The Perfect Cellaring Beer

If ever there was beer to cellar, it is Hair of the Dog beer.

Their Adam beer I have always adored, but Fred, a golden special ale, has never quite done it for me. Too much malty sweetness. Too Strong. Off putting hop bitterness. As a beer, it has never totally come together and been a memorable, complete, and integrated experience. But my opinion now changes.

A couple of months ago I had a Fred from 2003 or 2004. Still, much of the same cloying sweetness. My opinion stayed the same.

Then, last Sunday at a place called the Beechwood BBQ, the proprietor, Gabe, poured me a glass of Hair of the Dog Fred from 2000. Wow! What a succinct experience. Strawberry. Apricot. Dried plum. Spanish sherry nuttiness. A perfect tango of fruity, aged malt sweetness and firm bitterness. Warming, but not alcoholic. Truely, a genuine expression of what an aged beer can be.

I have now tasted many vintages of Hair of the Dog ales and am convinced that their beers grow in depth as time passes. Oxidation rounds out the sharpness, bottle conditioning dries out the intense residual sugar, and the experience just gets more enjoyable. The motley vividness that is expressed young, gives way to a unified maturity when old.

What a great way for me to get to welcome Hair of the Dog beers and their availability in Southern California. Cheers to all the great beers we get to enjoy these days.