Addendum to the DIPA Project - Review #21 - Sierra Nevada Hoptimum

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

June 2, 2012

For those of you who have been reading the blog since the beginning, you know that we began here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights with The DIPA Project – an effort to drink and review each of the 20 most reviewed Double IPAs on Beer Advocate.  That project was finally completed last fall when my beer trading buddy, Ren, was able to send me a bottle of AleSmith’s YuleSmith (Summer) Ale. 

The YuleSmith turned out to be one of my absolute favorite beers on The List, but it occupied the 20^th spot (in terms of how many times it was reviewed on BA) on the list and on top of that it is a seasonal beer from a brewery that does not have very extensive distribution.  It was destined to fall out of the Top 20 at some point and two months ago it was finally overtaken by two different beers; Green Flash Imperial IPA and Sierra Nevada Hoptimum.  The Hoptimum, however, now holds the 20^th position 19^th position (Also surpassing Moylan’s Hopsickle) and given that nearly 300 people have reviewed this 2-year old release from Sierra within the last three months alone, I would imagine that it will continue to rise in the rankings before this year’s batch is all dried up.

Although the project is technically complete, now that the Top 20 have changed I feel as though it is isn’t.  So, with that in mind, I tracked down a 4-pack with the intent of updating The Project with Beer #21.  The first time I tried this beer was on tap at The West End Tavern here in Boulder.  I thought it was alright, but not worth all the hype.  This review, however, will be done from the bottle, at home, with much better conditions for tasting and without all the distractions of a bar.  So we’ll see how this second chance goes. 

ABV: 10.4%

IBUs: 100

Brewery Location: Chico, California

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.06

My Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.73
Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 889/19^th

Brewery Description: Sierra Nevada Hoptimum Double IPA

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (4.5 out of 5) Brilliantly clean, light orange in color, the Hoptimum has a nice, big, thick, foamy and stark-white head.  Good retention as the head has only receded about halfway in the past few minutes.  A big, thick, sticky ring of lacing is also clinging to the edge of the glass where the head has fallen from.  As the beer level recedes, that thick lacing continues.  It is covering nearly 100% of the back side of the glass – gorgeous. 

SMELL:  (2.5 out of 5) Dank is not a word I use very often to describe the smell of a beer, but in this case I do believe it is the only appropriate description.  The resinous pine has a very funky and earthy aroma to it and while I can see how many beer drinkers would enjoy this, it isn’t for me.

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) Although the aroma seems to be too earthy and a little overboard, the funky flavors are nicely muted by a big dose of malt and a bright, slightly bitter fruit profile.  The grapefruit is really sharp in this beer and very pleasant.  That weed-like resin from the aroma is still very strong, but it works really well with the rest of these flavors.  I have to say I am happy I gave it a second chance.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) The Hoptimum has an interesting mouthfeel.  It is sweet and a little sticky, but it’s also very crisp and refreshing.  It would be a little more crisp and refreshing if there were a decent amount of carbonation and sparkle, and the lack of that is a drawback, but it is still has a pretty good feel.

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) I think I finally understand what people are getting so excited about with this beer and I really do enjoy it.  That said, the aroma is really a turn off for me and (this is the first time I have ever said this about a beer’s aroma) if it were toned down a bit I think I would enjoy the overall experience more.  As a side note, at $9.99 for the 4-pack, this is one of the most affordable, high-quality DIPAs available at the moment.

Avery Review #5 - Avery DuganA

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Dec. 2, 2011

After some busy time at work and a week-long trip back to Chicago for Thanksgiving, it had been a couple of weeks since my last appearance at the Avery Tap Room here in Boulder.  Since it was about time to get a post or two up here on 20 Beers in 20 Nights, I headed over to the Tap Room earlier this week to review a couple more beers for the Avery Project.

Since three of the first four Avery reviews here have focused on some very difficult to find offerings from the brewery (Rumpkin, Repoterrior, Thirteen) the next few reviews will cover some beers that will be readily available to most of the audience here, at least by way of trade (which I am completely willing to do with any of you out there without access). 

So for Review #5 we’ll be focusing on one of Avery’s instant classics – the DuganA.  While only a couple of years old, the DuganA has quickly become a fall and winter staple of the brewery’s line up.  It is a Double IPA released every September just as the Maharaja is drying up for the year.  With a second batch released in January, the DuganA fills the DIPA void when Maharaja is not available during the winter months (although, rumor has it that this year the Maha will be released in a week or two).

