Founders Devil Dancer Triple IPA

Date: June 02, 2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: dark amber, whispy head
Aroma: sweet malty aroma with a nice dose of floral hops
Flavor: sweet malt flavor with a huge tart bitter aspect, scrape your tongue afterwords

Date: April 28, 2006
Mode: draft
Source: brewpub
Appearance: muddy amber, whispy beige head, lots of lace
Aroma: big sweet hop aroma with a grassy character
Body: huge body
Flavor: rich dry malt flavor, lots and lots of balancing hops, long bitter finish

Date: November 27, 2006
Mode: bottle
Source: trade
Appearance: a bit aged
Flavor: rich caramel flavor with lots of balancing bitter hops, the age takes the edge off the grassy aroma and allows the caramel flavor comes through, the bitterness still lasts forever but is quite tasty

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Pours a lightly hazy amber/orange, a thin off white-head fading into oblivion quickly. The nose is filled with caramel malt and pungent hops. Scents of grapefruit and pine(most prevalent) are melded right into the malt. Alcohol is steady, moderate and actually mild for the amount that’s actually present. Resiny oils seem to change characteristics slightly with each couple degrees that the beer warms, for the better and more interesting. Earth and apricot pie notes(fruit-infused bready malt) round out the nose. The flavor is bitter with a medium-high astringency, mild to moderate sweetness and signifigantly earthy/rusty water flavor component. The taste is drab, but has interesting peppermint and French oak notes that wiggle their way into the first sip. Raw leather works its way into the fray when the libation nears room temperature. Alcohol warms slowly and eventually signifigantly. It is painfully obvious that this is merely a huge, alcoholic, hoppy tastebud destroyer solely for the sake of being so. Balance is probably a coincidence in certain aspects, though it certainly has little balance at all. I don’t prefer a balanced double IPA; I would typically choose to drink one because I desired hop overload, but this is far too astringent. High sweetness is trampled by astringency to a degree that it seems mild in comparison. The finish is heavily astringent, puckering, moderately bitter, pine notes lingering. The palate is spicy, burning with hot alcohol, full-bodied. This is my fifth or sixth bottle, from probably at least three different batches. I have never been impressed, this session included. I wish people would stop sending me this so I would stop searching for an enjoyable example - it’s just not going to happen.

Rating #666. 350 ml bottle from Archerliquors. Cloudy copper red with a fizzy tan head. Smells very hoppy, floral grapefruit, pine, and alcohol aroma. Unfortunately, it has that soapy over-hopped taste. Alcohol and a bitter caramel-like taste also present. The 13% alcohol and 200+ IBUs are really impressive, but I don’t think it works. It has a heavy sweetness that reminds me more of a barley wine than an IPA. The complexity of this beer shows best in the finish where mixed fruit and an intriguing hoppy perfume show through and are followed by an intense alcoholic warmth. This would be best as a winter sipper. Despite the flaws evident in trying to create this type of over-the-top beer, I’m giving it high marks, because 1) it is growing on me as it warms a little bit and 2) it has an interesting and unique taste.

pours a cloudy dark caramel color with a one finger fluffy caramel color head. aroma is huge caramel malt, hops, and candy sugar. has a full body with good lacing and descent carbonation. flavor is the same as aroma, but stronger with melon, grapefruit, and pine characteristics. has an oily mouth feel and is a little sticky on the lips with a dry hop aftertaste. this is an awesome double or triple as the bottle says. the only alcohol detected is a little burn going down surprising for 13 % abv. my only complaint would be a little less sweet caramel malt to bring out the 200+ ibus’.

12 oz bottle purchased at Capone’s. Poured a deep reddish/amber with a light tan tan huge frothy head. Aroma was tons of citrusy hops yet still had caramel maltiness coming through and only a slight bit of alcohol despite the 13%. The palate on this one was just perfect for the style with a full mouthfell, noticable but not overpowering carbonation and a bitter finish. Flavor was tons of hops, think citrus not floral, slight alcohol and a long bitter finish. If your not a true hop head stay away from this monster but for those that love hops say hello to your new friend.

Bottle. Huge sweet and piny aroma. Lots of hops for sure. Alcohol presence shows as it warms. Pours a rich amber with an off white head and sticky lacing all the way down the glass. Doesn’t quite taste like 200+ IBU’s, 90, maybe. Anyway... Lots of candi sweetness, hops and alcohol. Some caramel and toffee. Bright, grassy and earthy (wood) hops. Flavor is big, but kind of all over the place. Good, but off balance (it’s probably supposed to be that way).

From the tap at the brewery. Probably the best beer that I have ever had. Great aroma - almost worth it right there. Smooth taste with just the right amount of hops.

Bottle. Pours a slightly hazy copper/brown with a thin off white head. Strong aroma of sweet candy sugar with some citris fruit behind it. Taste inundates you with malty candy sugar sweetness, alchohol and bitter hops. Definitely more like a barley wine. Too cloying. Has the hop biterness but is missing the flavor of the hops to balance the sweetness. Then it would be awsome.