USA, OR: Hair of the Dog to stop brewing after almost 30 years in the business

After almost 30 years brewing beer in Portland, Hair of the Dog will sell his last bottle of Doggie Claws this year. Founder Alan Sprints announced Hair of the Dog’s impending closure on Facebook on February 14, as he prepares to retire, the Eater Portland reported.

“I do have a few more beers to release and lots of beer to sell, so I’ll keep the tasting room open until sometime this summer,” Sprints says in a video announcement. “Beer has been very very good to me, I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend over half my life doing something I love so much.”

In the announcement video, Sprints did not name a specific closing date. Sprints emphasizes that he does not plan to sell the brewery, though he’s open to collaborating with other brewers in the future. The Oregonian first reported on the impending closure.

Sprints opened Hair of the Dog in 1993, a production brewery with no outward facing tasting room, in the Brooklyn neighborhood. Over time, the brewery developed a reputation for high-ABV, bottle conditioned beers — it was ahead of the curve when it came to the barrel-aged brewing renaissance, as well as the IPA heyday. In 2010, Hair of the Dog moved into a much larger brewery and taproom on SE Yamhill, with a full food menu and an even larger barrel-aging program. In the last decade, the brewery has accumulated a concrete fermenter, more than 150 oak barrels for its roster of ales, and a seriously loyal set of regulars. The brewery is known for its Fred, an American strong ale, as well as the Blue Dot double IPA and Adam old ale; the brewery sources 99 percent of its ingredients from within a 350-mile radius, using malt from Vancouver and hops from farms in the Pacific Northwest. The price tag on some of its vintage barleywines inched into the thousands.

“I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, all those people who were so generous with their time and helped me along my way,” Sprints says in the Monday video. “Also, thanks to the beer lovers, who believed in what I was doing enough to actually buy my beer and come visit me at the brewery. ... Please plan on coming down in the next few months and help us celebrate the diverse world of beer that exists today.”

16 February, 2022