Robert Johnson's Hellhound On My Ale - Dogfish Head Brewery

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A nice combination of malt, hops and lemon. Hops were understated. That is what I am rating

So-so DIPA. Lttle malty smell, where's the hops. Ok looks, its filtered. Pellet hops were used Centennial. Golden body. A little head, lace. Dry hopped Centennial. The lemony finish is the taste, period.Doug's bottle, thank you very much for sharing. OK drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2011 21:34:58 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

dark amber in color with a light amount of cloudiness and haze. Rich looking with a nice head of about two inches in height and a nice fade into sticky side glass lacing.

The aroma was unreal. Rich fruity notes of peach and orange, hints of lemon and tangerine, so sweet and rich I was beside myself. Not the pungent bitter hops, the light, sweet, fruity notes that I loved. The flavor was more of the same, super sweet light orange and tangerine notes, hints of pineapple and light biscuit malts in the backround. Long sweet, and bitter,dry finish was superb as well. Smooth, mellow carbonation was done just right with an ease of drinkability that had me very impressed with every bit of the 10+ percent no where to be found.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2011 02:10:13 | More by mikesgroove

womencantsail

California

3.03/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Thanks for this one Jason.

A: The beer pours an amber color with a finger of white head.

S: Citrus peels dominate the aroma, especially grapefruit. Some sweet citrus notes in there, too. A fair amount of piney hops are also there along with some caramel malts and toffee.

T: The beer is just bitter, and that's about it. Not too much in terms of the hop flavor, maybe some pine. Perhaps a hint of tangerine peel. Some slight caramel sweetness on the back end as well as a bit of pine sol.

M: Medium in body with a medium to high carbonation.

O: Just way too bitter without featuring much hop flavors. At least it wasn't super boozy like a lot of Dogfish Head beers can be.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 09:26:04 | More by womencantsail

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.2/5  rDev -43.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Bottle picked up at Rick's in Alexandria. Really looking forward to this one. Served in a Dogfish thin pint.

Pours a lightly-hazy peach-apricot color with a good white head and some nice sticky lacing on the way down. The nose carries some light notes of citrus plus a pretty hefty amount of booze. Quite a bit of bready malt in the background as well. The taste is basically a malty mess. There is no real lemon character and the hops are an afterthought. The taste is overrun by a strong alcohol character. Other than that, bready malt and a bit of sweetness. Feel is completely boozed-up and lacks really any bitterness. Not impressive.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2011 11:00:52 | More by Thorpe429

brentk56

North Carolina

3.95/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a rocky head two fingers tall; splotchy lacing leaves a hellhound of a trail for my ale

Smell: The Centennial hops provide great aromatics here, with a lemon twist; citrus hop dominant, with lemon pith, though there is quite a bit of sugary malt underneath

Taste: Despite the very appealing aromatics, the malts jut forward in the taste profile, bringing a sugary base that is followed by the hoppy bitterness in the mid-palate; the hops are lemony and minty with the lemons adding an extra boost to the bitterness; after the swallow, the 100 IBUs linger though the sweetness does compete

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation; some warmth in the gullet

Overall: I wish there weren't quite so much malt flavor in this and, in addition, a blend of hops might have been a better idea than 100% Centennial; still, this is a decent enough DIPA and I am enjoying the Robert Johnson tunes that I am listening to while I am contemplating the brew

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 18:55:15 | More by brentk56

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

2.63/5  rDev -32.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle: Poured a dark amber color ale with a medium size foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of citrus and hops with weird unrefined grainy notes that are not too pleasant. Taste is a weird mix with off-balance notes of citrus and bitter hops with unrefined notes of grain and the actual lemon notes don’t really bring any additional refinement to this beer. Body is quite full with medium carbonation and no apparent alcohol. This appears to be another one of Dogfish head experiment where they don’t know where to stop.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2012 18:39:08 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another commemorative ale for the music industry. Robert Johnson is reincarnated with this sweet, spicy rendition- peppered with bitter, sharp, and with a bite that sticks in your crawl with a pleasant grind.

On the outside, the beer fits the bill of a Double IPA- Deep golden, light copper and with a gentlemanly clarity that carries only the most modest of haze. Froathy white foam blankets the beer with fantastic staying power and lacing well.

Zesty aromas of citrus carry the hop scent through a blend of grapefruit and orange zest until the clean lemon scent finishes the beer for the slight reminesence of furniture polish. Light caramel sweetness supports the hops very well and without competing for attention.

Where malt sweetness finishes the aroma, they start the taste: Light caramel and corn syrup sweetness give initial flavor while the hops begin to build behind. Soft citrus flavors carry the grapefruit and orange peel taste to mid palate where the zesty lemon acidity begins to take over and eventally balance the hops in finish. The hops/lemon character challenges where the hop flavor/bitterness stop and where the lemon flavor/bitterness begins. Delicious, but I'm still distracted by the taste of furniture polish.

