Drakes Denogginizer

Brewed by Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
San Leandro, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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Big thanks to Davecooks. Poured a slightly hazed amber color with a small off-white head. Big hoppy aroma of citrus, orange peel, grass and light alcohol notes. Hop foward flavor with a malty and fruity middle. Mild bitterness on the finish that grows to a decent size. Long lasting finish. Warming in the throat. Pretty nice balance overall.

Bottle courtesy of Davecooks, apparently hand bottled by the brewer. This is certainly a hop bomb, in the best sense. It pours a deep amber with not much head (though I poured it very gently. As soon as I opened the bottle, I could smell the hops, and in my tulip glass, my nose was assaulted by an amalgomation of sweet, flowery, cirtusy hops. Tasting it, there was a good malt presence to balance the hops, but the hops were definitely still the star. It finished fairly dry and bitter. I really liked this one.

UPDATED: SEP 24, 2006 On tap at the Liar’s Club: Pours a cloudy deep orange with an off-white thick head. Aroma is of apricots, diacetyl and caramel malts. Maybe some melanoidin too. Flavor is heavily diacetyl with lots of sweet caramel and bready malts and just light pine and grapefruit. Quite yeasty too. Finish is med. bitter at best. They would do better with a diacetyl rest and should just call it an American Strong Ale because a IIPA this is not. 6,3,6,2,10...2.7 re-rate 9/24/06 Thanks Milo2: Pours a deep clear copper with a small off-white head that lasts. Aroma is dried apricots, some sulphur, a touch of crystal malts, and a touch of alcohol, but no big fresh dry-hopped character. The body is med with an appropriate level of CO2. The flavors are melanoidin and resinous piney hops. No citrus to speak of. Lots of Resin though. Finish is nice and bitter, clean but just not pungent enough. This is far better than the last one I had but I still don’t see this as a DIPA. American Strong Ale I buy. Double Red ale, sure. But just not nearly enough in your face hops for me.

Pint on tap@O’Brien"s: Cloudy orange amber color with a small (bar Pour) off white head. Aroma is sweet and fruity with some pineapple. Flavor starts sweet caramel and citrus followed by a light dry orange rind bitter finish. Light bodied and creamy with soft carbonation.

Hand bottled @ the brewery. This is one of the best IIPA"s, and one of the better beers I’ve rated. Huge hop aroma w/ flavor donimated by hops and alcohol spiciness. Simple, not overdone w/ malt, and damn good. Nice job Rodger.

Draught poured at the Liars Club. Hazy red-brown pour with a small white head. Decent lacing. Smells wonderfully of cascade hops. A nice union of hops and malt in the overall experience, but the hops come in up front in the bittering and in after the finish you still taste piney hops. In between, a roller-coaster ride of malts and hops and malt again. Not ever too sweet malty, never too overly hoppy, never too alcohlic. This is an excellent IIPA, about as well balanced as any I’ve had. Some tend to overdo one flavor area or the other, but the people at Drakes came to a nice compromise with this one, and the end result is very tasty.

Big, big beer! Lots of cascade-descendent citrus hops. Too much of some dextrin flavor that I didn’t care for too much. perhaps too much 80L+ crystal malt. this is really into barley wine territory. With some longer-term cellaring I think this might be much better. Poor finish. Harsh.

On tap at Toronado. This dark amber ale poured with a thin off-white head, eliciting a hoppy aroma. The flavor, too, is very hoppy, but balanced by the malt, with a smooth bitter finish.

On tap at Hollingshead Deli. Golden brown with some haze, decent sized white head. Aroma of sweet malt, pine and citrus. medium bodied, sweet on contact with nice caramel malt profile, complex hops arrangement keeps interesting flavors coming at you to the finish, which is bitter but not overdone. Balance is perfect, craftmenship is excellent, a great beer.

On tap at Hollingshead Deli. Deep, toffee brown, slightly hazy colored pour with a large, soapy cream head. Gentle, caramelly sweet aromas of blue spruce and raisin bread sprinkled with brown sugar. Wonderfull, full-bodied mouthfeel. Creamy, caramelly goodness pours over my tongue and clings desparately to every tastebud. Far more malty than first expected. Tons of caramelly sugars at first contact, only to be washed down by a smooth, citrusy sweet hoppy cleaning of pine boughs and orange rind. Final smack of spiced tea and pinked grapefruit. Delicious IIPA, and a fabulous example of how good an IIPA can be when the hop and malt balance is selected just right.