Matt²
Birra Toccalmatto

I've never seen Hair of the Dog's Matt on shelves in my ~10 years geeking out about beer with all you nerds on this site, so I reluctantly paid the $10 for a bottle of this consolation version when I saw it. Matt is currently ranked #3 in the American Strong Ale category, #194 overall (with a 98 overall score), and #8 on the Top Oregon beers list.

BOTTLE: 11.2 fl oz brown glass bottle with a pry-off crown cap. ~$10 at a beer store in Colorado (for the single).

Dark Strong Ale. Collaboration with Hair of The Dog Brewing company. This beer is brewed at Toccalmatto. Aged in French oak barrels. 12% ABV. (So no Kentucky Bourbon and Apple Eau de Vie barrels from Clear Creek distilling were used in this seemingly inferior "version") "Contains: barley, malt."

Served chilled into a goblet per the label's pictured glassware.

HEAD: ~2cm in height. Khaki colour. Appears soft, even, and frothy with a robust yet creamy texture. Retention is quite impressive for the high ABV...~ 10 minutes.

BODY: Opaque deep dark brown. I can't tell if it's filtered or not, but it's certainly not clear. I see no yeast/lees. Not a vibrant body, failing to glow even when backlit.

Appears well carbonated. It's a nice looking strong ale but I can't say it dazzles despite its appealing head.

AROMA: Subdued smoked malt, dark fruit (prune, grape, raisin, plum), stonefruit, cherries, applewood, treacle, candi sugar, figgy bars, specialty chocolate malt, dark malts/brown malt sweetness.

I'm not getting any oak wood/barrel aromatics aside from a blip of vanillin and maybe some generic barrel sugar sweetness...I don't find rich white oak, toasted wood, coconut, etc.

Lacks any bourbon barrel or other barrel aromatics. I haven't had HotD Matt, but this aroma suggests a beer that's inferior to Matt's reputation. Frankly, it seems like an attempt to cash in on Matt's high reputation without actually delivering the same recipe, and its disingenuous marketing as simply "Matt - but brewed in Italy" is off-putting if that's the case...

TASTE & TEXTURE: Cherry, subdued smoked malt (probably just beechwood smoked malt they imported from Weyermann), dark malt sweetness, sweet dark fruit (fig, prune, plum, date, grape, raisin), treacle.

Creamy and soft on the palate, which is wonderful and helps hide any trace of the beer's high ABV. Smooth, wet, unrefreshing. Full-bodied...it's a meal in a glass. Not oily, rough, gushed, scratchy, hot/boozy, or otherwise problematic. Well carbonated.

Barrelwise, it's rather wanting...the bourbon barrel and Apple Eau de Vie barrel flavours so many reviewers seem to celebrate in HotD-brewed Matt are completely absent here, and the ersatz French oak barrels they used don't imbue this with much (which isn't unsurprising given the brewers' reticence to tell us how long the beer actually spent in barrels). In a top tier virgin oak barrel aged strong ale, I'd hope for rich white oak, luscious toasted wood, and scintillae of vanilla & coconut, all of which are absent here. Instead, there's a whisper of vanillin and some vaguely defined barrel sugar sweetness. Next time, just source the same barrels as Matt methinks instead of substituting inferior barrels...

Balanced if a bit thin and a bit a shallow. It's not a big bold beer, which on hand is interesting since subtlety isn't what one expects in an American strong ale, but on the other hand is disappointing for precisely the same reason.

Yeasty phenols, candi sugar sweetness and silkiness, maybe a hint of apple (from yeast/as an ester), fruitcake, apricot, caramel/caramel malt, and a sort of faux-oxidized leathery flavour I've heard described as "tobacco" though I've never smoked myself.

It doesn't amount to a cohesive gestalt whole of a beer, failing to exceed the sum of its many parts. Feels a bit too thin for a strong ale, landing a bit weak on the palate despite its big ABV. I do think its sweetness could be better balanced by its smokiness as well...it's not imbalanced so much as it is unbalanced, but it lands in near the right spot for the style - it's just not dead-on or dialed in.

OVERALL: Doesn't measure up to the reputation of "Matt" but it's not a bad strong ale. I can't say I'd pay $10/single for it again, and I have to imagine it's an ersatz version of the eponymous original beer.

Feels like a cheap attempt to cash in on the namesake beer's reputation despite the misguided barrel aging switcheroo - and that alone warrants criticism - but it's not a bad strong ale for what it is. If anything, it really needs a hell of a lot more smoke and barrel flavour, which is to say it just needs to deliver on its ingredients.

Low B- (3.29) / WORTHY

Revisited June 29th, 2025

Somewhat murky, dark brown body, opaque, no head. Great nose; dark roasted malts infused with cocoa, dates, figs, black licorice; tobacco juice. Beautiful flavor; rich and full cocoa and chocolate; soft, fruity sweetness; cherries; low-key bitterness. Hugely soft and velvety mouthfeel; dense and slippery; quiet warmth.

Man, this is one fine sipping beer. Rich and luxuriant all around with a pleasant taste.