Medium malty richness contributes a soft creamy texture that give a rich start until the hop acidity, bitterness, and dryness rise. Lemony acids, bitterness and mild astringency further reinforce the hop character and amplifies the alchol dryness late. Complex bittering has as much an impact on mouthfeel as they do taste, all leading to a snappy and fresh bitterness with the linger of lemongrass going into the next taste.

A delicious beer that exacerbates intense hop character with actual lemon bitterness, flavor, and acids- litteral and marvellously so.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 18:49:22 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I remeber as a teenager getting into the blues and Robert Johnson's persona and legend really stood out in the early 90's,glad to see DFH make a brew to honor him,even if it wasnt that great.Poured into an imperial nonic a deep copper color with a nice sticky 1/2 finger white head.A mix of alcohol,biscuit,and lemon pith in the nose,the alcohol played a big role here,you can tell its a beast before even taking a sip.Sweet and alcoholic at the start with some bscuit malt,the citric hop profile is nice but a little muted because of the alcohol/sweetness.Its a sipper and isnt a real bad beer,but the big alcohol seems to dominate the beer a little in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 12:44:21 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

As a musician myself, I'm a big music fan, and I love the idea of making beers that fit certain artists. First it was Miles, and now it's Robert Johnson. Who'll be next? They did "Johnny Cask", and Sam does his "Woody", so maybe it'll be another jazz or blues legend. I'd suggest Billie Holiday, but I think they've got to be a writer... maybe Thelonious Monk?... something just a little off-kilter, and thinly sugar-coated but still crisp. Hmmm. Anyway...

"Hellbound" is a deep golden-orange beneath a short head of creamy off-white. Hops are present in the nose, but not distinct in character. It's spicy and pepperish, and honeyish and slightly caramelish. Piney hops occasionally make their way through, as does a hint of lemon zest. There's a bit of mint across the middle as the hops combine with the malt. Spice lingers in the finish, and I'm sure a little bit of that is from the heat of the alcohol. We only have 41 tracks from R.J., all of which I'm sure were recorded sober, but I wonder what that boy would have sounded like with just a little bit of juice in 'im.

Conclusion: Lyrics to "Hellhound On My Trail"...
I gotta keep movin
I gotta keep movin
Blues fallin down like hail
Blues fallin down like hail
Umm mmmm mmm mmm
Blues fallin down like hail
Blues fallin down like hail
And the days keeps on worryin me
theres a hellhound on my trail
hellhound on my trail
hellhound on my trail

If today was Christmas Eve
If today was Christmas Eve
and tommorow was Christmas Day
O wouldn't we have a time baby

All I would need my little sweet rider just
to pass the time away huh huh
to pass the time away
You sprinkled hot foot powder mmm
mmm around my door
all around my door
You sprinkled hot foot powder
all around your daddy's door hmm hmm hmm
It keep me with ramblin mind rider
every old place I go
every old place I go
I can tell the wind is risin
the leaves tremblin on the tree
tremblin on the tree
hmm hmm hmm mmm
All I needs is my sweet woman
and to keep my company hey hey hey hey
my company

Serving type: on-tap

05-02-2011 16:20:48 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a glass mug.

Figured we needed something to go with bottling our first lager, so this is what caught my eye at the store. It pours a clear rich amber topped by a finger-and-a-half of dirty white foam. The nose comprises lemon zest, orange zest, pine, light grapefruit, and some seemingly lightly-toasted caramel. The taste holds notes of caramel, harsh lemon zest, mandarin orange, pine, grapefruit rind, and a stinging bitterness near the finish (sort of a reprise of the lemon zest, but taken to its potentially powerfully bitter conclusion, if that makes any sense). It starts off nicely, normally, but then turns darkly sideways. The body straddles the line between heavy light and light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a dry-ish finish. Overall, a decent-ish brew, but the flavors just don't do it for me. Somehow the lemon just doesn't meld properly with the other actors (it's getting a checkmark on its report card...).

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2011 05:37:26 | More by TMoney2591

WesWes

New York

4.16/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a hazy amber color with a thick frothy off-white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a sweet pale and crystal malt scent along with a light bready character. The hop aroma is well pronounced and provides piney hop presence. The lemon zest is faint at best, but does add some extra complexity. The taste is good as well. It has a smooth, malty flavor that's sweet up front and finishes warm and bread-like. It's hoppy, but more balanced than anything else. The lemon flavor shows up in the finish and plays well off the hops. The mouthfeel is fine. It's a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This a terrific beer and an excellent tribute to Robert Johnson. I'm not sure he would like it, but I do.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 20:04:56 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

4.18/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a Dogfish Head snifter because I am able to and if you could you would too.

Beer is amber / orange and mostly clear with a thick head of small off white bubbles that leaves a lot of lacing on the glass. Looks really nice.

Smell is sweet and hoppy, earthy, grinding kind of rough hoppiness you might expect, some grapefruit and other citrus present as well.

