Hair of the Dog Adam

Brewed By: Hair of the Dog Brewing Company in Portland, Oregon

Purchased: 12oz bottle generously gifted to me in Chicago, IL; 2014 (Batch #91)

Style/ABV: Dortmunder Adambier / Old Ale, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: 50

I don't know what it is, but this Spring/Summer I have been on a heavy beer streak and I ain't even mad. About Hair of the Dog Brewing Company:

Hair of the Dog Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Portland, Oregon. The brewery was founded in November of 1993 by Alan Sprints. Sprints, like many brewery founders, began as a home brewer through the Oregon Brew Crew. In 1991, after an inspirational trip to Belgium, Springs turned the hobby into a profession. The brewery is family owned and operated, and was one of the first breweries in America to specialize in high-alcohol and barrel-aged beers. 

Today's beer, "Adam," was generously gifted to me by an Adam. Small world. This bottle conditioned, "hearty old world ale," is described: "Adam is made with Northwest hops, Organic Pilsner malt and a variety of specialty grains. The flavors in this beer have been compared to chocolate, smoke, leather and figs. Brewed in loving memory of Adam Kerchival 11-30-69 | 01-26-05 Brewer and friend." 

If you check out Hair of the Dog's website, Adam is categorized as a recreation of historic beerstyle. This historic beer was originally brewed in Dortmunder, Germany, and is described as a dessert beer. The not-mentioned beer style is an "Adambier" or Dortmunder Altbier[?]. Ron Pattinson has a write-up on his blog about the style, noting that the traditional Dortmunder Adambier was a "strong, sourish, top-fermenting beer...9.4% ABV." The Adambier was heavily hopped, unlike other sour beers like Gose and Berliner Weisse, and acquired its sourness through a long secondary fermentation. HomeBrewTalk has a wiki on the style: they note that Adambeir was a strong, dark, sour beer, aged in wood for long periods. Unlike sour Belgian beers, the Adambier was very hoppy. Having noted all that...

Hair of the Dog Adam

Pouring this one out must have been a relief for the bottle..this one gushed out carbonation. Bottle conditioned beers do strange things. Aside from the mountain of cola-brown head that this beer produces, I'm getting a nice cola-brown body. It looks very much the part of an Old Ale...kind of raw and dark....there's some lingering head sticking around, and lots of lacing. It's not exactly a looker, but most beers in this genre aren't.

The aroma here is kind of like heaven in a glass. Wow. There's a rustic, leathery element, lots of dark fruits (cherries, figs, prunes), dark caramel, strawberries, wood, chocolate, mild soy sauce, and tons of pleasant sweetness. The aroma here is rich and pleasant...just fantastic. 

Mmm...this is blissful, if not a little young even. I'm getting a lot of nice hoppy character on the back, but up front this rides that sweet malt train with lightly smokey leather, dark fruits, prunes, figs, dates, sweet caramel, and big sugars. I'm getting woody aspects, mild soy, light licorice, and impressive burnt sugars, wood, and hops on the finish. It kind of reminds me of a Scotch Ale meets Belgian Dubbel meets Old Ale. 

This is full-bodied stuff, but the booze is surprisingly well integrated into the beer, even at this point in time. I'm not getting much of the 10%. Palate depth here is good, and complexity is not far behind. All things considered, I think this is probably Above-Average right now, but this is hoppy and malty in all the right ways. I bet this holds up nicely down the stretch. Up front: dark fruits, leather, molasses, hints of smoke, chocolate, and leather; the mids roll into more dark fruits, you get some burgeoning hops, licorice; the back end layers on the hops and finishes with nice, lingering malts. Complex, big, and likely going to age well (although I have some concerns with the carbonation issues).

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a huge, complex, Old Ale type beer...good stuff all around, and would pair well with a cigar, some creme brulee, or in a snifter on its own. I'd love to be in Hair of the Dog's distribution net, because this seems like a fun beer to pick up regularly and lay down. I feel like this is a strong candidate for the cellar...such is life out here in the Midwest. 

Random Thought: Is it Sunday night already? Fuuuuccckkk.