Here’s some specifics on the DuganA:

Location: Avery Tap Room

Cost: $3 – 10 oz. pour

ABV: 8.5%

IBUs: 93

Brewery Location: Boulder, Colorado

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.12 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: B-/3.43 - Worthy

Current Number of Reviews on Beer Advocate: 473 (46^th most popular DIPA on Beer Advocate)

Brewery Description: Avery DuganA

Tapped: September 2011

This is one of the few beers I have reviewed in which I have disagreed with the official brewery’s description.  It is particularly surprising that I disagreed with Avery’s description, but I just did not (and really have never gotten) “dank, piney and resinous” from the DuganA.  Bitter?  Yes.  Piney?  Maybe.  Dank and resinous?  No.  Anyhow, on to the review: 

DuganA and friends at the Avery Tap Room

APPEARANCE:  (4 out of 5) The DuganA is a good-looking beer, crystal clear and light, pale orange.  Hundreds of bubbles stream to the top of the glass futilely trying to add to the quickly dissipating, quarter-inch, off-white head.  The head (which would have been a bit thicker in a larger glass) dissipated quickly leaving a thin layer of foam, which remained throughout most of the glass.  That foam was enough to leave some decent lacing throughout the glass.

SMELL:  (3 out of 5) The DuganA is a bit lacking in the aroma department, for a Double IPA it is simply too subtle for my taste (or smell).  What is there smells pretty good – crisp notes of grapefruit along with a touch of floral smell.

TASTE:  (3.5 out of 5) That subtle grapefruit from the nose is no longer subtle once it reaches the palate.  Again, the bitter citrus of the grapefruit is crisp and clean.  Aside from the big, citrusy flavor though, the DuganA seems a little thin for a DIPA.  There is a little bit of a floral flavor lurking behind the grapefruit and some bready notes are noticeable, but neither does enough to fully round out the flavor. 

MOUTHFEEL:  (3.5 out of 5) The DuganA is a palate cleansing beer to be sure.  It is crisp and dry for most of the sip, but it does leave a touch of a funky acidic aftertaste on the tail end.

OVERALL:  (3.5 out of 5) From its ABV to its taste and aroma, the DuganA seems to be hovering somewhere in between a regular IPA and a Double IPA.  It is certainly more on the crisp side than most big, full-flavored DIPAs like its big brother, Maharaja.  On the other hand, for someone just looking for a straight forward, bitter IPA, this would be a good option, although it may be more than expected. 

DRAWBACKS: To be fair, it is tough not to compare this beer to Maharaja and comparing any other beer to Maharaja is generally unfair.  The DuganA, however, is a little thin for a DIPA.  I will still regularly drink this beer when I can and I will enjoy it, but I’m not sure that it is worth paying the price of a bomber for.

A Video Review of Founders Double Trouble

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Aug. 30, 2011

While browsing around and reading about beer I came across a decent video review of Founders Double Trouble.  I just found it interesting to compare my notes to those of the guy in the video below.  We had some very similar thoughts on it with the exception of the nose.  He smelled a lot of pine, whereas I got almost all citrus - which is exactly what I usually get from this fabulous beer.  Interestingly, though, we both agreed on and noted the lack of malt notes in the nose.

Anyhow, watching this video makes me want a Double Trouble right now!  Too bad we have to wait until the winter rolls around again.  Hope you all find this as interesting as I do:





P.S. Thanks to hophedbrewhouse for the video review.

The DIPA Project Awards and Final Rankings (Part 1)

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Aug. 22, 2011

As some of you who follow the blog already know I have just completed Project #1 - The DIPA Project.  The goal of the DIPA Project was to taste and review the Top 20 Most Reviewed American Double/Imperial IPAs on Beer Advocate - in other words, the 20 most popular Double IPAs in the country.

As you might imagine, drinking 20 world-class beers was a lot of fun, but what surprised me most was how much I enjoyed the thrill of the hunt.  It was a blast tracking down some of the harder to find beers and then to finally cross them off the list was very satisfying.  With a sharp focus on a particular style of beer, I also had the opportunity to learn a ton about this popular beer style.  Some of that I'll discuss here in this post, but what I'm sure you'll all find more interesting is how they all stack up.

