Deschutes / Hair of the Dog Conflux No. 1 - Collage
Deschutes Brewery and Hair of the Dog Brewing join forces to weave The Dissident and The Stoic and Fred and Adam into an artistic collage of cask-aging alchemy. Damn. Beer is fun!
Conflux No. 1 - Collage is the second release in the Deschutes Conflux Series. These beers were brewed in March of 2010. One hundred percent of these beers spent two years aging in a variety of oak barrels: Rye Whiskey, Cognac, Sherry, Pinot Noir, Bourbon, used American Oak, new American Oak and new Oregon Oak.
Less than 200 barrels of this intelligent blend was produced.
Conflux No. 1 - Collage is the second release in the Deschutes Conflux Series. These beers were brewed in March of 2010. One hundred percent of these beers spent two years aging in a variety of oak barrels: Rye Whiskey, Cognac, Sherry, Pinot Noir, Bourbon, used American Oak, new American Oak and new Oregon Oak.
Less than 200 barrels of this intelligent blend was produced.
3.9
392 reviews
Bend, United States
Community reviews
Bottle shared. Pours cloudy amber brown with a ring beige head. Aroma is very Hair of the dog upfront, big overripe dark fruit notes, oak, vanilla, bourbon, toffee, butterscotch and raisins. Flavour is heavy sweet. Light full bodied with very soft carbonation.
bottle courtesy of and shared with Podjebier.
Almost no head. Hazy dark amber pour. Lots of barrel notes. Very good
Man, this was bold. Strong aroma of wood, sweet malt and whiskey. Nice dark brown bread color with minimal head. Full and smooth palate with a sharpness at the finish. Very complex flavors of dark malts, biscuit, oak, molasses and a blend of whiskey.
Straight malt sweetness then biscuit then bitter hoppiness aromas come from this hazy brown viscous brew with a small beige head. The taste is malty and bitter back and fourth till the swill is. Then a tartness and oakieness come out then back to bitter with this one. It's full bodied and packs a punch.
I hesitate to rate this beer because I think I waited far too long to drink it. If you still have this beer in your cabinet, drink it now (or don’t). It does not age well. I’m sure it was fantastic when it came out, but becomes sickeningly sweet and correspondingly cardboardy.
Bottle, labeled "best after 4/30/13" ... Yet another antique off the Total Wine floor, and at $10 for a 12 oz bottle, an iffy purchase to begin with. This is beer, not jewelry. This pours muddy and murky, and with its apparent age, the lack of any body is to be expected. So is the lacquer character, the alcohol burn and the ultimate sting. I get cherry, bourbon, oak, and a sweet sugary swirl. For those that enjoy the phenomenon of aged beers, this might be a good choice. (#5963, 4/19/2015)
Dark hazy amber colored beer with a beige frothy head. Aroma includes pretty fruity and caramelized. Flavor is sweet, with alcohol included. Bitter long end and oily body with low carbonation.
Poured a deep amber color with aromas of toffee, caramel, booze, light cherry and some light wet oak. Flavors were light tart cherries, booze, some light funk and wet wood. Very nice hid the abv well, could be in trouble if I drank more than one of these, it held up nicely with the age.
Collage is the first of Deschutes’ Conflux brewery collaboration series, but is actually premiering second. Conflux No. 2, a White IPA made with Boulevard Brewing of Kansas City, hit shelves in July 2011. Collage was brewed first but took some additional time to age and blend -- two years and more than 100 rounds of mixing and sampling, according to brewers. It’s made up of two beers from each brewery: Hair of the Dog Adam, Hair of the Dog Fred, Deschutes The Dissident and Deschutes The Stoic. To make Collage, the Dissident and Adam were placed in oak barrels that had formerly held Oregon pinot noir. The Stoic was aged in rye whiskey barrels, while Fred was aged in bourbon barrels. Poured into a tulip or snifter, Collage is the color of rosewood, clear but dark, topped with a finger of feathery khaki foam. The nose is a dance between two partners: the Stoic and the Dissident, which lend aromas of white grapes, biting balsamic and a touch of green apple. Oak is huge here, fresh and untoasted. Deeper inspection reveals weird stuff -- pencil shavings and the lightest hint of leather. Were I given beer-naming privileges, I might have gone with Mosaic. It’s like an image crafted of smaller images -- discernible and enjoyable as a whole, but easily broken into its contributing parts when you focus on them. Here’s the Stoic, lending vinous oak, white wine and green apple; there’s the Dissident with dark vinegar and cherries. Adam contributes savory leather and dark fruits, while bourbon-aged Fred delivers toffee, vanilla, grapefruit pith and bitterness. There’s no getting around the alcohol flavor, but it works well here. With the combined strength of these brews and the hefty alcohol content they carry, you’d expect an equally hefty body, but this isn’t the case. The liquid’s actually rather delicate, peppered with just a bit of silky carbonation and pretty well-hidden alcohol. The combination makes the brew surprisingly light and drinkable -- it goes down far more easily than the ABV should allow. Collage’s combination of beers and aging platforms makes for a very interesting sensory experience -- though if I’m being honest, I expected a little more. I think this is too heavy on the Stoic and needs more Adam and bourbon. The bottle advises that it’ll taste best a year from now, so we’ll see how I feel about it after the malts have had some time to mature and the souring yeast takes more hold.
