Hair of the Dog Adam

Hair of the Dog is a brewery from Oregon that likes to name its beers after people, which, although interesting, makes it difficult to determine what is what. All I know is that this is an Old Ale, and it should be good.

This beer pours dark brown with a slight purple tint with decent lacing and a small head that quickly fades into nothingness. Nothing really stands out in the aroma but all in all its very well balanced and includes some sweetness mixed with hops and roasted barley. The taste is very much of the same, starting with a bitter hoppy front and some malty roasted barley mixed it. It then transitions into dark fruits and a slight alcohol finish. This beer is velvetly smooth, a very well balanced ale.

Appearance - 4.1

Smell - 4.2

Taste - 4.1

Texture - 4.3

Overall - 4.18/5

Hair of the Dog Adam

Hair...of the Dog? What a peculiar name for a company. I hope it's reflected in their beer (in a good way). Here's the Adam, the top Traditional Ale on ratebeer.com and, reportedly, one very solid beer.

Pours a dark, dark brown. It has a strange purple tinge up to the light. It also has a gradient of light brown when held up to the light. It has minimal head with good lacing. Nose is of dark and light fruits. It has hints of coffee and chocolate. There's also a handful of dark hops and a balanced mix of barleys - a very balanced and inclusive smell. The taste starts a little bitter from the hops and the spice from the barley. The middle has a touch of chocolate and coffee. It finishes off with fruits and alcohol. The resultant texture is an extremely balanced mouth, well placed feel, and not too much of one, single thing.

Simply put, one of the weirdest, but best beers, I've ever had. It had a little bit of everything, but not in the way that it has no identity. It does everything very well as opposed to one thing extremely well. And that's alright by me. Impressive stuff - can't wait to try Fred.

App - 4.1
Smell - 4.4
Taste - 4.6
Text - 4.7
Overall - 4.45/5

Brew Tasting the Thirty-sixth

Start of the summer semesters - what better way to celebrate than a beer? Here's a gem from a very strange company called Hair of the Dog. This is considered a traditional ale which is up there with one of the most vague descriptions ever. Let's hope its good. List after the break.

1) Hair of the Dog Adam

Blue Moon Grand Cru

Blue Moon is surprisingly one of the higher rated, cheap beers out there. It's very high market and it has very solid reviews. Also, it's made by the Coors Brewing Co. which makes it #2 on it's non-retired listing on ratebeer.com. So, the enhanced version, the Grand Cru, should be better. And it is - #1. Let's see how it is.

Pours with a nice golden color. It's translucent with a nice solid head that falls quickly. The nose is of oranges and light hops and touches of citrus. There are also touches of coriander and other winter spices. The taste is of bitter hops and light barley. There is also a slight citrus touch. It's very reminiscent of a Blue Moon/Chimay White hybrid. Kind of strange, but kind of cool. The texture is quite smooth with a slight touch of carbonation. It's pretty velvety with a combination of heavy and smooth textures. There are nice transitions in the whole beer between all of the aspects.

Overall, this is a very solid beer. Far and away the most solid beer out of the Coors Brewing Company and easily trumps the standard Blue Moon. And the original Blue Moon is great. So, this is better - great job.

App - 3.9
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 3.8
Text - 4.1
Overall - 3.93/5

Tröegs Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale

Here's a nice brown ale out of Pennsylvania by the Tröegs Brewing Company. I had high hopes for this beer. I enjoy a nice brown ale from time to time. Let's see how it fared.

Pours a dark brown with a slight amber hue when held up to light. It has no head but it's strangely carbonated. The smell is very stouty with hearty dark barley and hops. The taste is pretty bitter and surprisingly hoppy for a dark brew. Kind of flat and not enough barley taste. The texture is very very strange. It's bubbly, to match the carbonation. But, it's pretty bitter and doesn't match the rest of the characteristics of the beer.

Overall, not a very special beer. I guess it would be a nice alternative to other cheap, dark ales. But, I don't find it to have any special characteristics that would keep me from buying a Samuel Adams or Dogfish Head variant. Ok, but could use some work.

Appearance - 3.6
Smell - 3.2
Taste - 2.9
Texture - 3
Overall - 3.18/5

Blue Point Blueberry Ale

I got this brew out of a trade, so I figured it be worth a shot. It's made by the lovely Blue Point Brewing Company out of Long Island, NY. They have a pretty broad selection and I figured this fruit beer would be a nice start.

Pours with a nice, white head. It's kinda cloudy and translucent with a golden hue to the body. The nose is of blueberries, hops and assorted other light fruits. The taste is distinctly of blueberries, but not nearly as much as the smell lets on. It's also hoppy, but not bitter. Also has an airy quality to it; probably because of the carbonation. The texture has a slight bite and moves from smooth to bubbly. But, the taste flow is kind of flat.

Overall, not a terrible beer. Also, not something REALLY special. But it is worth noting from this company. Also, how many companies out there make blueberry beers? Worth a shot if you like blueberries.

Appearance - 3.3
Smell - 3.9
Taste - 3.7
Texture - 2.9
Overall - 3.45/5