Pooch hooch

I don't know why Hopfully elected to make these two beers a matching set. The recipes don't seem related to each other. Was it just to save money on the artwork?

The first is called Hair of the Dog Day-Time Ale and it's 4% ABV and hopped with Strata, Citra and Ella. In the glass it's a very pale murky yellow, looking sickly, almost greenish. The aroma is more cheerful, suggesting lemon icepops and good vanilla ice cream, though with a slightly pithier edge too. There's a pleasant smoothness to the mouthfeel, which is especially impressive given the modest strength. Best of all, it's clean, absent of all grittiness, heat or inappropriate allium. Instead you get the same simple citric sweetness as was demonstrated in the aroma: nothing fancy, but very tasty. It's nicely refreshing too, that smoothness making for very easy drinking, and it has enough fizz to clean the palate. The bitterness does grow a little as it goes along, but not to any serious degree, and certainly not problematic. It meets the spec of a day-drinking beer nicely.

Citra reappears in Hair of the Dog Night-Time Ale where it's joined by Simcoe and Chinook. That's a very west-coast hop combination, and that is indeed the style the brewery claims for it. It's 7% ABV and almost totally clear and a brilliant golden colour, so full marks for the visuals. Grapefruit and lime goes the aroma, as you might expect, and it's not shy about it. That doesn't quite come through to the flavour, unfortunately, where there's a surprise savoury quality, dry and crunchy, with notes of caraway and sesame seed. I searched in vain for any citrus taste at all. The strength gives it a significant density, although it doesn't get hot or difficult. Instead, it's a rather plain affair, the aroma making a promise that the flavour, for whatever reason, fails to deliver on. Shame.

It would be odd not to buy them as a pair, but if only picking one, I would go for the Day-Time. East coast wins, for a change.