Hair of the Dog

Geographically speaking, Hair of the Dog Brewing Company is my most accessible neighborhood brewery. Unfortunately, they don’t operate a brewpub from which I could conveniently stumble home. Instead I must journey to the local bottlemonger, pants loaded with nickels, and decide which Hair of the Dog brew I will drink at home. Alone. In the dark.

Hair of the Dog is a confusing little brewery. Most of their beers carry common names such as Adam or Ruth. I like that. It reinforces the “beer as your friend” mentality that dictates so much of my life. But they are somewhat difficult to find. And a bit on the expensive side. Expensive enough, in fact, that I will only be tasting one bottle for this review. This is a bit of a departure from my standard operating procedure. I generally drink at least two bottles of any given beer before I offer my relatively worthless opinion. I do this for two reasons. First, my dedication to the scientific method requires that I test more than one bottle in case one of them is somehow compromised. Second, two beers make me happier than one. Plus it helps me overcome the ubiquitous fear that someone who actually knows something about beer will call me out and embarrass me in front of my reader(s). Speaking of beer…

Blue Dot Double IPA – Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Portland, Oregon

This is a double IPA with the addition of rye malt. I pop off the cap, pour half of the 22 ounces into a reasonably clean glass and it looks like a big pint of honey. I usually prefer a darker IPA, so I was a bit disappointed when I first poured this one. Most golden, hazy IPAs come across as a bit too fruity for me. The head dissipates quickly, but, in the head’s defense, it was probably scared off by the hops. The first sip has a smooth, almost creamy mouth feel. The finish offers a full, round hop character that is noticeably more mellow than most of your extra sweet, extra malty, extra hoppy double IPAs. All in all, a pretty decent bottle. I’m not sure I would really consider this a double IPA, as it seems to be a bit reserved for that classification. But a pleasant IPA nonetheless.

Initial music pairing – Ravi Shankar – The Sounds of India

I was initially put off by Ravi’s explanations of traditional raga music on this album. As an unabashedly proud last chair trombone player in high school, his comments on timing and chord structure are of little use to me. I just want a little Indian music before my curry gets cold. But the more I listened to this album the more I was able to ignore the commentary and enjoy the magical, exotic voice of the sitar. However, as much as I wanted Indian music to perfectly complement this India Pale Ale, it was not to be.

Revised music pairing – Band of Horses – Cease to Begin

If there is one thing upon which everyone in the world would agree, it is that beards are cool. Band of Horses has three members. Band of Horses also has three beards. Three members + three beards = 100% cool. Not to mention the fact that this album sports a song named after one of the finest German basketball players ever to pull hamstring. Listen to the fifth track – The General Specific – and just wait for your head to start bobbing. But only between sips. Prost.