Fred from the Wood
(has 3 batches)

Bottle. Medium orange red color with virtually none head. Aroma is moderate to light heavy vintage, fruity - date, wood, toffee, tobac, alcohol. Flavor is heavy to moderate sweet and moderate bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily - syrupy, carbonation is flat, finish feel is moderate alcoholic. ;o)) (220108)

Big thanks to jjpm74 for the bottle. It looks really good. The beer in the glass also. Fine foam for a beer of this strength. Flavor very intense - fruity and a little bit alcoholic. Tastes very strong - prickly on the tongue. Very intense palate. A small note of tabacco. A really good beer!

2008-02-15, bottle brewed 2007
Parallel tasting with Fred
Dark amber color, just a shade darker than the regular Fred; this one is more carbonated and produces a medium layer of creamy foam. Its aroma shows clearly the vanilla before anything else, powerful, sweet, mellow; fudge; one of the best vanilla aroma ever; harmonious. It has a good body structure, with an excellent mix of flavors: malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla, wood… they are all balanced; sweet as it should be, but still with a powerful and good hopping, leading to a long final where the bitterness (maybe stronger than in the regular Fred) is complemented by a good caramel flavor, a touch of vanilla and some alcohol warmth. Side to side, it wins over the regular Fred. More than excellent!

Batch 64 (ratebeer edition). Pours a brown-ish orange murky color with thin white head. It has a big aroma with a nice thick oakiness with streams of creamy caramel seeping through the wood. I also get mild muted citrus and pine hops, a hint of yeast and more wood. First sip, darn this tastes good. It starts thick, malty and creamy caramel followed by a pile of dried out oak logs. Then the muted citrus hops show up and grow to an almost bitter note. Near the finish some dark fruity esters show up with the hops, creamy caramel and malts to add an extra flare to an already tasty mixture. YUM!!

++++ Re-Rate 18 March 2009 ++++
12 oz bottle from mj / Cletus (received one from each of these guys recently). Pour is cloudy orange golden ruby with a perfectly formed one inch off white head. Thick lacing forms and sticks on the side of the glass. Very pretty. Aroma of the vanilla oak barrel, fresh cut wood, citrus fruit, resin raisin sweet maltiness, all really nicely melded. Taste is the honey raisin sweet maltiness, toasted and biscuity - followed quickly by floral orange citrus and a pretty heavy dose of the fresh oak woodiness. The alcohol is apparent in the back of the swallow. Very full flavored, everything works nicely together. Palate is sticky, medium to heavy with a long satisfying aftertaste. I think I like how the age mellowed out the previous sample I had, but this one fresh is delicious as well - in a different, more vibrant way. Hair of the Dog pretty much never lets me down. Thanks Mike or John. (9,5,8,4,18 - 4.4)

++++ Original Rating 7 November 2007 ++++
Rating #600. 12 oz. bottle from CaptainCougar. Batch #64 - ratebeer special release. Pour is a hazy orange-ruby color with a smallish (1/3 inch) off white head. There is quite a bit of carbonation, tiny bubbles which continued to climb up the edge of my glass for almost 35 minutes after the pour. Aroma of sour-sweet fruit, some raisin, even some orange citrus. Malt is also very present in the nose; big, round, and biscuity. Just a hint of the oak wood barrel. Taste is immediately the sweet, sour citrus hop and the biscuit malt. The buttery oak really comes out in the finish and the after taste is almost smoky (not really roasty - more burnt). Sounds odd, but was a really nice compliment to the flavor. Really soft on the palate. So many flavors, yet still very elegantly balanced. No hint of heat whatsoever. Beautifully made beer. Thanks for this one Tom. (9,4,9,5,18 - 4.5)

Bouteille – batch 64, courtoisie de Blankboy. De couleur ambrée orange et voilée. Nez boisé (fût de chêne), malté de caramel sucré, légèrement terreux et de sucre brun (notes de sirop d’érable et de toffee), moyennement fruité (léger de raisins vineux et de cerises aux notes sûres) et d’alcool avec des notes de vanille, de fumée de cigarette, de houblon herbeux (notes terreuses) et d’épices (poivre). Moyenne-ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-bas et une texture liquoreuse et légèrement crémeuse. Goût assez boisé (fût de chêne, bien présent en arrière-goût toute la gorgée), fruité (léger de raisins aux notes vineuses, cerises vieillies aux note sûres ainsi que des notes d’agrumes et de pêche) et léger de vanille lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût malté sucré de caramel aux notes terreuses, léger de sucre brun et avec des notes de pain parallèlement à un goût moyennement amer d’alcool moyen, liquoreux (whisky) et réchauffant ainsi qu’un goût de houblon herbeux aux notes citriques (pamplemousse) puis en finale, on distingue un goût de fumée de cigarette légèrement asséchant ainsi que des notes épicées (poivre). Post-goût long, moyennement amer d’alcool liquoreux et moyen de houblon herbeux aux notes citriques, assez boisé (fût de chêne) et légèrement fruité (moût de raisins et de cerises).

Bottle. Rate Beer Speacial Release. Thanks to Jason (Kramer17801) for this nice bottle. Pours a clear amber color with an off-white head. Sweet malty slightly alcoholic vanilla aroma. With some hints of wood. Smooth oak malty vanilla flavor with some hints of alcohol. Has a dry oak finish with lots of vanilla in the aftertaste.