Addendum to The DIPA Project - Review #22 - Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary IPA

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

July 21, 2012

Well, we have reached the midpoint of The Barleywine Project here at 20 Beer in 20 Nights, so for your halftime entertainment; here is another addendum to The DIPA Project – a review of Stone’s 10^th Anniversary Edition of Ruination.  I’m thrilled to have a crack at tasting this beer.  The regular Ruination has become a favorite of mine since I first reviewed it last March.  And since the original was a part of The DIPA Project, I figured it would be appropriate to add a review for the celebration of its anniversary.   

The 10^th Anniversary Edition is the same recipe as the original except a healthy portion of malt has been added to raise the ABV from 7.7% to 10.8% and two and a half pounds of Citra and Centennial hops per barrel have been thrown in for good measure.  Sounds delicious. 

ABV: 10.8%

IBUs: 110

Brewery Location: Escondido, California

Style: American Double/Imperial India Pale Ale

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.46

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.88
Current Number of Reviews: 234

Brewery Description: Stone Ruination 10^th Anniversary Edition

Bottled On: June 2012

APPEARANCE:  (4.5 out of 5) Unlike the original version, the 10^th Anniversary Ruination is not a straw-yellowish color; instead this is a nearly perfect shade of light orange.  A large, fluffy white head sat on top for a good three minutes, not moving anywhere for the first two and then suddenly settling into a few small mounds of foam scattering across the surface.  The fallen head leaves behind a good dose of lacing, but as the beer level recedes, the lacing becomes a little less impressive.  This is a gorgeous beer.

SMELL:  (5 out of 5) Big, delicious, grapefruit completely dominates here.  It is clear that this is a 5 out of 5 in the aroma department.  I love that grapefruit and a nice hint of pine, flowers and tropical fruits lingers beneath it.  Wow.

TASTE:  (5 out of 5) Ah, a beer that tastes like it smells - this generally makes me happy, especially when it smells this good.  Again, grapefruit is out in front with a hefty dose of bitterness, followed by a bit of lemon.  The Citra hops are shining through and as the beer warms, more of their complexity, the sweeter, tropical fruits begin to develop.  These fruity notes combine with the extra malt to provide a very well balanced beer.  In fact, it is one of the better balanced DIPAs I have ever had and rivals Pliny the Younger in that respect.  Now, of course this is an unfair comparison, but the PtY never, at any point, during any sip becomes unbalanced in any direction.  The 10^th Anniversary almost gets there, but about three-quarters of the way through each sip the malty sweetness takes over a touch too much.  That said, I think this still gets a 5 for taste.  This is unbelievably good beer.

By the way, the finish is a bit less bright and a little more earthy, but it sets the palate up very well for more.  Aftertaste is grapefruity.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) The carbonation is fairly light.  Lighter than I typically like, but with the sweet, stickiness of the malt, that may be more appropriate.  While it is mouthcoating, the citrus provides enough dryness to clean the palate a bit. 

OVERALL:  (5 out of 5) This beer is most definitely still Ruination, and will still rip a novice’s palate to shreds, but to the hop head, this is luxury.  As Homer Simpson once said “Sweet, merciful crap!”  This is an amazing beer.  Stone Brewing has completely outdone themselves.  Either that, or I am just a sucker for more and more and more hops being tossed into a brew.  It isn’t magic I guess, when you double the amount of hops of the hoppiest beer you make (5 pounds per barrel – at least one of which is Citra and one of which is Centennial) and load it with malt to balance, you’re gonna end up with a good brew.

This is definitely a better beer than Pliny the Elder and probably Maharaja.  It also gives Pliny the Younger a run for its money, not something I say easily.

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 Maharaja, At Least Someone Agrees With Me

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Mar. 20, 2012

Back in April of last year we here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights were right in the middle of our DIPA Project - our quest to drink and review the 20 Most Reviewed Double IPAs on Beer Advocate.  It was time to review a personal favorite of mine and a classic, the Avery Maharaja.  The Maha, in my opinion, proved to beat Russian River's Pliny the Elder, a point that many have disagreed with me on since.  However, this afternoon I came across a YouTube review of Maharaja and found that at least one other person agrees with me, so I thought you all might like to check it out.  Here, from the San Diego Beer Vlog; Avery's Maharaja:

An AleSmith YuleSmith Video Review

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Aug. 31, 2011

I am getting a kick out of watching some of these video beer reviews and comparing them to my reviews here on the site and I thought you might as well.  So below is a nice review of AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) from a guy in San Diego, CA and here is my review of it. 

We both agreed on the final A+ grade, it really is a terrific DIPA, but we didn't agree completely on the smell.



I might have one last bottle or two coming sometime soon and I really hope it happens so I don't have to wait until next summer to grab another.

The DIPA Project Awards and Final Rankings (Part 2)

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Aug. 30, 2011

Follow @20Beers20Nights

In case you missed Part 1 of this here it is.  Yesterday we covered the rankings, but how about the awards?  Yes, the DIPA Awards!  If you don't know what we're talking about yet, click that link in the line above and get up to speed.  If you do know what we're doing here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights then let's dive right in.

Best Overall Beer: AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) - 8.5% ABV, 100 IBUs, San Diego, California 

This was maybe the biggest surprise of the entire project for me.  It was the last beer I reviewed and also the least reviewed beer on Beer Advocate out of the Top 20.  I was expecting to like it, but not as much as I did.  The taste was astounding, but the whole package was really great - particularly the appearance, which I will discuss in greater depth below.  Congrats to AleSmith on this beer - going into this project I expected Bell's Hopslam, Avery Maharaja or Pliny the Elder to take the cake, but AleSmith managed to top all of those outstanding breweries and beers with their annual 4th of July celebration beer.