Let's start with how the list looks on Beer Advocate today.  The rankings here have nothing to do with quality, just quantity - more specifically, the number of times they have been reviewed on Beer Advocate's website.  As you'll notice, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA holds the top spot with over 3,000 reviews.

Now, if we rank these same beers according to their quality, measured by their BA average review scores (1 is the lowest possible, 5 is the highest possible), here's what we comes up with:

1. Russian River Pliny the Elder - 4.59/A+
2. Bell's Hopslam - 4.43/A
3. Three Floyd's Dreadnaught - 4.39/A
4. Stone Ruination IPA - 4.29/A
5. AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) - 4.29/A
6. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA - 4.25/A-
7. Great Divide Hercules Double IPA - 4.2/A-
8. Avery Maharaja - 4.18/A-
9. Lagunitas Hop Stoopid - 4.18/A-
10. Founders Double Trouble - 4.17/A-
11. Dogfish Head Burton Baton - 4.16/A-
12. Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale - 4.16/A-
13. Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe IPA - 4.13/A-
14. Southern Tier Unearthly (Imperial IPA) - 4.13/A-
15. Oskar Blues G'Knight/Gordon Ale - 4.12/A-
16. Victory Hop Wallop - 4.06/A-
17. Founders Devil Dancer - 4.01/A-
18. Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale - 4/B+
19. Lagunitas Maximus - 3.91/B+
20. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA - 3.86/B+

The average Beer Advocate score for these 20 beers is 4.1735, or an A-, which also happens to be the grade most often given by the BA community to beers on this list - 12 times.  Interestingly, the three beers that were highest in Alcohol Content (Alcohol By Volume - ABV) occupied three of the bottom four spots on the list. Dogfish 120 ranked highest in ABV at 18%, but lowest in overall score.  Founders Devil Dancer (12%) and Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale (11.5%) were the next highest in ABV and ended up at #17 and #18 respectively.  The only beer above 10% to even crack the Top 10 in quality was Avery's Maharaja clocking in a 10.5% ABV and ranked 8th.

Conversely, the three beers with the lowest ABV - Russian River Pliny the Elder (8%), Stone Ruination (7.7%) and Lagunitas Hop Stoopid (8%) ranked #1, #4 and #9 respectively, all in the Top 10.  The outlier in the ABV department was Lagunitas Maximus (8.2%) coming in at #19.

Additionally, the correlation between IBUs (International Bitterness Units) and ranking was interesting.  While it was not as strong as the ABV correlation, it was interesting to note that most of the beers that were over 100 IBUs were in the bottom half of the list.  Those that hovered around 100 or a little lower generally received higher scores.

Interestingly, it seems as though in the Double IPA category, Beer Advocate reviewers prefer a more reasonable alcohol content and a slightly less over-the-top hop profile.

That is not necessarily the case for me, however.  It turns out the ABV did not impact my taste very much, but I love bitter beer and generally speaking the hoppier and more bitter, the better.  Let's take a look at how I ranked these 20 beers:

1. AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) - 4.85/A+
2. Bell's Hopslam - 4.75/A+
3. Stone Ruination - 4.68/A+
4. Avery Maharaja - 4.68/A+
5. Russian River Pliny the Elder - 4.53/A+
6. Founders Double Trouble - 4.4/A
7. Founders Devil Dancer - 4.33/A
8. Dogfish Head Burton Baton - 4.25/A-
9. Three Floyds Dreadnaught - 4.2/A-
10. Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe IPA - 4.2/A-
11. Oskar Blues Gordon Ale/G'Knight Ale - 3.95/B+
12. Lagunitas Maximus - 3.93/B+
13. Great Divide Hercules Double IPA - 3.9/B+
14. Victory Hop Wallop - 3.68/B
15. Lagunitas Hop Stoopid - 3.65/B
16. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA - 3.65/B
17. Southern Tier Unearthly (Imperial IPA) - 3.6/B
18. Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale - 3.55/B
19. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA - 3.48/B-
20. Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale - 2.7/C-

My average review score for the group was a little lower than the average score from other BA members - 4.048, that is still an A-, but a lower one and the grades I most often doled out were A+ and B, both being awarded to five beers apiece.  As I mentioned above, ABV did not seem to influence my score at all.  To my surprise, IBUs did seem to impact my scores, but not in the way I expected.  The beers that hovered right around 100 IBUs ended up doing the best with me.  100 IBUs is pretty typical for a DIPA and it was the beers on the edges of the style in terms of IBUs that fared the worst with me.

