367. Founders Devil Dancer

More from Founders. This one is listed as a Triple IPA, which really is just a fancy way of saying it is an Imperial IPA. As well, this is lucky number 7 from the pearl of grand Rapids; our previous encounters include Founders Pale Ale, KBS (as a bonus beer), Centennial IPA, Black Biscuit, Harvest Ale and Breakfast Stout.

Pouring a reddish orange darker copper with a minimal white head, Devil Dancer has a spicy hop resin nose with piney and herbal hop aromas in the back. The hops are accompanied by biscuit and caramel malt aromas, but they are dominated by the hops. Flavors start sharp and spicy with the hops and possibly some alcohol—there’s hoppiness across the profile—followed by a sweet caramel maltiness in the front; the middle has good hop flavor, with resin, pine, and grassiness, and a decent dose of bitterness than runs into the finish and beyond. As the grassiness recedes, a sweetness return, although the bitterness continues, and the finish has a light metallic alcohol tang that merges with the bitterness—there is a lingering alcohol warmth in the back of the throat along with some bite from the bitterness as the flavors leave the palate. Devil Dancer has a medium to heavy body; the hop bitterness and the alcohol lighten the mouthfeel, although the alcohol bite does leave a too much of a residual burn and heat, especially as the beer warms. The carbonation is medium, but is lost a bit behind the hops and alcohol. There is a bit of a bite as the hop flavor fades and the beer turns towards the finish. Flavors are good overall, and there is a nice balance between malt and hops, although this is certainly balanced towards the hops. It could a bit more aging to mellow and marry the alcohol flavor and heat, and to round the beer a bit more, although it would reciprocally minimize the hops, specifically the aroma and flavor. Nonetheless, we’ll probably sit on the second bottle for a while, and see what it does.

Found this here.

From the Founders website: “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 IBU’s it’s dry-hopped with a combination of ten hop varieties. This one can age with the best of them.”

ABV: 12.0%
IBU: 112

(7/2/2010)