Well, I did it. I was told not to waste the money on this beer. At the brewery (in Munster, IN) it goes for $10 a bomber. I think that makes it one of the most expensive non-barrel aged bombers I've seen. It's also ranked on BeerAdvocate as the #15 beer in the world (how much stock you wanna put in that list is up to you). I decided I might as well take the plunge and find out for myself.
To sum this beer up quickly, it smells and tastes pretty syrupy malty. I don't like syrupy DIPA's. However, it isn't as bad in this respect as others I've had, so I found this somewhat enjoyable. The aroma also has hints of pine and orange, although the malt takes over after the first couple whiffs. The taste has a fair amount of citrusy hops, but again mostly overpowered by the syrupy malt body. I thought this glass was good enough, and wouldn't have too much of a problem finishing off all 22 ounces (although the 9.5% ABV might have it's own opinion).
After being able to drink Alpine Pure Hoppiness, Stone Ruination, and Russian River Pliny the Elder on semi-regular occasion, I just don't see how this comes even close to measuring up. Since Dreadnaught IPA is pretty local to Indiana I can see this is the best double IPA a lot of these people have come near. If they lived on the west coast they would probably realize this is a ho-hum beer compared to the amazing hoppy beers west coast brewers know how to pump out in their sleep. This beer averages 4.45 on BA, I'll give it a respectable 3.65/5.
Three Floyds is one of the most talked about breweries in the US, mostly thanks to Dark Lord, their overrated Imperial Russian Stout. I've now had 4 beers from them and here's how they stack up:
- Gumballhead Pale Wheat Ale - awesome
- Alpha King Pale Ale - good
- Dreadnaught IPA - not bad
- Dark Lord - drain pour
Posts
9 comments:
We're gonna have to get you another DarkLord! This years batch is the best in three years.
I'm so glad to finally hear a disenting opinion on Dark Lord. I've never had one, and probably never will; as there are already so many amazing stouts available to me, and I will probably never venture anywhere near deep enough in the country to visit Three Floyds. (Also I personally just figured the beer was all-hype)
What didn't you like about it? (I'll now have to scour your blog looking for the entry about it)
My Dark Lord entry is here:
http://trojangradstudent.blogspot.com/2007/12/night-of-beers.html
After drinking (and then pouring out) my Dark Lord I just didn't think it was even close to as good as Stone IRS or Old Rasputin. And it wasn't just that I didn't think it measured up... the taste was off-putting.
Yeh, we have to get you another bottle. It's an amazing stout, and IMO, blows Stone's out of the water.
Now, I agree with you 100% on that bottle of Dreadnaught. It's very, very good on tap however.
I've been meaning to buy a Pure Hoppiness from South Bay for some time now... perhaps I should make the plunge?
BTW, trying Kalamazoo's Hopsolution Ale right now. Never had anything quite like this! It's great!
Steve, I'm with you on Dreadnaught (you actually liked it better than I did) - I found it to be bad imitation of an "extreme" IPA. I also think Alpha King is one of the greatest beers I've ever had. Since you think their wheat beer is even BETTER, I'm gonna have to get me one of those....
Stag - I don't know how another bottle of Dark Lord will do any good. I doubt the recipe changes that much and my bottle wasn't infected or anything. In the RIS debates I've seen there are plenty of people in both camps- those that love DL and think it's the best RIS ever, and those who think a Stone RIS or Old Rasputin is just as good if not better for a fraction of the cost. I think I'm just one of those that falls in the latter category. I would recommend you get a Pure Hoppiness from South Bay though. And as for Dreadnaught on tap, I'm always into trying IPA's at their freshest, so I would definitely do that if I had that opportunity maybe someday if I ever travel into that area.
Jay - I was expecting the worst almost on Dreadnaught, based on your review. I think due to that I was actually surprised I could drink it. But as far as Double IPA's go there are so many out here that deliver better flavor. Dreadnaught just didn't seem to have the hops to keep up. Or else it just had way too much malt body to let the hops shine.
And yeah, as for Gumballhead, relative to a million other beers it's probably nothing special. But super fresh, in the hot weather, it just an amazing tasting pale ale. Can't even really get any wheat out of it but the hops are so nice on a really light body. PS- good luck with the new blog :)
Good stuff, thanks for discussing guys. Always love to hear your thoughts.
If this is your honest opinion on Dreadnaught then your either an idiot or a rookie. Your review is waaaay off on almost all accounts and you honestly sound like you're speaking from your anus. Dreadnaught is fantastic, a wonderful blessing, so good in fact it deserves every ranking ans accolade tossed its way. You and your opinion don't mean shit because its in the minority. Kinda like gay men.
Hahaha! Someone's a little sensitive aren't they? Mommy forget to feed you your bottle of milk tonight? You took quite the offense to a post where I didn't even really slam the beer..... I liked it, I didn't love it (as colin cowherd would say).
Funny thing is, you can like Dreadnaught as much as you want, fine with me, I know lots of people who lovee it. But I also know some people who don't think it's the greatest thing on earth like most midwesterners do. You must not be from the west coast where we have the greatest hoppy beers of anywhere on the planet. It just doesn't hold up to beers we get fresh out here.
Your review of Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA was featured as the random review on SixPackTech.com
Thanks a lot.
FCGrabo
Post a Comment