The three highest IBU beers, Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe (153), Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (120) and Southern Tier Unearthly (150+) checked in on my list at #10, #16 and #17 respectively.  Three of the four lowest IBU beers, Oskar Blues Gordon Ale (60), Lagunitas Maximus (72) and Victory Hop Wallop (70) ended up in the #11, #12 and #14 spots respectively.  The only low-IBU beer that cracked my top 10 was the Dogfish Head Burton Baton (70) coming in at #8.

So what does this say about me?  Probably not much except that I prefer a more traditional Double IPA.  One that is about 100 IBUs.

On that note, I'm going to wrap this one up and coming soon I'll have my picks for the best beers in each category - look, smell, taste and feel.  Cheers!

Review #20 - AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer)

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Aug. 11, 2011

Ironically, my very first post as a resident of Boulder, Colorado is also my last review for the DIPA Project.  Yes, I finally tracked it down, drank it and reviewed it - a bottle of AleSmith’s YuleSmith Holiday Ale – the summer version.  As it turns out, it was a fantastic finish to the project coming in as the 20^th most reviewed beer on The List and the 20^th beer that I reviewed for the site. 

By the way, I have to give a BIG thanks to ren on Beer Advocate for the bottle.  He actually sent me two bottles along with an extra Port Brewing Mongo Double IPA – a pretty awesome extra that I’m very much looking forward to trying. 

Anyhow, I finally cracked this bottle open this afternoon and took it outside to the patio to enjoy some 90 degree Colorado sunshine.  I’m not quite sure if it’s the altitude and the sun talking, but this is one of the best beers I have ever had.  Wow!  Again, what a fantastic beer to close out the list with?  I expected to like it more than the average DIPA on The List, but I did not expect to be completely blown away.  I have to say, for my first AleSmith experience, this one is a winner and I hope I can obtain more of their stuff in the near future. 

OK, now that all my gushing over this beer is out of the way, let’s get on to the specs:

ABV: 8.5%

IBUs: Roughly 100

Brewery Location: San Diego, California

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.29

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.75

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 20^th/827

Brewery Description: AleSmith YuleSmith

Bottled On: Sometime in the Summer of 2011

APPEARANCE:  (5 out of 5) This might be the best looking beer reviewed on 20 Beers in 20 Nights so far, check that, it is the best looking beer I’ve reviewed here so far.   It poured a bright golden yellow color and was very lively.  Hundreds of bubbles of varying sizes floated to the surface for several minutes after the pour.  A nice, stark white, fluffy head rested on top this is where it started getting interesting.  Five minutes and about three sips into this beer half of the head was still hanging strong.  Not much lacing was present at that point, but that seemed to be because the head was still there just sloshing around.  Given that it was a relatively heavy head, it dragged whatever would-be lacing back down with it.  From this point on, however, the lacing became exquisite and full, covering a good 70% of the backside of the glass.  Bubbles continued to filter up half way through the pint, keeping the head alive.  This may be the only beer I’ve ever had that began with a normal sized head that was still intact when I took my last sip.  It was the most incredible head retention I’ve seen on a beer. 

On a slightly separate note, something should be said of the bottle as well.  It is very attractive in its simplicity – colorful, simple and very good looking.

SMELL:  (4.5 out of 5) Before I even poured the bottle I took a quick whiff through the top and got a nose full of pine.  That got me excited and as soon as the YuleSmith was poured I could smell it and again, nothing but wonderful pine.  A more serious sniff revealed…well…more pine.  This smells like a classic West Coast IPA, it reminds me of Sierra’s Harvest Ales a bit.  A little resin could be detected as the beer warmed, but it took a minute for it to come out.  The resiny smell then continued to build and got stronger as the beer went down.

TASTE:  (5 out of 5) Again, what a great beer to finish this project with.  It is big, bold, piney and very hoppy in a classic IPA sense.  A burst of hops and pine upfront smack the palate before a grapefruit and a touch of anise create a bitter rinse for the finish.  The aftertaste is clean, but bitter.  It really prepares the palate for the next sip.  I am very impressed.  This beer is delicious and much like the label, beautiful in its simplicity.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out of 5) This beer is not flat!  That much is for sure - it is extremely lively and exciting.  Tiny bubbles tickle the tongue and scrub the bitterness into the palate.  This beer seriously has some solid carbonation.  The mouthfeel of the YuleSmith is not simply another piece of the puzzle that makes up this beer, rather it is part of the framework that pulls the rest of it together.  One word to describe both the beer and the mouthfeel would be playful.