ABV: 12%; pouring temperature: 57.7 °F; bottling info: n/a
Source: may have been an online purchase from Hair of The Dog or else a bottle I picked up at Coaltrain Fine Wine, Craft Beer & Spirits

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Original November 10th, 2019 ratings, scores, and review:

3.75 3.75 3.75 4.25 3.75; BA weighted overall score: 3.8; rDev: -4.5%

Dark yet clear deep brown colored body topped with a thick and creamy head; some clinging foam inside the glass. Malty nose; hazelnuts; cocoa; some phenolic notes. Big sweet and brown malt flavors; cocoa and mocha; some boozy overtones; grape-ish; a modicum of bitterness. Heavy body; silky and velvety on the palate; some boozy warmth; a dull sweetness.

An interesting collaboration beer. It has an intense dark malt base with a unique fruity and phenolic quality overall. I would consider this a bit on the hotter side of things, which is good because it tames the underlying sweetness yet also takes a bit away from the overall balance and enjoyment of this beer. But, hey. This is a big beer, and it certainly lives up to that description. Generally good overall.

 

On tap at the HotD 25th.

The nose has plenty of cereal, brown sugar and a blend of smoke - bitter smoke, wet smoke, toasted bread, and also some apple brandy. Palate has sweet honey, caramel, smoke, bitter and is mildly medicinal. Medium full in body. Decent but doesn't hold a candle to the HotD version.

Pours into a goblet a russet color with a thinner beige head that held well.Deep raisin and brown sugar in the nose,wow raisin and prune notes just abound here.Brown sugar and raisin upfront on the palate,very holiday fruit cake-like,like others have said a port element is there giving off some nuttiness as well,this is immensly rich and decadent on the palate.Chewy in the mouth after awhile I get just a mild tartness to stand up against the richness of the beer.This is a gem of a beer,I just gotta try the original Matt sometime, vastly underrated in my humble opinion.

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours very hazy very dark brown color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky light khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge caramel, brown sugar, toffee, raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, red grape, port, sherry, chocolate, cocoa, nuttiness, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, molasses, licorice, coffee, leather, tobacco, peat smoke, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity yeast, dark/bready/smoked/light roasted malts, candy sugars, and french oak barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of huge caramel, brown sugar, toffee, raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, apricot, red apple, red grape, port, sherry, chocolate, cocoa, nuttiness, toasted oak, and dark/brown bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, molasses, licorice, coffee, leather, tobacco, peat smoke, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light herbal/grassy/roast bitterness, and peppery yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, dark fruit, cherry, apricot, red apple, red grape, port, sherry, chocolate, cocoa, nuttiness, toasted oak, dark/brown bread, molasses, licorice, coffee, leather, tobacco, peat smoke, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity yeast, dark/bready/smoked/light roasted malts, candy sugars, and french oak barrel flavors; with a nice malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from lingering hop/roast bitterness and yeast/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/silky/bready, and lightly sticky/chalky/tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Mildly increasing warmth of 12% after the finish. Overall this is an amazing oak aged Belgian strong dark ale! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity yeast, dark/bready/smoked/light roasted malts, and french oak barrel flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the mildly bitter/spicy/drying finish. Amazingly balanced rich malts, candy sugars, fruity yeast, and French oak barrel complexity. A highly amazing offering. I have never had regular Matt before, but this is definitely pretty mind blowing stuff.

 

intriguing due to the breweries involved, but this is not an improvement over the original in any way, despite the participation of one of my favorite italian operations. its murky and brownish red in the glass, highly viscous and a little intimidating. aroma of slightly oxidized strong ale, fusel alcohol, a mild belgian type yeast strain, and some dried fruity trail mix sort of deal. heavy grain flavor and texture on the first sip, almost gritty, hully, not quite tannic or sharp, but not exactly rich and decadent either, despite the strength and sweetness. notes of brown sugar and holiday cake, cherry, prune, raisin, and graham cracker, its big and weighty without as much of the yeast flavors as i expected it to have from the smell. enormous body, almost too much without more carbonation, but thats the style right? slight oxidation is inexplicable here as i thought this was a fairly recent brew? heavy and sweet, even a little feels like a lot, and i dont get the same degree of italian uniqueness i normally expect from these guys. cool to try, but i prefer the original...

Riding high on the acclaim of Matt, the darker, stronger Belgian-style taste that largely puts Hair of the Dog on the craft beer map now joins forces with Italian beer makers of Toccalmatto for a strong, savory, mature and decadent tasting experience.

Rusty, hazy and dark mauve in its saturated aesthetics, the beer’s uncharacteristically low foam stance renders it to a near barleywine austere. Dark fruit abounds on the nose, leading with prune, raisin, date and fig with hints of tobacco and brown sugar lurking about. Sultry sweet in taste, the malty upstart is redolent with brown sugar, sorghum, toffee and caramel.

Steely sweet and rife with stone fruit, the middle palate carries the juicy tar flavors of fig, raisin and date with a spicy balance of peppercorn, curaçao liquor and clove. Spiced rum, port and sherry round out the flavor along with a moderate stemmy bitterness of sassafras and black tea.

Full, lumbered and weighty, the modestly carbonated beer lacks the lift or lightness that gives Belgian strong dark ale their digestibility. Seeming mostly of olde ale, the beer seems to have a current adolescent stature. Not young enough to celebrate freshness but not old enough to show refinement. Its likely a bitter in development.