7.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Stemware at Torst, December 2024. Clear, dark brown, cola-ish, still pour. Maple, lots of date on the nose. Dark fruit. Thin, vapid, mellow oxidation, toasty & sharp malt way on the absolute tail. Odd & empty, no oxidation, then there it is along with the roast, great. Cheers.

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

On tap at Tørst. Pours rubescent brown. Toffee, raisin, dried apple, liquorice, tobacco, leathery, earthy, bit of cardboard. Medium body. Fine.

7.4

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Pours darker copperred. No real head. Scent is raw, dried fruits, caramelly malts. Quite intense. Taste is sharp, bit boozy, dried fruits, medium bitterness. OK.

7.5

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Doppelbock as interpreted by American pioneer Hair of the Dog, officially retired now, but Alan and his wife were kind enough to make one last tour in Europe and appear at Billie’s Craft Beer Fest – so it was my last chance to have this one. No head (or gone by the time the sample reached me!), more or less clear deep bronze colour with coppery glow. Aroma of hard caramel, some wet dog (ironically, perhaps), tea bags, dried figs, unsugared chewing gum, apple peel, brandy. Sweetish onset in a restrained way, dried apricot and apple peel aspects but vague – typical Lager neutrality, I would add; clean and smooth body, medium carbonated, very slick and even a tad bubblegummy around a caramelly and lightly toasted malt body. Some herbal hop bitter notes in the finish, warmed by gin-like alcohol, but caramel and bubblegum remain prominent. Decent enough, but not Hair of the Dog’s most impressive creation and frankly I think I prefer (some of) the ‘original’ German Doppelbocks over this.

7

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Draught Medium, stable just off-white head over clear amber-copper beer. Sweet bready, leafy, almost sugary nose. Some lightly roasted malts, and hints of cola. Sweet, sweet bread, dessert eggbread, but also undergrowth. Really slick, viscous, but not a thick body, oily texture. Classical, but far from earth-shaking characteristics as some HotD beers.

7

Sampled @ Billie's Craft Beer Fest 2022, Saturday Session. A clear amber beer. Aroma and Taste of strong caramelized malt, raisins, honey.

5.8

Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

12/XI/22 - on tap @ Billie’s Craft Beer Fest (day 2), BB: n/a (2022-1589) Thanks to all for sharing today’s beers!

Clear deep red beer, no head. Aroma: malty, nice, a bit oxidized, raisins, caramel, slightly chemical, some band-aid. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: dry, a bit spicy, pretty metallic, very bitter, more spices. Aftertaste: dry and metallic, spicy finish.

7.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Poured from the tap. Slightly hazy amber with small off white head. Bready malt, touch of caramel and toast, chewy, a little herbaceous. Decent.

7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

On tap at Hair of the Dog, pours a hazy bright dark amber with a small off-white head. Aroma brings out bready malt, toasted caramel, and light nuttiness. Flavour is wonderfully rich, with toasted caramel, light herbaceousness, and bready malt. Rich, chewy, malty, and well-constructed overall. Excellent.

7.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Sampled from the tap at the Portland location. Pours a near clear reddish amber with a near white head that dissipates to the edges. Aroma has sweet grains and a good amount of bread with a hint of clove underlying. Flavor has slightly smoke bread with dark grains, light roast and a bit of straw.