Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 10 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9
12oz bottle via the most recent HOTD online basement sale. Several weeks to chill in the fridge. Stemless wineglass at home.
Nearly flat pour. Hazy, dark iced tea, a little lingering froth.
Potent sweet tea, lemon, grape forward port, leather & chocolate notes fume off the glass. 11/10
Taste is astringent grapefruit peel, sweet lemon & grape notes under a heavy layer of oily chocolate. Lingering grapefruit pith fights with the residual malt for last place. Final tiny twinge of leathery oxidation. Black tea burps. Aside from being a little too sweet for me this delivers on all fronts for an excellent price.
Very low carb, hidden abv, heavy body but lots of hops & a little acidity to cut it.
I could buy a candle in this scent. Excellent.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Rating #4,500! Bottle purchased in Indiana, 2011. Dark brown pour with a short head of ecru foam. Smell has some malt and a bit of brandy. Smell started a little off, but then the taste pulled it through. A thick, sweet hit of Bourbon, in the guide of an Oktoberfest. For a moment, I thought this might have gotten too old, but I'm finding new ways it's held up.
mart (27297) ticked Matt from Hair of the Dog Brewing Company 7 months ago
mart (27297) ticked Matt (2022) from Hair of the Dog Brewing Company 7 months ago
Magus, karamelline, hapukas, linnaseline, kuiv, leivane, suhkrune. Hea.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle recently purchased for the HotD website - I wasn’t going to drink this beer now, but a family tragedy has me saying “fuck it” right now - I may drink this whole goddamn bottle - anyway - still hazy dark ruby - nose is deep port, rum, treacle, plum, oak, red wine, brown sugar, earthy malt, mild oxidation - slick mouthfeel - sweet port, rum, chocolate, plum, brined cherry, brown sugar, treacle - back end is lingeringly warm but not boozy - lots of oak and red wine tannins linger long past the finish - pretty tasty - I want to say I like the 2023 better, but that may just be because I have an extra bottle of that one to cellar.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle recently purchased from the HotD website - still dark amber - Lots of chocolate, leather, tannic notes, deep rye whiskey on the back end - finish is deep lingering oak, red wine, treacle, light smoke - the very far end is super warming but not boozy, with notes of plum and currant - sweeter and not quite as deep as the bourbon-aged Adam, but still dang good.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
2015 bottle recently purchased from the HotD website - still, oily dark ruby pour - nose of chocolate, umami, plum, vinous notes, oak, bourbon, very light oxidation, raisin - so dense in the nose - oily mouthfeel, full body - flavor is heavy vinous, warming, earthy, lightly savory - sweet up front, but warning, dry, and heavy oaky in the finish, finishing like a highly tannic red wine - lightly smoky notes hiding underneath everything - hints of leather - deep and complex - thank goodness I got another to cellar.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2019 bottle purchased from the HotD website - pours a turbid amber with minimal carbonation - looks still - nose is rich fig, bourbon, oak, sherry/oxidation, treacle, brown sugar - approach is quite sweet and then gets semi-dry and earthy on the tail end, with some peat/scotch notes - fig, bourbon, treacle, brined cherry - warming finish - really light funkiness - heavier on the oxidation than I was expecting, so I would say this one is slightly past it’s prime, but still good.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
12 ounce bottle - 2017 batch - this is an interesting one - I’ve never had the Shiga beer, but have had the HotD and De Molen - I can distinctly taste both beers - the deep roast, vinous notes, and licorice of the Hel and the treacle and deep fig of the Fred - there is a back-end spiciness and a hint of smoke, leading to a warming finish - starting to get a little thin with age - not sure I would cellar further, but it is quite good right now.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
I have now tried three different vintages of this beer (2016, 2018, and 2020) and am currently drinking the 2020 - the cherry character is far more pronounced in younger vintages, with heavy tartness - the cherry mellows out with age and the maltiness is much more pronounced the older the beer is, making older vintages taste more like Adam, and in my view, more complex and balanced - the 2020, in particular feel thin compared to the 2018 and especially the 2016 - younger vintages taste more like a malty kriek and the older batches have more complex malty heft - my rating for the 2016 would be an 8, so that is where I will place this rating - 2018 would be a 7.7 and 2020 would be 7.4.