Hair of the Dog Bourbon Fred from the Wood
This Beer is my regular Fred, aged for over a year in Kentucky bourbon barrels.
3.9
271 reviews
Portland, United States
Community reviews
12 oz bottles at the Hair of the Dog. 2011 and the 2017 side by side. The 2011 was $12, the 2017 was $7. Although both were very good, the 2017 was definitely worth $7 a bottle.
[9665-20171020] Cask. Woody cherries and smoked aroma has a musky dank woods bourbon barrel note with a hint of campfire. Hazy, dark brown amber body with a quick bubbly off-white head. Booozy, sweet whisky influence in the flavour but is mostly fruity and dark cherry and toasted almost-burnt boozy barrel. Medium-full body has a long cherry aftertaste. Great balance, very boozy. (8/3-/8/3/16) 3.8
(Cask Days 2017 @ Brickworks, Toronto, ON)
2017-10-20. Hazy brown body, small frothy head. Aroma is boozey, sweet bourbon and malt, touches of caramel. Flavour is similar, boozey, mild bourbon, sweet malt base. Smooth medium bodied palate, soft carbonation. Rich, more depth than suggested by my spartan notes. Enjoyable. 7/4/7-8/3/15-16 Cask Days 2017, Toronto.
Tap @ bbf17. Golden colour no head. Smells wood. Tastes wood. There's not much to it other than wood. But still nice. Full body, soft carbo.
On tap at the brewery. Pours a hazed amber with a thin white head. Banana on the nose, over bourbon (faint) with some yeast and wood. Big bourbon and brown sugar lurking on the nose. Prominent and unapologetic, bourbon covering everything. Malt, booze and old wood on the nose. Falls off quickly. Bit strong wood and bourbon on finish, malt and flabby fruits. Tough to drink, with a bit of old fruit. Quite the unpleasant challenge.
On draft at the source. Pours cloudy brownish red with a thick white head. Strong oak notes, caramel, penny candy,. Very tannic oak flavor, sawdust. Light body, stronger carbonation than the non barrel version. Over oaked.
Had the 2012 vintage. A fantastic bourbon version of the already amazing Fred. Pours a deep orange with a white head. Smells of bourbon and vanilla. Taste is very smooth, with lots of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, and a refined finish. Had in the bottle.
Bottle 2011 pours clear copper with no head. Looks like bourbon. Aroma is big bourbon, wood, maple, toffee. Sweet caramel malt base, loads of bourbon, some old hop notes. Medium-plus bodied, sticky, no carbonation. Like bourbon in beer form. Highly legitimate.
Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured hazy reddish copper color with a small fizzy white head that lasted with fair lacing. Moderate to heavy sweet fruit and bourbon aroma. Medium to full body with a smooth texture and soft carbonation. Moderate to heavy sweet flavor with a medium to heavy earthy sweet finish of moderate to long duration. This is a complex sweet beer.
12 oz bottle shared with Tmoney99 and the MadTree crew. Pours a hazy amber color with a few bubbles. The aroma and flavor have sweet malts, caramel, bourbon vanilla, dark fruit, syrupy, I think I like the base beer better, it does hide the abv pretty well but probably because it is so sweet, some wood, hint of chocolate, I still like it.
[1/30/16] Bottle sample at the Encomium bottle share, after RateBeer Best awards ceremony at Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa. Thanks everyone who shared bottles! Amber. Huge vanilla, bourbon, cookies, nuts. Sweet. Rounded, thick.
February 7, 2016 - bottle from the source back in 2013. Aroma was bourbon, fruity, caramel, malt and light spice. Taste was sweet, boozy and spicy. Palate was smooth, no carb and medium bodied.
For once I prefer the bourbon version to the regular. Citrus and lots of peel. Some oak. Pours hazy brown with ok head. Sweet and syrupy. Sweet finish with light tang. Bootie shared at tasting.
12 Oz bottle poured at Brouwers to celebrate absolutely nothing. Well, celebrate good beer and good times. Done with work for the year, and this is a grand way to start. 2011 vintage. Clear reddish brown in color with no head. This even looks like bourbon. Big booze, bourbon, cinnamon, and caramel aroma. Thick syrupy body. Hints of maple. Big caramel, cinnamon, and just a tiny bit of chocolate in the finish. A bit of oak. Very smooth. Delicious. I can’t compare to anything, since this is my first experience with this beer. However, I can tell that the years have done kindly to this. Very fun try, and an excellent beer.
Bourbon and malt smell. Taste is the same with a bit of mineral. Medium body, medium carbonation, and mild foam.
Bottle from Brouwers. A bit pricey at $35 but hey, I don’t get to the left coast much. Pours clear copper colored without much head. Aroma is sweet honey and bourbon, not a lot else. Flavor follows with honeycomb and bourbon, a bit on the sweet side. Syrupy mouthfeel, very light carbonation. Overall a nice beer and glad to try it, but should have gotten this when I didn’t already drink 32 ounces of barrel aged stouts and strong ales before it. Whoops.
