Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA

Brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Munster, Indiana USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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This is a very good best bitter accompanied by some hops. Spruce, a lot of grapefuit, some citrus in a malt base. Orange colour, somewhat cloudy.

Hazy golden with a white head. Aroma is sweet, malty, caramel and very hoppy - peach and grapefruit. Flavor is quite sweet and rather bitter. Dry and bitter finish. Crisp. 250511

UPDATED: JUN 5, 2008 Big clear amber with a huge white head. What a glorious nose full of fruit cocktail: pears, pineapple, grapes, and all other sorts of citrus fruits. A very strong hop aroma, similar to Alpha King. Maybe some mango and papayas in there as well. The flavor is just as awesome as the aroma. There is a background wood flavor and some light smoke. Not an intensely dry palate, somewhat wet and with a thin finish. Overall mouthfeel is just thick enough for a good IIPA in my book. This just has an extremely fresh taste and aroma. Very nice.

UPDATED: NOV 16, 2008 Starboard, a massive grapefruit sun illuminates a whole flotilla...The faintest vernal whisper gleams and reflects unto the stretched sail as our main galleon is adorned by every species of hops known to flourish...Ambrosial jewels glitter on the vines and trees which they share; green apple, white grape and mandarine juices are bursting from the skins they have torn, creating elating, frugal fireworks explosions...The ventriloquist hops assume all of their possible incarnations and dance ecstatic in their wood, citrus and grass avatars...Tight-laced wild honey and smooth caramel evoke a love-thought...The clean have definitely been separated from the unclean for this crushed forest wine...Swallowing this flavorful iconography, I drift aloft and gaze into contentment...Yes folks, I am carrying, with one hand, the Garden of Noah’s Ark...

A: Deep amber color, hazy, thin off-white head. S: Tons of citrus, mostly orange. Nice piney, resinous finish. It’s got my mouth watering already. T: A burst of grapefruit and orange initially, followed by a caramel sweetness and a bit of alcohol on the finish. Bitter, but not overly so. M: Very smooth, great body, and perfect level of carbonation. D: Despite the high ABV and the slight alcohol bite, this one has such great flavors that you could drink it all day.

An extra special thanks to atpayne (Adam) for this one. Adam was good enough to trade me three different FFF styles for some quality PA and NY beers, and FFF has eclipsed Stone as my current favorite brewer. I drank this one out of a Corsendonk tulip glass. It pours a turbid pumpkin pie colored (I verified, from the label, that this is bottle conditioned), with a reverse "Guinness cascade" going on...super heady, carbonation moving from bottom to top. Great lace. It's funny...I just described seeing the Taj Mahal in the lace of a previous beer, and this one has a drawing of the Taj Mahal on the label! Aroma of HUGE pineapple, grapefruit, hops, pears, applesauce, and honeydew melon. Tastes extremely hoppy, with hints of all the above mentioned fruits, citrus, and chardonnay. Finishes very hoppy, fruity, citrusy, crisp, smooth, with extremely well hidden alcohol (I estimated 6-7...this doesn't taste like 9.5). Amazingly complex...each swallow brings slightly new aromas and flavors. As it warmed, I noticed even more complex aromas and flavors. I gave the Stoudt's IPA a 5.0, and this one is just as deserving, for slightly different reasons. This one is hoppier, but somewhat less complex than the Stoudt's IPA, in my opinion. This one surpasses the Dogfish 90 minute IPA. I see no deductions in this one, and I want to thank atpayne again for this exceptional beer. Three Floyds beers will bend you over the table, shove complexity and hops up your ass, and make you cry mercy. Fucking OUTSTANDING!!!

2004 22oz. bomber. Amber pour with an orange tint to it. Small head quickly receded to form a thin ring around the top. Brilliant aroma with pine and grapefruit from the hops as well as some sweet peaches. Very smooth mouthfeel with a well-balanced medium malt backbone. Hoppy goodness coated the entire mouth! Flavor followed the aroma with the grapefruit and pine, and I also picked up some white pepper and a little caramel. Long pine forest & pepper finish. Magnifique!

UPDATED: SEP 23, 2008 Bottle courtesy of CaptainCougar. Thanks! Aged bottle... 01/05 handwritten on the bottle. Hazy orange-red pour with a small quickly disappearing head. Citrus and floral hop aroma with a big malt background. Big citrus hop taste w/ caramel, grain and grassy notes. 7/4/8/3/15

Fresh bottle courtesy Alraomon, Thanks! Clear apple juice color with a small head and decent lacing. Big citrus hop aroma with a sweet caramel malt background, Very sweet taste with a resiny background. Very nice. 8/4/8/5/16

UPDATED: OCT 1, 2009 2009-09-26. No notes. Sample on tap at the brewpub was a pretty solid IPA but does not quite live up to my memory of trying it in bottles in the past. Will see if my bottles from the brewery will live up to the previous experiences. On tap at Three Floyd’s, Munster.

July 2006. Bottle. Big citrus aroma with sweet orange and grapefruit that reminds me at times of a vidal icewine, muted malt but enough to be supportive, light spruce/pine branches. Fair bit of hoppy bitterness, light resin, sweet malty base. Medium to full body is just about perfect for the beer. Now I will stop writing and just enjoy this. Thanks very much for sharing guys! 9/4/9/4+/20 - 4.6 (Bumped a bit to offset the previous under rating!)

July 2004. Orange body, smallish but nice off white head. Big hoppy aroma, some orangey citrus. Vaguest hint of alcohol and some resin. Flavour is similarly very hoppy with plenty of hoppy bitterness as well. Dangerously quaffable, showing only a glimpse of the alcohol present. Very smooth, medium to full bodied palate. Leaves the tongue ravaged and spent in an oh so pleasant manner. Extremely good, to the point where I didn’t take notes equal to the beer because I was busy enjoying it. Thanks for this bottle Gunny. 8/4/9/4/18 - 4.3

UPDATED: MAY 9, 2010 First rating
This particular bottle has been stored for at least one year, seems it didn’t do it good though. Others that has tasted it fresh and also this bottle reflects it has lost lots of what makes it great. So this rating is in regard to an "old" bottle, probably too old.
650 ml bottle
Shady orange color, white head. A bit hoppy, some citrus and chocolate. Fruity scent. Thick mouthfeel. Very sweet and strong taste, lots of Madeira. High bitterness, warming feeling of alcohol. Bitter aftertaste. The bitterness isn’t sharp, but heavy.
7/4/7/4/13=3.5

Rerate
Draught at Mikkeller bar, Copenhagen, on May 8, 2010
Hazy golden color, small white head. Hoppy apricot scent. Hoppy, bitter, mango taste, also sweet. Warming alcohol. Medium mouthfeel, high bitterness.
8/3/8/3/16=3.8