OVERALL:  (5 out of 5) The reviews on Beer Advocate were mixed and I am sure I will get plenty of disagreements with my review as I can understand how some IPA fans would not find this beer terribly unique or different.  What makes this such a solid beer to me, though, is the fact that it is simply so spot on for the style.  This is what a Double IPA strives to be – elegant looking, full of hoppy aroma and packing a bitter punch all while staying balanced enough to enjoy throughout the entire pint.  This is the first beer I have ever tried from AleSmith and it certainly is a winner.  I hope I can get some more of this deliciousness sometime soon.  I am just thankful that I have another full bomber and the bottom of this pint glass, which at the time of this writing I was just getting to, is not the end of the beer.

DRAWBACKS:  AleSmith pretty much drilled this one.  All I can say is that it wasn’t outside the box in any way, shape or form, but I also don’t really care.  If I wanted to get extremely nitpicking I would say that the resiny aroma that built throughout the pint eventually became a tiny, tiny bit more than I would have liked, but really this is almost a perfect beer for the warm summer afternoon I enjoyed on my back patio in Boulder.

SOUND:   I went back and forth on the sound for this beer.  The first tune that popped into my mind is a very obscure piece by a goofy, but brilliant hip-hop artist named Paul Barman.  The word playful is often the best way to describe him and in particular, his song “Burping and Farting” is a ridiculously playful, but intelligent piece.  The YuleSmith effortlessly pairs well with it, but at the other end of the spectrum is a more serious and maybe (given the name and the overall experience of this beer) a slightly better fit – Herbie Mann’s version of “Battle Hymm of the Republic”.  This was the song that Hunter S. Thompson would have made the National Anthem had he ever gotten his say.  Given that this beer is brewed specifically for the 4^th of July I think “Battle Hymm” is the more appropriate sound – a patriotic tune for a patriotic beer that truly represents the best of American craftsmanship and creativity.  

Thank you to everyone who has read, participated, traded beer with me for this project or helped out with the blog in any way.  In the next week or so I plan to begin a new project and also to post a wrap-up of this one.  It will include what I learned, my awards for the best of the list and hopefully, a spreadsheet with the specs and rating of each beer.

Review #19 - Founders Devil Dancer

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

July 28, 2011

I have to admit, I was a little worried about this one.  During the couple days I scrambled to track down the Dogfish 120 I took my eye off the Devil Dancer ball.  I figured Founders would send a little more Devil Dancer out than Dogfish did the 120 Minute.  It turned out that I was correct but not by much. 

The few places that did carry Founders Devil Dancer sold out quickly, whether it was on tap or by the 4-pack.  I just kept missing it, but I finally called Bad Apple on Lincoln Ave. here in Chicago and while they didn’t have it on tap yet, they said that they were expecting it sometime soon.  The catch was that they didn’t know exactly when it would arrive, when they would tap it or exactly how much they would get.  The only thing they did know was that it would go quickly and I’d have to be there very soon after the tapping.

Of course, while I would love to do nothing but hang out at the Bad Apple and eat their absolutely delicious, gourmet burgers and drink their dozens upon dozens of tasty Midwestern beers, sadly I do not have the time or funds to do so.  So the young lady that informed me over the phone of their Devil Dancer situation also informed me about a website that I am embarrassed to say I did not already know about – BeerMenus.com.

The link above takes you straight to the Chicago site, but beer fans in New York City, Philadelphia, L.A. and San Francisco can also figure out the most up-to-date tap and bottle selections throughout their respective cities.  This is absolutely not an ad, just a heads up to other beer geeks who have somehow managed to keep their heads in the sand as long as I have.  The point I’m making is that it allowed me to track down Founders Devil Dancer and led me to a great liquor store here on the North Side of Chicago. 

After checking beermenus.com for a few days, and finding that I had just missed snagging myself a 4-pack, pint or even just a bottle or two, I finally came across Fischman’s Liquors, a small, but very well stocked liquor store with an outstanding craft selection.  To make the place even better it is attached to a bar, which we’ll get to that in a moment.