Bottle at Hair of the Dog, portland. Sweet Candi sugar and caramel aroma with notes of bourbon and vanilla. Pours dark golden colored with no head at all. Starts with lots of sweet caramel and Candi sugar flavor. Finishes smooth with bourbon and light vanilla flavors. Pretty good, but the bourbon is not very pronounced.
12 ounce bottle vintage 2011. Drank in celebration of Fred’s full life. The aroma has lots of bourbon character present, with some retronasal booziness, too. Light sweet caramel and toffee hints with oak. Transparent, light amber body with no head. Completely flat. Starts with a very sweet, chewy, sticky caramel maltiness. Some sherry, and cardboard oxidation is also present in the middle. This is a bit syrupy with some trace bourbon flavors late. Pretty decadent. Light ethanol burn. No carbonation.
12oz bottle pours out a hazy brownish amber. Nose is nice vanilla bourbon barrel oak caramel sweetness. Taste is more of the sweetness caramel vanilla bourbon barrel oak brown sugar.
27/IV/15 - 12Fl. Oz. bottle @ my country ticks and pulled pork sandwiches tasting - BB: n/a (2015-545) Thanks to ElManana for sharing the bottle!
Clear orange beer, creamy beige head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: lots of vanilla, bourbon, caramel, sweet malts, almonds, marzipan. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty sweet, sugary, peach candy, syrupy, fruity. Aftertaste: sweet, alcohol, bit sugary, orange peel, almonds, vanilla, bourbon, more vanilla.
Shared bottle from Craft via PUB’R. Hazy brownish black pour with tan head. Nose was heavy bourbon, oak, molasses, vanilla. Tasted rich, complex, with oak, bourbon, vanilla, dark malt, and an incredibly complex finish. A bit hotter than the regular version, and simply the best.
Warm amber golden colour, white head. Aroma of bourbon, vanilla, caramel, malts, wood, raisins. Sweet flavour, caramel, bourbon, vanilla, wood, vin jaune. Thick and cloying. Sweet finish, cherry, caramel and wood. Nice. This beer is overly sweet and shouldn’t be my thing really. Yet it is, and then some. I find Hair of the Dog works for me, even their sweetest beers have this great balance. Quite wonderful. Tnx!
(from 33cL bottle @ Tim’s country ticks and pulled pork sandwiches tasting. Thanks for sharing, ElManana!)
Bottle at "Pulled-pork-tasting" at tderoeck's place. Thanks myself for bringing the bottle! Lots of vanilla, bourbon, very sweet, oaky. Still not my thing.
330 ml bottle at home - 2011 vintage. Pours dark copper with a red hue, as flat as a mutha. Deep bourbon nose but with a great malt and brown Sugar backbone, alcohol is quite intrusive after a while though. Medium body but with loads of alcohol. Taste is a lot like an aged vin jaune, a bit salty, dry finish as well. Interesting beer.
Bottle. Cloudy brown body. Thinnest of beige heads rapidly disappearing. Aroma of vanilla, bourbon, oak, caramel, overripe raisins, prunes, alcohol. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately to heavily sweet and lightly bitter. Full body, velvety texture, no carbonation (guessing because of loose capping). Taste of rich malts with notes of bourbon and alcohol that linger into the finish. Vanilla, caramel, toffee. It’s an enjoyable sipper. Thanks wnoble.
330ml bottle, v2011, from Nightfall. Thank you Alex! Hazy orange amber color with small beige head. Malty aroma, fruity, dark and citrus fruits, caramel, bourbon, vanilla, wood. Sweet and light bitter taste, caramel, fruity and alcoholic like aroma. Medium oily sticky body with flat carbonation.
Bottle to glass. Pours a medium to deep but brown color with an off white head. Aroma is boozy, syrupy, sweet, molasses. Flavor is much of the same, very sweet, dark fruits, sugar, syrup, booze. Overall very good.
Bottle from a trade, shared @ HOTD tasting. Murky brown colour, no foam. No carbonation. Syrupy. Very sweet beer. Aroma of raisins, vanilla, brown sugar and lots of bourbon. A bit too much.
pours dulled amber no head nose is loaded with bourbon, buttery bourbon smoke, caramel corn toffee booze, fl sweet caramel corn, nutty, long sweet toffee and buttery bourbon character
12oz bottle opened while decorating the tree, and of course as per tradition placed on top. Nice amber/mahogany pour with no head. A strong, somewhat buttery bourbon nose with oak, vanilla, toffee, some prune pits, sherry, raisins, candied sugars. Low carbonation and moderate+ body, boozy, fruity, becomes somewhat dry and sticky, sweet with a hint of bitterness.