Don (2023)
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company

 

 

 

When the strength of barleywine isn't enough, double it! Hair of the Dog did that upon their departure from the beer scene and did so with the help of various barrel types and aging techniques for a powerfully strong beer.

Right before Don whips our ass, he pours a mahogany brown appearance, slightly haze and void of carbonation and froth. As the still beer pours like cognac, the scent of the same abounds. Dark fruit, caramelized sweetness, liquor spice, bourbon and fortified wine swirl to give a fair warning as the first sip looms. Caramel, toffee, maple and a hint of butterscotch apply a sweet malty coat onto the tongue ahead of a dark fruit center of date, plum, cherry, apple and fig. Spicy with and melange of alcohol and hops, the bitter and peppery heat shows its Americanized influence over the session.

Full bodied, prickling with alcohol burn and malty-dry from start to finish, the enormous beer is build on the complexity of its own bigness as it extends with a warmth of the gullet and a citrus liquor bitterness.

 

Stubby bottle: Poured a deep brown color barleywine with no real foamy head. Aroma of deep caramelized notes with dry candied fruits. Taste is also a mix of deeply caramelized malt notes with dry candied fruits and a sweet finale. Body is pretty full with good carbonation with some discernible alcohol notes. Nice thick barleywine - one of a kind.

 

Opened this bottle in February 2025.
Pours super dark, not black or chocolate, just dark, however light can still force its way through.
Nose is slightly boozy, slight dark fruit, slightly dark horehound candy. Taste is prune, or raison or horehound candy with a hint of tobacco. ABV is not super evident at first then it begins warming the palate from the bottom up.

 

Acquired via trade on 6-3-23. Sampling 8 oz for review 10-25-24.

Beer poured dark brown with no head given the void in carbonation.

Nose is very nice, dark cherries are dominant for me and am getting some vanilla from the bourbon and rye barrels along with a slight hint of light fruits in the background.

Taste is very nice as well as i am getting a dark nut, cherries, and pears with post sip aspirations. Surprisingly i am not getting any heat from the barrelage as one would not know this is pushing 20% abv. Definitely a fruit bomb as the barrels are there to balance this beast.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with each sip being very smooth.

Overall, this is a wonderful sipper! So glad that i got the opportunity to try!

Very similar pour to 2022; maybe just a touch darker, but almost identical coloration with obviously no carbonation build up upon the pour.

The nose is bursting with black cherry on the nose. Quick to follow are notes of chocolate plum pudding, orange zest, apricot jam, and marzipan. So far so good; it's incredible to see the clear and studied changes Alan put into this beer with each release.

The palate - well contrasted from the nose - verges away from the fruity predominance and switches gears to make the barrel character the focal point. Rich with dark chocolate and boot leather, undertones of vermouth and cocoa powder allow for a balance of rich and sweet with dry and robust. With time in the glass the profile gives us flavors of date and walnut, adding even more depth to the layers of this most recent (and final) Don vintage.

The mouthfeel is neck-and-neck with 2022, but arguably the strongest between the two. 2023 felt to us to be the most put-together; it oozed synergy. Any esters were subtle, the booze was noticeable but smooth, and the bitterness worked to compliment the nutty, cocoa-heavy notes that trailed into the finish.

Bottle from the source.

What a nose and palate! Rich dried fruit, rum, sherry, Madeira, bourbon warmth with vanilla, rich leather and earth. Brown sugar, a little burnt. Dried cherries, mild almond and nocino-like notes. Bittersweet cocoa, rich mouthfeel. Excellent

Sampled at a tasters choice get together on 11/19/2023. A big thanks to whomever shared this.

Poured a clear yet very dark purplish-brown color, opaque in the glass; no head. Outstanding aroma; charred grains and wood, cherries and plum, tobacco juice, leather. The taste amplifies the aroma; rich, earthy sweetness; cocoa and bitter chocolate, dark brown sugar; dried raisins and sweet figs; black licorice and anise; boozy undercurrent. Heavy body, smooth and sludgy of the palate; moderate sense of alcohol warmth counterbalances the sweetness.

Man alive! This is one fine beer!! It's non-carbonated by design, so there is no head per se, yet the pouring color is dark, deep and alluring, Everything improves from there. The taste and mouthfeel are dense and complex on the palate. The 17.1% ABV, while not hidden, certainly seems integrated in a fantastic way with the rest of the flavors and mouthfeel characteristics. I will be cellaring a couple of these to see how they age (and I'm thinking the beers will age gracefully).

Pouring temperature: 45 °F; bottling info: 2023
Source: online purchase directly from the brewery

The aroma is fruit forward with cherry and stewed apple primarily. I also get vanilla, candied nuts, and a fairly prominent vinous note.

The brown liquors, while noticeable, take a back seat to the port and calvados which work really well with each other. Cherry, raisin, and grape along with milder vanilla, molasses, honey, and more are wonderful compliments to all that booze.

More fruit and booze this year with less smoke and wood than last year.