First, Carlos, the guy who was in charge the day I called Fischman’s, was kind enough to hold the last 4-pack for me.  So my brother-in-law and I headed down for a midday beer run.  When we arrived, Carlos presented the 4-pack and told us to look around.  I ended up grabbing a bomber of Ruination, a bomber of Great Divide’s Chocolate Yeti Stout and a couple Two Brothers Hop Juice Bombers.  After chatting with Carlos at the register for a bit, he tossed in a big Belgian bottle as well - a Fantastic guy running a fantastic store. 

Of course, we had to peek into the bar next door to see what was on tap and as I ran out to put more money in the meter my brother-in-law made the call to order us two Firestone Double Jack IPAs…20oz. pours for…get this…five dollars.

Yeah, so it was a fun beer day.  Let’s get to the stats on the Devil Dancer now.

ABV: 12%

IBUs: 112

Brewery Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.01

My Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.33

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 949/17th

Brewery Description: Founders Devil Dancer   

Bottled On: June 24, 2011

APPEARANCE:  (4 out of 5) Golden copper in color, very typical DIPA look to it, but with a stronger head than expected.  Fluffy and white, the head did vanish rather quickly, but the aroma did not slip away with it.  As I type this and watch the head dissipate I can still smell it.

SMELL:  (5 out of 5)The Devil Dancer possesses a big, strong nose.  The dominant aroma is a resiny pine, but not too far behind that is a very nice toffee aroma with just a hint of toasted malt to it.  The true test of whether or not I truly love the smell of a beer is how long it takes me to actually take a sip after the bottle has been opened.  Well, I have yet to take a sip at this point and my nose has been in the glass five or six times.

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) After the last review, the Dogfish Head 120 Minute, I thought I was tasting a truly unique beer.  To be fair, I was, but this now takes the cake, in my opinion as the most creative and different beer on The List.  The nose and my prejudice led me to believe that the Devil Dancer would be some version of a big, sweet, sugary, Hopslam-like DIPA.  This  beer has a bite - a big, bold, hoppy bite.  And as it turns out, Devil Dancer is an ideal name for this beer.  It tastes like the balancing sweetness is actually dancing around your tongue as the sweet, but evil balancing agent that levels out the hop flavors more than enough to help all 12 ounces of this 12%er go down, but without overpowering them at all.  It is easy to tell that this is a 100+ IBU beer from sip one.  The bitterness begins and ends the sip with the sweet, somewhat piney and anise-like flavor (am I nuts or has anyone else experienced anise here?) arriving mid-sip, but staying relegated to the sides of the palate, never quite fully overtaking the bitterness.  As the hoppy bitterness fades with the last of the sip, the toasted malt that the nose hinted at pops up and leaves a pleasant, smoky taste on the tongue.

MOUTHFEEL:  (2 out of 5) My first let down of the beer so far, but I can’t knock Founders too much for making this a tad too sticky for my taste – or feel actually.  The carbonation is actually pretty noticeable on the way down, but the resin left on the tongue and lips is not pleasant.  I think the ideal scenario here would be to pour two beers – a Stone Ruination and a Devil Dancer and trade sips…hmm…I do have both available, maybe sometime soon.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) I have heard very mixed reviews on this beer, but I still thought I knew what to expect.  Turns out, you should never judge a beer by its label.  Dreadnaught was all over the place, a rollercoaster ride for the palate; Gordon Ale tested the limits of the style, Ruination presented bitterness in a beer as a work of art and Hopslam, Dogfish 120 and Pliny the Elder all provided the excitement of the chase of a difficult beer to obtain.  Founders Devil Dancer has all of those elements.  This was a treat and an unexpected, fun beer experience. 

DRAWBACKS:  I can see why the reviews are mixed on this one.  It is not what many people have come to expect from a DIPA.  That said, it certainly is a DIPA (or maybe a TIPA as Founders says).  It may expand to push on all four walls of the room that contains the definition of a Double IPA, but it never cracks through them.  It is just an unusual version of the style and I can see many people not appreciating that, or at the very least, not being happy to be surprised by their beer.  Also, the mouthfeel thing.  In no way is it a deal breaker for the Devil Dancer, but it seems more like a necessary evil for a beer like this.  Some may actually enjoy that aspect of it though.  Additionally, I haven’t spoken too much about food pairings here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights, primarily because most DIPAs pair with very similar foods, but this would be a tough one to do with many of my favorite DIPA pairings like blue cheese, smoked meats and sharp cheddar.  I’m not real sure any food would pair very well with it.

