365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
The 9th anniversary of TJ's was a raucous celebration with outstanding beer and good friends. The only casualty of the day was the half of my barbecue chicken wrap that got left behind. I drank a ton of beer for the blog and can't wait to tell you more about it. After six hours of an amazing variety of beer, one would have thought that this morning would have called for a little hair of the dog to get going, but alas it did not. I should probably be worried about that...
Instead I'll tell you about another Hair of the Dog -- the brewery that partnered with de Proef to collaborate on Flanders Fred. This is a beer that I've been stalking for awhile now and was delighted to find it last night at TJ'S.
See what I did there? Hair of the dog. Hair of the Dog. Homonyms!
Gary's second career? Beer model.
Anyway this is an excellent beer and well worth the wait. It poured a deep apricot color and smells of overripe fruit, malt and funk. The flavor reminded me of tea and figs. It was sweet and sour with an almost IPA-like bitterness. Truly amazing. And it looks like it's still on at TJ's. If I weren't still lounging in my pajamas, I'd be tempted to go back for more!
In case you wanted to know more about the collaboration, here is some information: Legendary brewer Alan Sprints of Hair of the Dog joins Dirk Naudts at De Proef to create this unique bottle conditioned beer. Flanders Fred is a blend of Flanders-sourced lambic with a collaboratively-brewed version of the famous Hair of the Dog Fred. Now you know.
Beer #17 Ruth/Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, Portland OR
Getting to do some writing late in the evening, so I'll keep this brief. For both of you reading this blog, I'm sure you're all terribly disappointed.
I'm a firm believer in the hair of the dog theory of managing hangovers (although thankfully not in need of it lately), so let's ride with a beer from a brewery that must think likewise. Hair of the Dog is a relatively small brewery in Portland, and to be honest I wasn't familiar with their work before seeing a bottle on the shelf at Wegman's. The beer is an American Pale Ale with a very light color, but brings a lot of flavor along. Hoppy, but subdued. Could see myself putting a few of these back at a tailgate, when you're trying to drink by volume, yet still get some good taste along the way. After drinking some really unique Belgians (and Canada's beer of the Damned), this is definitely a less complex offering.
Thing to Think About Today:
This beer has me thinking about Portland today. We're planning a West Coast trip next spring/summer which I'm already looking forward to. Portland is a great city with top notch food and beer..... and incredible problem solving skills!
As an example of their creative thinking in action, let's see what happens when a giant whale washes up on the beachfront. We send you to KATU Channel 2's coverage live (40 years ago) from the scene!
