I think I’m done aggressively experimenting with HAIR OF THE DOG BREWING ’s beers. I bought three of them in one fell swoop because Brian Hunt at MOONLIGHT said they were kindred souls, but I think it’s fair to say now that I respectfully disagree. MOONLIGHT’s beers are so smooth, so interesting, so near-perfect, and H.O.D.’s, while significantly stronger, are wholly lacking in any sort of desirable flavor to separate them from the high-alcohol herd. I didn’t like their DOGGIE CLAWS; I thought ADAM was good enough; and I think ROSE, a Belgian-style tripel, is perfectly average, if that. Much darker than I expected, this is a deep amber/brown, and it certainly doesn’t lack for complexity. Not always a good thing. I noticed right off the bat an almost “spicy” character, and if you can believe it, it may have something to do with the fact that beets are listed as one of the ingredients/flavors. Beets! It’s also quite sweet, and at times I found myself enjoying it only to get a strange aftertaste that changed the story. It may indeed come from the Tripel family, but it’s really just not all that good. 5.5/10. I’m sorry. And after a great winning streak, this is the third beer in a row I’ve found wanting. I’m going to experiment with a few new ones this weekend and we’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we?Friday, June 08, 2007
HAIR OF THE DOG’S “ROSE” – PERFECTLY MEDIOCRE
I think I’m done aggressively experimenting with HAIR OF THE DOG BREWING ’s beers. I bought three of them in one fell swoop because Brian Hunt at MOONLIGHT said they were kindred souls, but I think it’s fair to say now that I respectfully disagree. MOONLIGHT’s beers are so smooth, so interesting, so near-perfect, and H.O.D.’s, while significantly stronger, are wholly lacking in any sort of desirable flavor to separate them from the high-alcohol herd. I didn’t like their DOGGIE CLAWS; I thought ADAM was good enough; and I think ROSE, a Belgian-style tripel, is perfectly average, if that. Much darker than I expected, this is a deep amber/brown, and it certainly doesn’t lack for complexity. Not always a good thing. I noticed right off the bat an almost “spicy” character, and if you can believe it, it may have something to do with the fact that beets are listed as one of the ingredients/flavors. Beets! It’s also quite sweet, and at times I found myself enjoying it only to get a strange aftertaste that changed the story. It may indeed come from the Tripel family, but it’s really just not all that good. 5.5/10. I’m sorry. And after a great winning streak, this is the third beer in a row I’ve found wanting. I’m going to experiment with a few new ones this weekend and we’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Very interesting response; the Rose I recall from my last trip to PDX seems to have been a considerably different batch. Looks like they pulled the interesting stuff (I primarily recall the pink peppercorns) and turned it into a beet trippel. I'll have to snag some of the more recent recipe.
Hope you don't give up on the HotD brews, though. Find some Fred from the Wood or a nice, old Adam as another commenter suggested. Such incredible beers ...
Have a Fred before you give up on them.
Alan
A Good Beer Blog
I think there's something wrong with your taste buds.
Post a Comment