VINTAGE NOTES
Bottle with a best after date of 4-30-13, enjoyed 5-22-13. The aroma, once packed with green oak, biting balsamic and tart apples, has become smoother, sweeter and more savory. Leather, vanilla, butterscotch, chocolate, dark cherries. Damn fine. Bourbon has come more into the fore, which is exactly what I was waiting for. The flavors are better-blended and harder to pick apart. Musky leather is nice and big; smoky oak and morello cherries are as well.
Very interesting beer. Appearance is just ok with a smallish light tan head that soon settles to a ring and island with a bit of lace and a hazy dark amber color. Aroma is a very volatile mix of raisins, prunes, dates, figs, sherry, brandy, toffee, black pepper and a suggestion of peaches. Flavor’s somewhat similar to nose, starts out a bit sweet and finishes in the back of the mouth with a long lasting tang. Excellent body. A beer to be shared and sipped. Well done, brewmasters!
A reddish copper ale with a very thin off white head. In aroma, sweet fruity caramel malt with light cherry notes, light Brett, cork character, alcohol warmth, very nice. In mouth, a beautiful complex mix of pinot de charente, alcohol warmth, bourbon barrel, light vanilla, alcohol warmth, well balanced. Bottle shared with Matt and Puhskinwow.
Bottle. Pours crystal clear reddish burnt umber, small off-white head, dissipates quickly, some lacing. Aroma is very vinous, oak, wine, grapes and toffee. Medium sweet, very light tartness, light funk. Oaky and vinous, malty, cherry, vanilla. Medium body, low carbonation. Really nice beer.
Bottle 12 fl oz at Hair of the Dog Brewing, Portland. Year 2012 made. Best after 4/30/13. Colour is cloudy brown with small white head. Aromas and flavours: Fruits, berries, wood, some sweetness, hints of sourness, warm alcohol and malts. Strange mixture of sour brown / American strong ale but overall very enjoyable complex ale.
Bottled@PBF IX. Ambery copper colour with a small white head. Aroma is floral, wooden, a bit lactic along with some zestiness, alcohol and mild berries. Flavour is biscuity, bready, mild toffee along with some berries, alcohol, fruits and mild grassiness. Quite a big bitter kick in the finish, yet balanced out by the sweetness of alcohol. Mellow and pleasant.
12oz bottle. Pours slightly hazy, but bright, ruby orange, with a thin, off white head. Aroma is a touch acidic with dark fruits, red wine, cherry, and oak. Taste is a bit tart with sour cherries, caramel, whisky, and a sweet/tart finish. Medium body and carbonation. Clean in the mouth with no alcohol taste. A lot going on in this beer. Tart cherries, dark fruits, caramel, and oak.
12oz bottle -
When a brewer sets out to make a style of beer that has such a huge range of variety, being able to make a beer that crosses multiple spectrums is truly an art. I’m not the worlds biggest Deschutes fan...but wowza. What a friggin’ beer.
Aroma is chock-full of heavy oak and bourbon, candied dark fruit, port, vanilla, dark brown sugar, some light dill or celery notes, with chocolate and red wine.....huh? Some how with all those aromas, it works. Huge, huge complexity in the flavor with a perfect amalgamation of wine, whiskey, brandy, brown sugar, and toffee. You are hit over the head with flavors and aromas multiple times and you love every second of it. A stunning beer.
