Founders Brewing Co. - Devil Dancer - Triple IPA

Hey,
A couple of days ago I had my first Founders Brewing Co. Devil Dancer. It's a Triple IPA, packing quite a punch @ 13% ABV!!! It is dry-hopped for 26 day with 10 different varieties of hops (From BA)!!!
I decided to pair it up with a Carlos Torano 1916...





Appearance - This beer pours a beautiful cherry amber color. Not a ton of head, and pretty minimal lacing.

Smell - The first thing I figured I'd be smelling was overpowering hops, but no... Roasted caramel maltiness. The hops are there for sure though. Boy, you can smell the "13% abv"!!!

Taste - IMO, this beer is very well balanced between the hops and the maltiness. It reminds me very much of a Barleywine! The alcohol creates a nice warming!

Mouthfeel - I'd say this beer is pretty full bodied, not a ton of carbonation.

Drinkability - Goes down very easy, but you probably don't want to drink more than one or two. A sipping beer for sure!!!

Go easy on the review fellas... I'm still a "NEWB"!!!
Overall I'd say... WOW this beer is near the top of my all time favorites... And of course, not be found around these parts!!!

Cheers!!!

I had it on draught the other week and I concur with much of your review. Barleywine was a comparison both the GF and I made as well.

Compared with other triple IPAs I have had in the past, Devil Dancer is much more balanced in just about every perspective...while impressive, that in itself is a flaw for a 3IPA IMHO. There was too much malt in the flavor and not enough hop bitterness, flavor or aroma for an IPA based style. At 13% the alcohol is present but in no way assertive or hot. The mouthfeel/body was full and the pour almost still but it did not approach the syrupy effect that some other 3IPAs exhibit.

It wasn't what I expected when I ordered it but it was a superbly crafted brew with a rich, complex flavor that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I saw this in the local store yesterday, and really wanted to buy some... but $15 for a 4 pack is a bit rough... but I will probably end up buying a 4 pack before the weekend... Since the post above was posted almost a year ago, I was hoping to revive this thread to see if anyone else has any other opinions on it...

I've had a couple bottles of this since the review I posted. The hop presence was different between the tap version and the two bottles, not to mention the bottles were different in intensity (likely due to freshness). Don't get me wrong, it was a tasty beer each time but not an over the top hop monster.

I'm a big fan of Founders. I had their Old Curmudgeon ale the other day and it was fantastic. Their Breakfast Stout is great, the Kentucky Breakfast Stout is even better but hard to find.

OK, I bit the bullet and bought a pack last night. I knew I would kick myself if I didnt get it when I had the chance. I love Founder's Centennial IPA, and I have high expectations for this... Especially now that I know not to expect an over the top hoppiness I will not be disappointed, and I will leave feedback once I have cracked open a bottle this evening...

It poured with very little head for me, and it dissolved pretty quickly. The color was beautiful red and it was not syrupy. IIIPA is almost a disingenuous category, as it didnt have the bitterness, hop flavor or hop aroma you would expect out of an IPA - the IBUs were no doubt up there, but when put in contrast with the FG and sweetness, and the malt flavor which was also not hiding, it was an incredibly balanced beer. There was a slight hop nose, which was accented by an alcohol nose.

That is actally what I found most impressive in this brew. The alcohol was pretty apparent in the nose, but in the flavor the alcohol rally blended, and it almost caused the other flavors to rise up within your mouth. It was very pleasant, actually. The beer was a tad viscous, as to be expected, though like I said not syrupy, and it is was really that viscosity that served as the tell-tale sign that you were consuming a high ABV beer. The alcohol nose dissolved when it came to flavor and really served the beer well, bringing malt flavor and malt sweetness to the foreground right alongside the hops, which were not overbearing in bitterness of flavor or aroma. All in all incredibly well balanced and delicious, though I cant imagine wanting to drink more than one or two in a sitting, not just because of the inevitable drunkenness that would result but because it would just be too much, too filling, too much of a palate blast.