Hair of the Dog Adam

Alan Sprints is the brewmaster and owner of Hair of the Dog, a small brewery that he started in 1993 after a brief stint as a chef and brewer at Widmer Bros. The brewery itself is impenetrably and unattractively set in the maze of warehouses in the southeast Portland rail yards. Rumor has it that he'll soon be moving to a new space in the warehouse district of Portland's Central Eastside. We hope that the new space will be more accessible, as the current location belies the quality of his beers, many of which are world class.

A dark beer simply named "Adam" is one of the most ubiquitous and enjoyable of the Hair of the Dog brews. It is a modern interpretation of a long-extinct German beer style, supposedly loved by King Friederich Wilhelm. While "Adambier" shares much in common with modern altbier, the Hair of the Dog version is unique; no other brewery attempts a commercial example, as far as we know. Sprints says that it can age for up to twenty years and will develop increasingly complex flavors.

When fresh, Adam has a distinctive sweet smokiness in the aroma and flavor. It is mouth-coating with flavors of prune, smoked meat, band-aid, leather, molasses, and soy sauce. Those descriptors may not all sound individually appealing, but in Adam, they come together in a well balanced and ever changing way. There's a moderate level of bitterness that keeps the littany of malt flavors in check and imparts an unexpected level of drinkability to a beer that is so strong and lowly carbonated.

Sprints occasionally releases special variations of Adam, including sherry and cherry-aged versions. These ones are the great treasures of beer geeks and are worth seeking as well; fortunately, traditional Adam is much easier to find. It sold in 12 oz. bottles in over ten states; in the Northwest, in can be found in specialty bottle shops as well as most major grocery stores.