Hair Of The Dog Brewing Co. Adam Batch #70
Hair Of The Dog is a brewing company that I find endlessly inspiring and thought provoking. I think this is because as a homebrewer who experiences flights of fancy in which I envision myself opening a brewery, Hair Of The Dog (HOTD) is the exact kind of brewery I would want to open. From their inception HOTD has aimed at brewing beers that they themselves find exciting and challenging, resulting in their portfolio of big, bottle-conditioned beers that not only challenge people’s palates, but their perceptions of beer itself.
It all started shortly after HOTD was founded in 1993. Founder and brewer Alan Sprints had befriended beer historian Fred Eckhardt, and after attending a talk Eckhardt had given on extinct beer styles he was inspired to brew Adam. Adambier, the style on which Adam was based, had originated in Dortmund, Germany and was a very high-gravity, malt dominated strong ale. HOTD’s first sale of beer was a bottle of Adam sold to Eckhardt himself.
Adam became the first in a series of beers brewed by HOTD that captured the best of what high-gravity beers can be. They later came out with Fred (named for Eckhardt), a strong ale that uses rye malt, 10 different hop varieties, and comes in at 10%; Doggie Claws, a west-coast style barley wine, an annual release that arrives at 70 IBUs and 11.5%; Blue Dot IPA, an IPA that rolls in at 7% and carries a massively citrusy hop presence; and Rose, a Belgian-style tripel that uses honey malts and Belgian candi sugar and is a relatively mild 8%. Along with this they brew Ruth, an American-style pale ale that is more of a regular sipper at 5.6%.
For my own part, I’ve found brewing to be most inspiring when I’m creating my own recipes based on styles of beers that I enjoy the most (such as west-coast IPAs and lambic-style beers) and that I’m drawn to creating bigger beers, with most of those that I’ve brewed coming in at 6% and above. So I’ve experienced a natural affinity with HOTD and their approach to deciding what beers they’re going to brew. The only downside to enjoying their beers so much is that they are a very small brewery and don’t distribute much at all past Oregon and Washington. So since I only discovered them at the last moment when we were in Portland last Spring, all I’ve been able to do since then is yearn for the opportunity to try more of their beers.
Fortunately, we brought back two bottles from Portland, one Fred and one Adam. Fred we tried last Summer, and I have only a recollection of it being very good. But the bottle of Adam had escaped and fallen into the abyss of the beer collection in the basement. And so it was with some excitement that I discovered it when rummaging in the basement the other day. I quickly made plans to open it up and do a tasting. There was such a high-level of anticipation surrounding opening this beer, and I knew that it would be ages at best before I ever had a chance to try any of their beers again, that it took me a few moments to actually dive in and open the bottle. But after pouring it and taking the first sniff and sip, it was clear I’d made the right decision.
Adam pours a deep, opaque brown that lightens slightly to reddish-brown at the edges. The head is massive and goes away only very slowly. The nose has notes of maple syrup, brown sugar, roasted malt, dark Belgian candi sugar, burnt toast, and aged serrano ham, underscored by a persistent smokiness. The first flavors that strike the palate are of smoked sausage and Blackstrap molasses. After a few moments the molasses takes center stage as a foundation for flavors of sweet malts and raisins, charred wood, and burnt matches. The texture is thick and velvety, almost chewy. The long finish begins with acrid smoky flavors that give way to more of the Blackstrap molasses and a malty sweetness.
Adam from Hair Of The Dog is a very complex, very challenging, and wholly unique beer. I can easily say that I’ve never tasted a beer that delivered such a wide array of flavors. I enjoyed the beer a great deal, but think that it would have been at its best if served along with some food. I think that braised short ribs in particular would be a fabulous partner for this beer. On the whole, this beer lived up to the anticipation surrounding it. As a brewer I continue to find HOTD to be amazingly inspiring, and despite their beers not being distributed anywhere near Massachusetts, and my not knowing when, or if, I’ll be in Portland again, I’m already counting the days for when I’ll be able to try the rest of their offerings, and pick up a few bottles of each for future tastings.
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Just a short drive to American beer distributors in Brooklyn. FYI.
American Beer Distributors in Brooklyn is a short drive away. And well worth it. One of the more enjoyable beers Ive had in a long time.