SOUND:  This one is obvious and became so as soon as I started writing about the taste.  The sensation of having the flavors dance around on my tongue along with the fact that this beer is called Devil Dancer immediately made a song pop into my head – “Friend of the Devil” by the Grateful Dead.  The only other beer that paired so perfectly with a certain sound was Avery’s Maharaja.  Honestly, do yourself a favor, especially if you’re a fan of the Dead, and get your hands on a bottle of Devil Dancer and crank up “Friend of the Devil”.  It may be tough to pair this beer with food, but it truly has a perfect musical pairing.

Review #18 - Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

July 7, 2011

Prairie Moon comes through once again with the Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA!

Yep, after searching high and low, putting my name on waiting lists and even having my roommate who is a chef at Whole Foods get his name on their list I was left with nothing but disappointment the day that Dogfish 120 came out.  It seemed as though there was no hope of finding it and I’d have to rely on my year and a half-old review to complete the The List, but then I wandered into Prairie Moon and Kyle, one of Evanston’s finest bartenders, looked right at me and said “Hey, look what we got.” as he pointed at the specials board. 

Sure enough, in big, chalky letters it said “Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA - $19/bottle”.  $19 was a bit more than I wanted to pay, especially considering that my roommate told me he would get it for $12 at Whole Foods, but what are you gonna do?  I missed my opportunity to buy in the store and the Moon only ended up with eight bottles, five of which were gone by the time I arrived.  This might have been my only chance to get a bottle of this batch.

Coincidentally, eight bottles was the allotment for my roommate’s Whole Foods store as well.  They were apparently promised two cases initially and then the rep showed up with two 4-packs instead, saying he couldn’t even get a bottle for himself (which I find hard to believe, but his point was clear).  That lack of 28 more bottles squeezed me out of the equation at the time.  However, a couple days later, when someone on the waiting list bailed I was able to secure another bottle for $12 which I intend on aging for a year or two.

So that leaves us here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights with just two beers left on the list – Founders Devil Dancer (which I am having an extraordinarily difficult time tracking down now that it has been released) and AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) (which I am currently attempting to trade for).  If any of you out there have leads on them for me, let me know.

And with that, I think it is finally time to get to the review of Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA:

ABV: 18%

IBUs: 120

Brewery Location: Milton, Delaware

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/3.86

My Beer Advocate Rating: B/3.65

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate:

Brewery Description: Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Bottled On: June 24, 2011

APPEARANCE:  (5 out of 5) The Dogfish 120 is an exceptional looking beer, which is somewhat surprising given its enormous ABV.  Most beers this big, even many of the more “normal” Double IPAs that we have already reviewed here on 20 Beers in 20 Nights, lack in the carbonation department.  The instant this beer is poured it becomes clear that that is not the case with the 120 Minute IPA.  Crystal clear in the pour, this beer is also a deep, dark copper with a pretty and fluffy half-inch head resting on top.  The lacing was spectacular, covering a solid 80% of the back side of the glass.  This is a very impressive looking beer. 

SMELL:  (2.5 out of 5) Unfortunately, the surprising look was balanced out by a surprisingly disappointing nose.  Just a hint of floral aroma was present as the beer was poured, but that seemed to vanish once the head finally receded.  This was a stark contrast to the bottle that I had in early 2010, which was rich with a whole array of aromas. 

TASTE:  (4 out of 5) This is an amazingly sweet beer.  As my bartender Kyle put it when he tried a sip “it tastes a little like a dessert wine mixed with coffee.”  He was right, the dessert wine flavors all came from the banana, apple, pine and dark fruit tastes along with a lot of sugar.  The coffee was far more subtle, but it lingered a bit on the back end providing some balance to what would have otherwise been far too sweet of a beer.  The 120 Minute is also a bit boozy, but by no means over the top, even at 18% ABV.

MOUTHFEEL: (3 out of 5) Sticky and smooth are the first two words that come to mind.  As I mentioned above, the carbonation is visible, but when it comes to the mouthfeel it is not as noticeable.  The sweet, mouthcoating stickiness is the most dominant feel here.