12 fluid ounce bottle, Best After: 4/30/13. Murky opaque brownish copper, tan foam settles quickly and rings. Aroma of dank bourbon barrel and rich sweet malt. Taste is strong, tart and vinous, boozy and oaky, deep sweet roasted malt, lots of complex whisky/wine barrel flavors. Soft carbonation, medium-full bodied, moderately hopped. Surprisingly smooth and soft for such a high ABV, a pricey experiment. DNFL (Definitely Not For Lagerboys)
From old notes, tasted with Curtis and some friends in Nashville, probably some time near the summer of 2012, from a 12oz bottle, big thanks to SVT for sharing I think. Pours clear amber with a thick off-white head that leaves dense, smooth lace. The nose is perfumed, caramel malt, oaky vanilla, and vinous fruits. The flavor is a touch tart up front with the vinous fruit, moving to the caramel malt and oaky vanilla, very unique. The body is full and sticky with average carbonation and a long sour and malty barrel finish.
Bottle. Dark thin red pour with a small layer of tan head that quickly dissipates. Aroma is rich caramel, mild cherry tartness, brown sugar, oak, somewhat port/sherry like. Taste is light sour, somewhat thin, followed by rich malty sweetness, with a slight cherry tart finish. Very nice beer, real mix, of sour and malty goodness.
12 oz bottle. Brown in color with a small beige head. Aroma is of toffee, prune, raisin, grapes must, cinnamon, vanilla, bourbon, wood, and light berry. Taste is of oak, vanilla, vinous, prune, dried cherry, whiskey and caramel. A little too much going on in the beer. It’s almost like they were trying to make it everything at once, which seems to subtract from the beer’s quality.
Bottle. The look is a cashew colored head, clear, brownish red murky colored. The smell is wood, barrel, bourbon, sweet, alcohol, caramel, and toffee. The taste is sweet, alcohol, toffee, sweet, complex, fruits, and good.
Bottle 355ml (PBF IX)
Deep clear amber color, small white head. Sherry, rye and wood in the sticky nose. Medium to full-bodied. Liquerish. Sweetish. Lots of sherry, malts, vanilla and some bitterness. Complex and solid.
355 ml bottle @ PBF IX. Pours a dark copper colour with a small head. Aroma of green apples, some biscuit, orange zest and grass. RIch and complex flavour with butterscotch, wood, red berries, bourbon, some caramel, red wine and herbal notes. Full bodied and oily mouthfeel. Really soft, aggressive, sweet finish. Very rich and complex in flavour. Great.
355ml bottle @ PBF IX
Pours dark amber red with a foamy head. Aroma is quite complex with loads of sweet syrup, caramely malts, wood, rye, oak and vanilla. Taste is sweet, complex and caramely with loads of syrup, wood, vanilla, vinous notes, bourbon and toffee. Finish is sweet and sticky with loads of syrup and woody notes. Quite sweet and massive.
12oz bottle in a tulip. Pours deep brown with a lacy, beige head. Aroma of light tartness, some oak and vanilla, a lot of caramel and toffee and hints of chocolate from the malts, some wine and whiskey from the barrels, light notes of dark fruits, and some hints of bitterness. Flavor the same with a great blend of everything. Smoother texture. A really unique beer.
12oz bottle thanks to Mark-DSM for sharing. Thin lt tan. A-whiskey/boozy/wood, med malt-caramel. T-whiskey/wood, med fruit, med malt-caramel.
Clear amber pour with a thin ring of white head .... Aroma of oak, cherry, sour, caramel malt and light vanilla ... Taste is very oaky and sour with a cherry vanilla flavor, chewy caramel malt, dark fruit figgy, red winous notes and nougat ... Has a tart sour mouthfeel and very intense .... You can taste all of the barrels. Has the rye bite, sweet sherry, and some light Pinot noir ... So complex and tasty. Has a lingering sour dry oaky rye bite. ... Delightful and the abv is hidden real well
Couple years on this one now. Pretty magenta with a persistent pillowy head. Nose of sour cherries, sweet malts. Sour initially, with tart cherry, but sweet malts as well. Light tannins of red wine and wood. Sweetness more prevalent as it warms. Reminds me of Sour in the Rye from a couple nights ago, but not nearly as tart. No acetic belly ache from this guy. Dangerously smooth.
Bottle to snifter (shared with the Mrs.). Looks good; a cloudy amberish brown with light beige head that steadily dissipates into lacing. Smells tart and oaky with notes of stone fruit. Tastes like it smells with an average mouthfeel. Stone fruit is on the darker side. Good, not great; tastes more like a Belgian Strong Ale than an American Strong Ale IMO.
12oz bottle pours a hazy brown color with a bit of head. Sour oaky aroma. Slight sourness with nice raisiny flavors.