maniac (11822) reviewed Ruth from Hair of the Dog Brewing Company 19 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Hazy orange color with a thin white head. Sweet floral hops aroma. Flavor of light citrus hops with some floral hops in the end.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Thanks to Kinz for sharing this at the 3rd Richmond Gathering. Batch 64. Clear caramel color with a small light brown head. Sweet oak and pine aroma. Strong oak flavor, hints of vanilla, some caramel and pine in the background.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Batch 63. Clear caramel color with a small light brown head. Sweet caramel aroma. Lots of pine hints. Sweet hopy flavor, lots of pine, with some sweet caramel in the end.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 18
2005 batch. This could almost be classifed as a double IPA if it weren’t so sweet. In fact, several of its characteristics, especially its strong, thick citrusy flavor and aftertaste, reminded me of Dreadnaught. It pours a murky, almost opaque, copper. Lots of yeast and sludge. Huge light tan head with big bubbles and staying power. The aroma was full of orange, grapefruit, floral hops, pine and a slight bit of leather and band-aid. The flavor is sweet — caramel malt and sugared orange juice. That rides atop pine, grapefruit and a bitterness that creeps in at the end and sticks around. There are notes of earthiness as well and a slight rubbery taste. Thick body and long, peppery, bitter finish. Sticky, but not cloying. Nicely carbonated. A delicious beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
12 Oz bottle, batch 64. pours nicely with a small head of off-white, that coats the glass as it reluctantly subsides (still a thick scum after 20 minutres). Aromatic even when cold, dried fruit and caramel come through at first. It gets bigger and headier as it warms. Full bodied, very full and smooth. Damn pity that only two poor b*stds at BA have gotten to try this. This one will age nicely, don’t rush it. Vanilla and oak is just beginning to show. The regular Fred is an amazing brew and this is just another part of the "Fred Legacy". Great beer by HotD.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 17
Batch 64. Inviting pour — cloudy copper with a creamy, tight-bubbled, off-white head that recedes to the rim. The aroma is full of oak — almost like being in a shed full of freshly split, green oak wood. There are notes of earthiness, leather, orange peel and alcohol. The flavor is dominated by the woodiness. Still, the beer starts sweet — brown sugar and ripe fruit — and quickly turns tart, then bitter. However, the warmer it gets, the more the sweet malts present themselves. The finish is peppery and warm. Throughout is the taste of wood. Medium body with a fairly clean, crisp palate with only a slight stickiness. Moderate to long finish. Looking forward to revisiting this batch in a couple of years. Batch 64 revisited 1-8-2010. The heavy oak aroma and flavor has faded. Aroma is still sweet with brown sugar and fruits along with notes of earthiness and leather. The flavor is heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderatley to heavily sweet and moderately bitter. Alcohol warming in the finish behind some lingering woodiness. Nice tartness behind the bitter. Medium body, velvety texture and light to moderate carbonation. Complex and interesting at every turn.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle – 2004 vintage drank in 2006 (Courtesy of Xproudfoot): Poured a deep burgundy color ale with a medium off-white foamy head with good retention. Aroma of powerful sweet malt with some figs and prunes characteristics. Taste is really sweet probably to the presence of honey with some figs and dry prunes also thrown in there. Hops are also present though not overly which suite me just fine (aged bottle may have affected presence of hops). Body is above average and alcohol is very well hidden. Very good stuff and I would love to get my hand on some more of it.
Irishboy (4674) reviewed Ruth from Hair of the Dog Brewing Company 19 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Slighty hazy golden-yellow body with a tiny blonde head and a citrusy, malty nose, and a citrusy-hoppy taste and a nice hop bite in the finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Thanks to pksmith and bluezmadam for sharing this one at Noogfest. Nice creamy off-white head over a medium amber body. Assertive hop aroma. Big malt flavor with plenty of hop bitterness. Good now and this has all it needs to improve in the cellar for years.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Thanks to beastiefan2k for bringing this to the heavyweight open house - actually quite a low alcohol brew to come from these guys, and very heavy considering it - most IIPAs can only hope to reach this kind of balance - there isn’t much to add, the grapefruit/citrus character and chewy, caramel malt flavor expected of this style is all there in perfect preportion - you can’t really state in language the superior quality of a brew like this - just trust me...it kicks ass.