Worst Overall Beer: Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale - 9.2%, 100+ IBUs, Novato, CA

I have nothing against Moylan's and, in fact, I loved their Barleywine and every other beer I've had of theirs.  The Imperial India Pale Ale just missed the mark in my opinion.  The beer lacked any balance, which is necessary with a beer that is as hopped up as a DIPA.  It also seemed as though there was no consideration for how this beer would feel.  It could have been saved if the mouthfeel weren't so abrasive.  I needed a glass of water to help wash it down - that is not a good sign.

Best Tasting Beer: Bell's Hopslam - 10%, 69-136 IBUs, Kalamazoo, Michigan

This was an extremely difficult decision, I gave the 5 out of 5 rating (in the taste category) to four beers on the list, YuleSmith, Ruination, Maharaja and the Hopslam.  Any one of them at any given time with any given batch of beer could probably take the cake in this category, but after having my fair share of Hopslam both on tap and in the bottle I have to say that Bell's wins this category by a hair with the consistency shown in this savior from early winter.  It may be the best tasting beer on the planet.

Best Looking Beer - AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer) - 8.5% ABV, 100 IBUs, San Diego, California

This is one of the few categories that was a no-brainer.  The color was absolutely gorgeous, the packaging is very appetizing and good looking and the head never fully dissipated throughout the entire pint.  This was the most amazing feat in head retention I have ever seen.  The only other times I have still had a solid layer of head at the bottom of the glass were the times that I had a beer completely foam up on me during the pour.  This was not the case with the YuleSmith, the head was thick after the pour, but not abnormally so.  It was just an all around pretty beer.

Most Overpriced Beer: Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA - 18% ABV, 120 IBUs, Milton, Delaware

Was I happy that I was one of the lucky few who got my hands on a couple of bottles of this year's 120 minute IPA?  Yes.  Was I happy to pay $19 for the bottle at a bar?  No.  Of course with an ABV as high as this and with the time and effort that went into creating this beer I understand the cost.  That said, I do not think the quality of the beer matched the cost.

Best Smelling Beer: Russian River Pliny the Elder - 8% ABV, 100 IBUs, Santa Rosa, California

The only other beer that came close to this one on the list was Founders Devil Dancer.  Otherwise, this was a runaway winner in the category.  As I mentioned in my review, when I first tried this beer I kept my nose in the glass for five minutes before taking my first sip because it smelled like "delicious, hoppy, magical flowers."  While overall, Pliny didn't come through as the experience it was hyped up to be, the smell alone was worth the hunt.  And now that I am living in Colorado, with just a little effort I can track this smell down again.

Best Feeling Beer: Founders Double Trouble - 9.4% ABV, 86 IBUs, Grand Rapids, Michigan

This was another runaway winner.  The Double Trouble was the only beer on The List that I gave a 5 out of 5 to in the mouthfeel department.  The light, flirty carbonation added so much to this already remarkably tasting beer that I no choice other than to dole out a perfect score in the category.  It does not get any better.  On a separate note, I didn't explicitly mention this in the review, but had the color and the lacing been just a shade stronger I would have ranked this one right up there with my favorites and given it an A+.  It's only real drawback is that it sort of looks like a light lager and the head/lacing isn't too impressive.

Best Beer/Music Pairing - Avery Maharaja - 10.54% ABV, 102 IBUs, Boulder, Colorado

You will probably not find this type of award anywhere else, however, throughout the process of reviewing the Top 20 most popular DIPAs on Beer Advocate I tried to match each beer up to a complimentary piece of music.  Some didn't really have a good pairing, while others were obvious right away.  The Founders Devil Dancer was, again, a close second in this category with a fairly obvious "Friend of the Devil" pairing, but Avery came out on top.  The obscure Donald Byrd track that happened upon my ears while I was writing the Maharaja review was called "Cristo Redento" and served to add greatly to my experience.  Oddly enough, although I was surprised by YuleSmith's last minute, come from behind victory to take the best overall and best taste categories, as I went back and reread my Maharaja review I noticed that I predicted that it was the only beer that could possibly knock off Maharaja for the best tasting.  Funny.

And with that, I believe the DIPA Project is officially over.  I intend to begin a new one very soon, but I am currently having a difficult time deciding on another set of 20 beers to write about.  If you have suggestions feel free to make them.  I also may take on more than one project at a time, depending on how much time I have, so feel free to make any suggestions even after I begin the next one.

A big thank you to everyone who has read and helped out with this project in any way.  To the readers, thanks a ton for stopping by and motivating me to keep writing.  To r/beer and Beer Advocate, thank you so much for providing me insight, thoughts, help and a good argument or two - a particular thanks to BAers ren and nevins for working out trades with me for YuleSmith and Double Simcoe respectively.  Thanks to my brother-in-law Dan (And Happy Birthday Buddy!) for talking DIPAs with me on a regular basis and helping me track down Devil Dancer.  Thanks to Kyle and Phil at Prairie Moon in Evanston who served me many of the beers on this list over the past year.  Thanks to Carlos at Fischman's in Chicago for holding onto that 4-pack of Devil Dancer for me.  Finally, thanks to Emily, my wonderful girlfriend for traveling all over the country with me this past year as we searched for schools and great beer.  It would not have been anywhere near as fun without you.  I'm probably missing someone, and if I am, I'll update this post.  Until next time, stay tuned and Cheers!

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.