma of dark toasted malt, chocolate, earthy wood, bourbon and dried cherries; oxidation although this is a 2012 bottle. Flavor is dark toasted malt, tart cherries, light chocolate, bourbon and woody oak; tart cherry finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess, low carbonation. Well, one anticipates low carbonation on many of HotD's big ales and this is one of them. Fortunately there is enough to keep this from being completely still, acceptable. The malt body feels full, but is overwhelmed by the cherry component, as is the chocolate. Not so much a stout profile as a tart cherry cordial strong ale. Interesting, but not one I'll need to chase down again.