Hair of the Dog Fred

We are definitely on a run of barley wines tonight, and this is the last one up - from Hair of the Dog. Hair of the Dog holds a special place in my drinking heart seeing as they make one of my favorite beers, Hair of the Dog Adam (take a look at my review).

This beer pours orange/brown with a thin white head. An aroma of grapefruit and hops emanates from the glass, hopefully the taste is a little more distinct than the smell since there is not much going on.

This brew is different when compared to the other barley wines on one key aspect - hops. It is not nearly as hoppy as the other two or three I've had recently and is dominated by fruit instead of bitterness. If you aren't a fan of hops I would give this a try if you want to have any kind of barley wine.

Appearance - 3.7

Smell - 3.8

Taste - 4.2

Texture - 4.1

Overall - 3.95/5

Bells Third Coast Old Ale

Another brew from bells, I really wish this one was more readily available on the East coast, hopefully in time it will be. It pours brown with a thick off-white head and pretty decent lacing through the entire tasting. Aroma is of brandy, light fruits, and hops. Overall it smells very well balanced. The taste is a lot heavier on the hops than the aroma would give off but very good none the less.

Damn you Bells, distribute to me!

Appearance - 3.8
Smell - 3.8
Taste - 3.9
Texture - 3.9
Overall - 3.85/5

Great Divide Old Ruffian

This one pours light brown with a slight red tint and a decent sized cream colored head. Nice lacing once the head dissipates and a pretty nice all-around look. The aroma is of light fruits, citrus, and a slight amount of bitter hops. The taste is not as potent as the smell and starts off with a little bit of fruit followed by strong hops and bitter finish. Not a bad beer, and a pretty good representation of a barley wine. Give it a try if you can find it.

Appearance - 3.8

Smell - 3.7

Taste - 3.9

Texture - 3.9

Overall - 3.83/5

Ken Schmidt Maui Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter

Yeah, try saying the full name of this beer five times fast... though so. The story behind this beer is that Stone Brewing Co. had a competition in which home brewers would send in their creations and Stone would buy the recipe for the best one and mass produce it. Ken Schmidt won.

This porter pours brown/black with a thin off-white head that fades very quickly. The aroma is of nuts, chocolate, barley, and coffee. The taste is very unique and actually tastes much like the name of the beer - initial flavor of coconuts and macadamia nuts, and then it transitions into a coffee and barley finish. Overall the beer is kinda watery, the best way to describe it would be that it tastes like Guinness mixed with coffee, macadamia nuts, and coconuts. Strange, but good.

Appearance - 3.8

Smell - 3.9

Taste - 4.0

Texture - 3.9

Overall - 3.9/5

Green Flash Stout

We have found yet another great brewing company based in California (who would have guessed), but this one actually ships out to the East coast so we decided to try one of their better rated beers first. And its a stout, of course.

This brew pours black with a thin off-white head and pretty decent lacing. The aroma is of sweet roasted barley with hints of oatmeal, toffee, and bitter sweetness. The taste is pretty normal for a stout and is of dry chocolate with a bitter sweet oatmeal finish. Overall its a very good beer and a good example of what an oatmeal styled stout should be, but nothing amazing or new. Hopefully we'll be able to find another brew from Green Flash with a little more zing, maybe a Belgian Ale or ESB. Stay tuned.

Appearance - 4.0

Smell - 3.9

Taste - 3.9

Texture - 3.9

Overall - 3.93/5