Thursday, November 16, 2006
Hair of the Dog "Doggie Claws" 2006
Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws 12 oz
As usual, another fine vintage of Doggie Claws. This year’s clocks in at 10.5%. The hop character is very big, with Simcoe hops the flavor is very herbal with citrus notes. Caramel in the malt with a big showing from the wildflower honey he added. Right now (11-15-06) the hops are very bright and the honey is sweet. It tastes great now and has BIG cellaring potential.
Everyone must realize that this is a bottle condition beer that has just been released. That means the carbonation (as of 11/06) is still a bit low but will increase quickly over time. This year’s Doggie Claws (like last years) is MASSIVELY dry hopped prior to bottling. Do not be surprised if there are hop lupulins (yellow resin sacks) at the bottom. Also, being bottle conditioned the bottle does have yeast at the bottom. All this means is that you do need to let it settle out and pour carefully so as to leave all of that stuff in the bottle. As it ages I would assume that the hops will with mellow and the honey will dry out a bit like it did last year.
As usual, another fine vintage of Doggie Claws. This year’s clocks in at 10.5%. The hop character is very big, with Simcoe hops the flavor is very herbal with citrus notes. Caramel in the malt with a big showing from the wildflower honey he added. Right now (11-15-06) the hops are very bright and the honey is sweet. It tastes great now and has BIG cellaring potential.
Everyone must realize that this is a bottle condition beer that has just been released. That means the carbonation (as of 11/06) is still a bit low but will increase quickly over time. This year’s Doggie Claws (like last years) is MASSIVELY dry hopped prior to bottling. Do not be surprised if there are hop lupulins (yellow resin sacks) at the bottom. Also, being bottle conditioned the bottle does have yeast at the bottom. All this means is that you do need to let it settle out and pour carefully so as to leave all of that stuff in the bottle. As it ages I would assume that the hops will with mellow and the honey will dry out a bit like it did last year.
