Hair of the Dog Tasting - June 24-26

After attending a soccer match, then our Town fireworks show, its finally time for a beer. And this thread plus @DIM bugging me a few times Its time for me to open my 2018 bottle of Don. This beer is still by design and is 15.2% ABV. Ive had it in my cellar since fall of 2021 and Im intrigued and excited to see what I have. My plan is to have a few ounces tonight and re-cap the bottle. Will have a few more ounces in the near future and keep doing so over time. But wanted to start this weekend in honor of HOTD and Alan Sprints.

Onto my review:

Sampling this beer at cellar temp and pouring into my mini snifter tasting glass. Gonna treat this as a cordial and re cap the bottle after a few ounces tonight.
The beer pours a bright clear amber color with no carbonation, foam, head etc. The swirls do leave some sticky legs on the glass like a fine wine may do.
Aroma is robust, some brown sugar and fruit with fig and peaches coming through and mixing with some dry wooden notes and a mix of booze with bourbon and rum taking the dominant position. No hops to be mentioned or detected here. I do get a bit of fusol booze as well and a bit of black pepper. I expect this beer to be warm when it hits my palate.
First sip reveals a medium body with no carbonation, as expected, and a bit of a slick texture. The beer tingles my palate, but from boozy warmth not bubbles!
Flavor is some toffee followed by peaches and sweet oranges mixing with some brown sugar and a bit of a leathery note. I also get bourbon and rum as the booze representation and there is some dark (high cacao%) chocolate in the background. And yes, there is warmth on the swallow and rolling down my gullet and when it hits my belly.
This is a sipping beer, and I think it is definitely more of a cordial approach for handling this beverage.
Very unique and I enjoy it, but not something I would recommend drinking in one glassful to finish the bottle. Ill see how this beverage changes over the next couple weeks, with a few ounces at a time.

4.22 in the BA DB

 

This is my Saturday evening closer:



Hair of the Dog - Fred
Batch 100 - bottled on 10/11/2018

Pours a completely opaque drab orange color. Huge, billowy off-white head head forms on the beer - like a full four finger head. It steadily but slowly dissipates until a quarter inch of velvety foam remains on the beer. layers of sticky lacing coat the glass as the head recedes. Aroma is really interesting - There is a certain American barleywine quality to it in that there are these strong citrusy hop notes coming through on the nose. Those notes are overlaid on a malty backbone with notes of candied sugar, light pale stone fruit, and some wood.

Taste follows the nose with notes of caramel malts, aged hops, candied sugars, fresh wood, some light sweet pale stone fruit notes and citrus. It really does remind me of a sweeter American barleywine. It is almost 4 years old at this point and it seems to have aged well - the hops are clearly "old" at this point, but they work well with the base beer. The only other thing I am starting to get as the beer warms up is the rye malt - its giving it this lovely little undertone of rye bread and touch of spiciness. Feel is medium bodied, smooth, warming. Mild carbonation, but not unusually or noticeably low. Semi-dry finish.

Overall it is a really interesting beer. An enjoyable sipper.

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25 = 4.27 (rDev +4.9%)

 

Hair of The Dog Brewery -- Otto From the Wood
Strong ale
ABV: 13.0%; pouring temperature: 39.9 ℉; bottling data: 2016



4.3/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Murky brownish-orange body; carbonation percolates up through the top of the beer; patchy, wispy head. Orange and cherry notes in the nose; red licorice; raisins; light touch of caramel in the background. Spicy, malty taste; cinnamon and coriander; figs and dates; sweet; moderate boozy presence; a trace hint of vanilla as the beer opens. Heavy body; a bit coarse on the palate; moderate alcohol warmth; some pulpy, sugary bits, like fruit pulp.

Another strong ale winner from Hair of The Dog. It has the standard weak head expected from their bottle conditioning while the aroma and taste are just heavenly for a high ABV beer. The few bits of pulpy sediment were interesting (no, I didn't pour the bottle gently to leave the sediment in the bottom). It really did taste and look a bit like fruit pulp. One for the history books...

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...I don't recall if I ordered more than one bottle of this beer over the past few months...it's likely my only bottle, and if so, a regrettable situation, but man, it was good while I had it...