So,
they say that IPAs shouldn’t be drunk fresh from the brewery and should not be
cellared, but I figured what the hell and held aside one bottle of Founders2011 Devil Dancer just to see how it would age.
I mean after all the style was developed so that the British could load
beer onto boats and send it down to India.
The wonderful brewers at Founders put a bottling date of 6/17/11 on the
bottle, and I am pretty sure that it has been down in my cellar since sometime
in late July 2011. So, that’s a
reasonable amount of time to cellar, but certainly not nearly as long as I am cellaring
some of my Founders KBS or Dogfish Head World Wide Stout.
Devil
dancer is brewed once a year, and should be available in the Founders
distribution area sometime in July. Although,
be aware, this beer flies off the shelf, although not as fast as their KBS. It weighs in at a surprising 12% ABV and 112
IBU’s, making it not only much higher in alcohol than most beers, but also much
higher in IBUs than most of the Extreme IPAs out there, with possibly only Pliny the Younger coming close. I’m not sure how they made it all the way up
to 112 IBU’s other than tons of hops and maybe some hop extract, but Devil
Dancer is definitely a hop head beer!
I guess
technically Devil Dancer would fit into the BJCP’s 14C Imperial IPA category. Just for the heck of it the style guidelines
are posted at the end of this entry.. On
BeerAdvocate it currently has an 89 from the users and an 84 from the bros,
while on ratebeer it has a 99 overall, and a 98 for style. I must say in this case I agree far more with
the ratebeer crowd than the BA one.
So,
onto the beer:
They say:
When
you dance with the Devil, the Devil don't change. You do. Massive in
complexity, the huge malt character balances the insane amount of alphas used
to create it. At an incredible 112 IBUs, it's dry-hopped with ten hop
varieties.
I say:
Damn
this is a great beer! It pours reddish amber in color with an excellent reddish
off-white head that has impressive retention (almost a minute). Smelling it, I am floored by floral hops
which is definitely from the 10 varieties of hops that they use for dry hopping.
The aroma is excellent with only the slightest amount of malty sweetness
hitting on the back end. However, if
you didn’t know dry hopping only really adds to the aroma of a beer, rather
than providing any noticeable increase in IBU’s.
On to the flavor. For
121 IBU’s Devil Dancer is surpisingly balanced.
Sure there is a noticeable hop bitterness, but there is also a malty
sweetness to back it up. There is an extremely
complex hop flavor to this with a noticeable sweet, caramel, malty finish. It is also has very high bodied, almost to
the point of being syrupy, but not in a bad way. This would go great with a warm gooey
cinnamon roll, or maybe some pecan pie.
Bottom
line, this beer is awesome! And, it aged extremely well!! I wish that I
still had a bottle waiting for me, because it is going to be a very long wait
until I can find this again in July..
If you are interested, the official guidelines for Imperial
IPA’s are after the sign off.
That’s all for tonight!
Happy Drinking!!
Aroma:
A prominent to intense hop aroma that can be derived from American, English
and/or noble varieties (although a citrusy hop character is almost always
present). Most versions are dry hopped and can have an additional resinous or
grassy aroma, although this is not absolutely required. Some clean malty
sweetness may be found in the background. Fruitiness, either from esters or
hops, may also be detected in some versions, although a neutral fermentation
character is typical. Some alcohol can usually be noted, but it should not have
a “hot” character.
Appearance:
Color ranges from golden amber to medium reddish copper; some versions can have
an orange-ish tint. Should be clear, although unfiltered dry-hopped versions
may be a bit hazy. Good head stand with off-white color should persist.
Flavor:
Hop flavor is strong and complex, and can reflect the use of American, English
and/or noble hop varieties. High to absurdly high hop bitterness, although the
malt backbone will generally support the strong hop character and provide the
best balance. Malt flavor should be low to medium, and is generally clean and
malty although some caramel or toasty flavors are acceptable at low levels. No
diacetyl. Low fruitiness is acceptable but not required. A long, lingering
bitterness is usually present in the aftertaste but should not be harsh.
Medium-dry to dry finish. A clean, smooth alcohol flavor is usually present.
Oak is inappropriate in this style. May be slightly sulfury, but most examples
do not exhibit this character.
Mouthfeel:
Smooth, medium-light to medium body. No harsh hop-derived astringency, although
moderate to medium-high carbonation can combine to render an overall dry
sensation in the presence of malt sweetness. Smooth alcohol warming.
Overall
Impression:An intensely hoppy, very strong pale ale without the big
maltiness and/or deeper malt flavors of an American barleywine. Strongly
hopped, but clean, lacking harshness, and a tribute to historical IPAs.
Drinkability is an important characteristic; this should not be a heavy,
sipping beer. It should also not have much residual sweetness or a heavy
character grain profile.
Comments:
Bigger than either an English or American IPA in both alcohol strength and
overall hop level (bittering and finish). Less malty, lower body, less rich and
a greater overall hop intensity than an American Barleywine. Typically not as
high in gravity/alcohol as a barleywine, since high alcohol and malt tend to
limit drinkability. A showcase for hops.
History:
A recent American innovation reflecting the trend of American craft brewers
“pushing the envelope” to satisfy the need of hop aficionados for increasingly
intense products. The adjective “Imperial” is arbitrary and simply implies a
stronger version of an IPA; “double,” “extra,” “extreme,” or any other variety
of adjectives would be equally valid.
Ingredients:
Pale ale malt (well-modified and suitable for single-temperature infusion
mashing); can use a complex variety of hops (English, American, noble).
American yeast that can give a clean or slightly fruity profile. Generally
all-malt, but mashed at lower temperatures for high attenuation. Water
character varies from soft to moderately sulfate.
|
Vital Statistics:
|
OG: 1.070 – 1.090
|
|
IBUs: 60 – 120
|
FG: 1.010 – 1.020
|
|
SRM: 8 – 15
|
ABV: 7.5 – 10%
|
Commercial
Examples: Russian River Pliny the Elder, Three Floyd’s Dreadnaught, Avery
Majaraja, Bell’s Hop Slam, Stone Ruination IPA, Great Divide Hercules Double
IPA, Surly Furious, Rogue I2PA, Moylan’s Hopsickle Imperial India Pale Ale,
Stoudt’s Double IPA, Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA, Victory Hop Wallop
As a blended beer, the Blue Sunday Sour
is potentially different with each vintage, more like a wine than a beer. However, the two beer rating sites don’t accurately
reflect that, with ratebeer not listing any vintage after 2010 and BeerAdvocate
only providing one listing for every vintage.
Regardless, over at ratebeer it currently has a 96 overall and a 69 for
style, while on BeerAdvocate it has a score of 83.
