Hair of the Dog Brewing Co. -- Fred

Hair of the Dog Brewing Co.'s, Fred is "made with aromatic and rye malts and includes 10 different hop varieties in an effort to incorporate the whole world into this beer."

 10.0% ABV and 65 IBU's

Review:

If the good folks intended this beer to include the entire world of tastes and aromas, they didn't miss the mark by much. I was able to identify notes of pineapple, honey, soap, rye, over-ripe apricots with peels, candy sugar, okolehao, cream cheese, Fen Chiew. There was very little head, and the hazy/murky orange held a light carbonation level. Flavors included orange, spices, bread, and a raspberry Entenmann's danish.  If Samischlaus, and Avery's Hog Heaven Barleywine had a child, it might taste like this. The hop bittering kicks in late but only serves as a palette cleanser and not a featured flavor. As it warms, maraschino cherry flavor comes out and a bit of kilned malt is apparent. The beer itself is little hot. You can tell that it has a lot of alcohol. The body is full to the point of nearing chewy. There is a bit of a tart finish. Each swallow leaves the mouth hot and sweet, but the hop's long slowly drying of the mouth works down the throat, and clears the way for the next sip. Your stomach continually warms as you finish the beer. Your mouth is left feeling like you sipped a very oaky red wine.

(Side Note: HOTD is a "big beer" brewery. 3 out of 4 of their beers are 10%+.)

Overall Impression: 

Definitely a sipper!
I am kind of stumped as to how I should grade this. The bottle claims this beer is a "Golden Special Ale." I don't know that I would call the color golden, and there is no recognized BJCP guideline that I can find for "Special Ale." So, what to do...?
Well, hell, I'll just shoot from the hip on this one.

I'm going to give it a B. I can't give it an A because I can't say I loved it (didn't really start enjoying it until half way through), but I can't give it a C because, while the beer lacks finesse and polish, it didn't offend either. I estimate that this beer was bottled late in 2009 and I think it will improve with age. At 10% ABV, you could lay this down for quite some time.

Grade:B

Barrel Man say,

"makes me sleepy."

(bottle purchased at Liquor Collection)