Little Dog (Fred)
Hair Of The Dog Brewing Company / Brewery And Tasting Room

A muddled coppery orange with a thin off white head and little lacing or coverage.

Just a hint of light caramel in both aroma and flavor. An even lighter floral contribution.

Nice and light, easy to drink, even a bit watery.

A great pub beer. Easy to drink all day and night with some nice flavor. Cheers.

 

A good beer for the style: a very light and drinkable mild ale. The beer is unfiltered and looks great. It's difficult to give a mild ale a high rating but I did enjoy this beer and the kicker is that it's dirt cheap! At the time of this review a pint of Little Dog was less than $3.

 

 

Appearance- Pours up about a finger's worth of head which has a tiny bit of retention. The head is a pure cotton white while the body is a dark amber which appears as a medium amber. Good amount of sheeting extends from the surface of the beer.

Nose- Faint citrus- mostly orange and lemon. Very bright and sunny after it opens up. Nice clean notes of biscuit and cracker. Grain as well. Swirling shows a slight mustiness that adds more complexity.

Taste- Very nice, very complex, and very English. Lots of citrus (strong orange and lemon) which moves into the earth and grass of traditional English hops. Slight grain and biscuit. Some spice and even a little bit of grit on the finish. The slight tingle and a minor effervescence seem to come from the hop spice. Slight pine and wood. Much more subtlety than a lot of American ales. Slight note of black tea to the finish. I can readily see the appeal of such a flavorful and sessionable beer. Very well rounded with a light bitter finish.

Mouthfeel- A little more than light bodied with a small bit of grit (some sediment) which I like. Healthy carbonation is perhaps a little too much. It almost seems as if Alan is compensating for something.

Drinkability- Very easygoing. Pretty much crisp and refreshing. 2.50 is a great price for a 12 oz pour of such a flavorful, light beer.

Overall- Pretty good beer and great representation of the style. I will have to seek out more of these 3-4% English beers. Definitely worth a try.

On tap at the brewery yesterday.

Pale yellow dense white head falling off to a ring quickly no lace. Nose is bright, with citrus lemon juice, a little sugar and some tropical fruit. Yum. Palate opens modestly bitter with plenty of hop flavor. Mango, lemon, orange, cotton candy mild hop resin. Tastes nothing like Fred. Light in body, highly carbonated and with a refreshing finish, this beer is excellent.

 

Thanks to ChrisPro for sharing this one. Served in a snifter.

A - Lightly hazed blonde body is topped by white foam that settles to a thick collar, wisps, and a few specks of lace.

S - Lightly hopped, with citrus, grassy, and floral notes. Mildly sweet and doughy malt backdrop. Not the most aromatic beer, but enjoyable.

T - The taste has a bit more heft to it, with more malt sweetness. Bready, with a bit of cereal grain and biscuit to it. Some mild bitterness in the finish.

M - Light bodied, with soft lower growler carbonation. A tad watery, but it's a small beer so I expected as much. Fairly refreshing.

D - A solid session beer that helped to break up Hair of the Dog's high-ABV lineup. Not something I'd seek out, but I like when pubs have a beer like this available on a regular basis for people who don't want to get wasted or need to drive home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First had: on tap at their brewpub

HotD's "Little Dog" series implies a parti-gyle style beer (the bartender was shocked to find I knew that terminology). This one is derived from a batch of Fred, as the name implies.

Poured a hazy golden yellow, moderately carbonated, with a small white head that displayed decent lacing. Not too aromatic, but there was a decent balance of hops and malts and a dash of funky grass. Taste was woody, quite hoppy, crisp and dry. Light-medium body, and somewhat bitter, but very easy-going and easily drinkable.

Had this at HOTD tasting room, 11.25.11. I have to respectfully disagree with this being classified as an English Bitter.

One finger white head, quick dissipation with good lacing. Straw gold clear body, multiple streams of carbonation. Light munich malt aromas with floral and citrusy hop essence, not overpowering. Taste is pretty hoppy, munich malts dominant, quite a bit of bitterness for a mild ale. Mouthfeel on the light side, though good effervescence. Overall, this second running concept is really cool. Though I enjoy the Little Matt and Little Adam more, hey, everybody knows I'm a Fred Head. Too bad the old drinkability category is gone, this would be a 5!!

 

 

 

 

 

3oz taster today at the tap room. (I have had this several times)

A - Pours a light hazy yellow with a white to near white head.

S - Malty, wheat, very pilsner like.

T - Close to the smell. Like a pilsner, but more vivid.

D - High carbonation and light body. Described as a table beer.

O - Light, refreshing, very sessionable.

Poured into pint glass during Portland Mighty Mites small beer festival~

Seems the other reviewers had growler sealing problems... Poured with the same hazy gold hue but with decent head that quickly dissipates leaving a nice bit of lacing. Very pilsner-like aromatics. Focus is on the yeast and malts, very light and fresh aroma. Palate is clean and simple. More emphasis on the lager-like flavors. Finish is short and simple.

Overall a very good session beer and one that I enjoyed. It's not the greatest beer in this style, but it's a nice effort.

Thanks to Kan for sharing the growler. Poured into Narke tulip.

A - Looks like dirty brown rain water, white head, no lacing, no cap.

S - Mint, herbal notes, light hops. The mint notes overtake just about everything, slight hops, some floral in there as well.

T - Slight hoppy notes, herbs, mint, touch of floral. Very subtle in all aspects.

M - Light, crisp, light carbonation (need a bit more here).

D - Chugable. So easy to drink it's not even funny. As long as you know going in it's not going to be the most complex beer you've ever had, it's quite enjoyable.

Growler thanks to Kan, drank from my De Struise glass... Pours an ugly murky honey gold. Light off white head, ok retention and lacing... The aroma is sweet herbs, mint, a bit of hops. Sweet, but not bad... The taste is really bland, not as much flavor as the Adam. Has a weird light medicinal finish, yeast and hops... The mouthfeel is a bit light... This is totally crushable, more than Adam.