'Fred' ale delivers variety of flavors
Mike Partel
Issue date: 10/16/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Everybody has had nights where a little bit of fun slips just out of hand. When you finally come about you are waking up with aches and pains that threaten the future of your blossoming social life-you feel like you've been hit by a train, or worse, tied into the tracks. An old saying claims that taking some of "the hair of the dog that bit you" will ease the suffering, and a derivative of this philosophy gives us the name of today's brewery. I bring you Hair of the Dog, and their Golden Special Ale, "Fred."
Hair of the Dog, of Portland, Ore., is an eccentric brewery devoted to the craft of brewing and seems to have quite the obsession with oak-aged beers of high alcoholic content. Begun in 1993 with its founder, Alan Sprints, their first beer owes a lot to Fred Eckhardt, a famed beer historian and home-brewing activist, whose discussions on ancient and mostly extinct beer styles inspired this particular recipe. The original style was called Adambier-a local of Dortmunder, Germany, it was considered a Strong Ale and loved all over town. Hair of the Dog's modern rendition was simply named "Adam," and Eckhardt was, not surprisingly, the first customer.
Partially in thanks, Fred is a tribute to the brewery's own passionate barfly. This strong golden ale (batch number 76, as per the bottle) is generally considered to be a barley-wine. High alcohol, a large malty backbone and a balancing amount of hops create an excellent dessert beer that is well accompanied by a nice cigar or fruit pastry. The high ABL allows for extended periods of aging, usually in oak casks, which provide a smooth or creamy vanilla character. The lighter malts of a golden strong retain less dark fruit flavors like fig or raisin but replace them with softer, biscuit-y tones.
Boasting both strong flavors and powerful aromas, the higher alcohol and reduced head formation are best suited in an elegant snifter glass. Strong beers tend to look best in attractive glassware and since they possess high ABV, the reduced overall volume and stem-supported, "non-pounding" shape makes not a bad suggestion, unless you happen to have a reserve bottle in stock for a morning nip of, "the hair of the dog."
Hair of the Dog, of Portland, Ore., is an eccentric brewery devoted to the craft of brewing and seems to have quite the obsession with oak-aged beers of high alcoholic content. Begun in 1993 with its founder, Alan Sprints, their first beer owes a lot to Fred Eckhardt, a famed beer historian and home-brewing activist, whose discussions on ancient and mostly extinct beer styles inspired this particular recipe. The original style was called Adambier-a local of Dortmunder, Germany, it was considered a Strong Ale and loved all over town. Hair of the Dog's modern rendition was simply named "Adam," and Eckhardt was, not surprisingly, the first customer.
Partially in thanks, Fred is a tribute to the brewery's own passionate barfly. This strong golden ale (batch number 76, as per the bottle) is generally considered to be a barley-wine. High alcohol, a large malty backbone and a balancing amount of hops create an excellent dessert beer that is well accompanied by a nice cigar or fruit pastry. The high ABL allows for extended periods of aging, usually in oak casks, which provide a smooth or creamy vanilla character. The lighter malts of a golden strong retain less dark fruit flavors like fig or raisin but replace them with softer, biscuit-y tones.
Boasting both strong flavors and powerful aromas, the higher alcohol and reduced head formation are best suited in an elegant snifter glass. Strong beers tend to look best in attractive glassware and since they possess high ABV, the reduced overall volume and stem-supported, "non-pounding" shape makes not a bad suggestion, unless you happen to have a reserve bottle in stock for a morning nip of, "the hair of the dog."
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