Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Founder's Devil Dancer Triple IPA

'Founders most complex, most innovative, most feared and yet most revered ale produced. Massive in complexity the huge malt character balances the insane amount of alphas used to create this monster. More IBUs than any brewery has documented, more than you would believe and dry-hopped for twenty-six days straight with a combination of 10 hop varieties. Dangerously drinkable and deliciously evil. We dare you to dance with the Devil.

13% ABV 112 IBUs'

I have been checking liquor stores for this beer for almost a year to no avail, now I see why. This my friends is a seriously intense and completely unique beer experience.

I already had an inkling of what to expect having read a few thing online about this beer so I wasn't surprised when I took a sip and tasted that Founder's also triples the malts in this beer alongside the hops. The malts are extremely sweet and sticky which always give me a sensation that the beer is 'milky' even though that is not actually the taste. I suppose that is because it tastes thicker and smoother and that gives me the impression of cream. Don't get me wrong, the hops in this beer still punch you in the face, but the sweet malts are there to soothe you afterwards. You could sit down and analyze this beer all night if you wanted to as it is definitely the most complex beer I have personally ever had. But where is the fun in that?

If you are drinking this to start off your night be warned that not only will every other beer pale in comparison but that 13% abv is going to kick your ass. Luckily I was drinking this on what constitutes as my weekend because after two of these puppys I definitely had to move on to some lighter beers. I had to or I think my head was going to detach and float away. Your taste buds start to feel a bit taxed as well as I am sure you can imagine. Ten varieties of hops used to create this beer? This creates quite a patchwork of flavors. I swear I tasted pine in one sip and caramel in another. I firmly believe that there are either mad scientists or achemists at Founder's after drinking this brew.

Musical Pairing: Van Morrison- Astral Weeks (that's what I was listening to it and I think it is now intrinsically linked to this brew.)

4 comments:

Erik Huntoon said...

I have a couple bottles of last years batch in my fridge that I am planning to compare to the Darkhorse Brewing Double Crooked Tree IPA (13% also). A few months back I was privileged enough to try a 5oz serving from a handpull at a bar downtown Indy that was fantastic. Served at cellar temps and low carbonation and it was a very memorable experience.

Matt said...

I like high alcohol content beers more and more since I stopped drinking whiskey. I miss that kick I suppose. Any other's you would recommend?

Erik Huntoon said...

I just reviewed the Three Floyd's Blackheart on my blog. It's a 9% English style IPA that is oak aged. Amazing is the best word to describe it. Obviously Hopslam is required to be mentioned. There's a ton of high ABV Belgians. St. Bernardus ABT 12 is pretty good at 10.5%. Although I personally find the high ABV Belgians to usually not seem like they have much alcohol compared to the American DIPAs and such. So if you are looking for the kick, they may not provide it.

I am re-reading my previous post, and the 5oz serving I had was of Devil Dancer. The way I wrote that makes it sounds like I was talking about the Darkhorse beer.

Matt said...

My favorite part of this blog is the recommendations I get. Beer people certainly are the best people!