OVERALL:  (4 out of 5) For an 18%er this is a solidly drinkable beer.  That said, one is pretty much enough, or half of one.  I wanted to drink close to the full bottle for the purposes of this review, but the next bottle I have will probably be split with the woman as an after dinner drink.  By the end of the bottle, the sweetness is a little too much.  The Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, however, is certainly a unique beer.  It stands out as one of the more memorable beers from The List and I do look forward to tasting the cellared bottle next year sometime.

DRAWBACKS:  There is no need to get too involved in the drawbacks here, it is probably clear to anyone reading this that the sweetness was my biggest issue with the Dogfish 120.  I tend to enjoy dryer tasting drinks and in both the taste and the feel department the sweetness was too much.  Of the three beers that Dogfish Head managed to get on this list I still have to go with Burton Baton as my favorite.  In the end, though, uniqueness earns it a 4 out of 5 overall.

Review #17 - Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

June 5, 2011

Again, nothing notable about the acquisition of this beer so I’ll skip a long-winded intro on this one.  On a separate note, while we wait for the final three beers from The List to come in, be on the lookout for the announcement of our next project here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights.

ABV: 11.5%

IBUs: 85

Brewery Location: Frederick, Maryland

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: B+/4

My Beer Advocate Rating: B/3.55

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 849/17th

Brewery Description: Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale

Bottled On: Vintage 11FF (June 2011)

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) The Double Dog Double Pale Ale pours a deep, reddish copper.  A thin, but tenacious and barely off-white head tops the glass and then just sits…and sits…and sits and stays.  Not what you would expect from the beer with a wild-eyed dog on the label.  But really, the head retention was quite nice.  I would have rated the Flying Dog higher if it were not for the near-complete lack of lacing. 

SMELL:  (4 out of 5) This was an unusual beer for me in the smell department.  I can generally tell the strength of the aroma before my nose reaches the glass, but with this offering from Flying Dog my nose was well into the glass before it hit me, and oddly enough, it hit me hard.  When I got nothing on the way in I expected the smell to be weak, but it most certainly was not.  Just well contained in the pint glass I guess.  Probably more of a product of the environment than anything else, but I digress.  The aroma is sweet and malty with a very familiar, but faint smell of wet wood.  It gives creates a very comforting feel.  Again, odd for the rebellious attitude Flying Dog seeks to portray.

TASTE:  (3.5 out of 5) Yep.  That’s certainly 11.5%.  Clocking in as the beer with the highest ABV reviewed on The List so far, the alcohol is very noticeable right off the bat.  It is accompanied, however, by a sweet, strong malty presence before it eventually gives way to a straight-up bitter finish.  The aftertaste is exceptionally dry and the hop character seems quite grassy.  What may be most noticeable, however, is its complete lack of citrus flavors.  Most of the other Double IPAs on the list are loaded with grapefruit and orange, this is most certainly not.  What may be tougher to notice, but is certainly there however, is a subtle note of peat, generally found in scotch, but not something I have ever noticed in a beer before. 

MOUTHFEEL:  (3 out of 5) The Double Dog is fairly oily, but again, just as was the case with the previous review of Victory’s Hop Wallop, this Flying Dog has a rare, dry mouthcoating feel.  That said the high alcohol and hop content make this dry coating less harsh than its Keystone State counterpart. 

OVERALL:  (3.5 out of 5) The Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale is just as complex as its name is.  There is a lot going on in this beer and while it does all balance out in the end, it takes your palate on a wild ride beforehand.  Four words could be used to describe this beer: All over the place.  That is not necessarily a bad thing, but not necessarily a good one either.

DRAWBACKS:  The lack of focus here was my biggest issue.  I do appreciate Flying Dog’s willingness to experiment and take some risks, but one of the risks in a beer like this is that it can confuse the palate and turn people off.  With all of that said, this is still a good beer and an even better one if you are a DIPA fanatic wanting to break the mold a bit.

SOUND:  I’ve already used some crazy Miles Davis stuff to describe a beer in the past, and I think this one may fall into that category as well.  However, the notes of peat really did make me think of a scotch and it may be more appropriate to be sipping this from a snifter and listening to some Sinatra, even if that would drive the Flying Dog guys nuts.

As a final note, the story of Flying Dog is one of the more unique out there in the craft beer world.  It is worth a visit to their site.