Beer is thinner than expected and the finish is nice a bitter but not overwhelming, highly drinkable, beer is citrusy but not overwhelming, there is this earthy hoppiness to it throughout. I'm having a nice night at home drinking some good beer, I'd have this again.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2011 01:37:03 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to djrn2 for sending me a few of these bottles.

The beer pours a yellow-orange color with a white head. The aroma is full of orange and lemon hop notes with some bread and biscuit malt mixed in. A very fruity smelling aroma.

The flavor is also very nice. I get a lot of orange notes from the hops, as well as a lot of sugary candy sweetness. The toffee and biscuit malt are also present and there is a strong lemon flavor right as you are swallowing the beer. Low to medium bitterness.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2011 20:25:38 | More by Mora2000

metter98

New York

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is clear orange in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high frothy off white head that has good retention properties and never completely faded away, leaving thick lacing running down the sides of the glass.
S: The smell is very citrusy and has notes of grapefruit, lemon and orange.
T: Like the smell, the taste is also quite citrusy but the lemony flavors are much more prominent. The taste is also somewhat more balanced and has hints of caramel malts and sweetness as well as notes of alcohol in the finish. A moderate amount of bitterness is present from the initial taste through the finish.
M: It feels a bit heavier than medium-bodied on the palate, somewhat crisp and has a moderate amount of carbonation. There are some hints of warming from the alcohol in the finish.
O: The beer isn’t that difficult to drink considering its strength and amount of bitterness, yet while the addition of lemons adds an interesting twist, it doesn’t make this beer drinkable enough for me to want to try another.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2011 02:22:12 | More by metter98

zeff80

Missouri

4.2/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Poured out a clear, golden amber color with a small, off-white head of bubble foam. It left thin trails of lace on the glass.

S - It smelled spicy and piney with a tangy citrus presence.

T - It tasted of burnt toast maltiness with a piney hop presence. It had a subtle lemon presence that showed up in the aftertaste.

M - It was crisp, sharp and smooth. A medium bodied ale with a warm alcohol presence and dry finish.

O - This is a very tasty DIPA. I'm glad this one showed up at our tasting.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2011 01:24:51 | More by zeff80

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.29/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured from a 750ml bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a large foamy off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick but spotty lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains a lot of fruity citrusness, floral hops and caramelized malts.

T: The taste starts with a strong burst of grassy hops bitterness that quickly fades into a strong fruity citrus sweetness. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy and provides a good balance. There is a mild alcohol sting. The after-taste is slightly sweet and slightly hoppy.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

O: Tasty, goes down very easily, not too filling, strong kick, very good representation of style, this is a very good 2IPA to drink for a long time.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2013 03:06:17 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This pours out as a copper color with a thin white head. The lacing isn't really all there. The smell is kind of strange on this one. It's not the most pleasant smell on a beer. It seems a little out of place. The taste was very good though. The lemon mixes really well with the very hoppy brew. The mouthfeel is a little stinging on the tongue but overall pretty enjoyable brew.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2011 03:53:27 | More by Knapp85

Halcyondays

California

4.4/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 mL bottle,

A: Pours a translucent orange with a firm two finger head. Retention is excellent as is the lace.

S: Endless lemons, some tangerine peel and pine needles mixed in there.

T: Clearly a DIPA, and much more "West Coast" than 90 Minute that's for sure. Lemon zest, citrus heavy, some melon rind. Overall has a great lemony flavour.

M: Medium-bodied, but lush on the palate, it's bigger than what you actually feel. Very clean, not a huge aftertaste on this one, crisp biting carbonation adds to the palate cleansing.

O: This is a really good beer, very much my style of flavours when it comes to DIPAs, went great with some tacos tonight.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2011 01:08:11 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

3.08/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: orange and yellow in color with a 1" head that lingers a bit. No lacing develops.

Smell: loads of lemon zest and some hop bitterness are easy to pull from the glass.

Taste: slight grainy and bready malt profile with loads of lemon flavors, lighter grapefruits, and a surprisingly mild bitterness level. Alcohol is very strong and dominating.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp to start, smoother and a bit dry at the finish. Aftertaste is long as the lemon and alcohol last in the mouth for a long time.

Overall: this beer is a very slow sipper and in the end not as pleasurable as other unique offerings from DFH. Bitterness doesn't really come through as anticipated, and lemon tones are a bit too strong.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2011 11:59:39 | More by Gavage

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had a mug at the Blue Tusk in Syracuse. A pretty good, but not great beer. On one hand the body wasn't too thick (DIPAs shouldn't be syrupy, but often are), giving the beer a nice drinkability for the style.

I would not, however, call this a "super-hoppy" ale. There's a great spicy citrus finish, but I get more toasty caramel malt up front and no big hops in the aroma. This makes it a very nice American strong ale worth trying, just don't expect massive hops.

Serving type: on-tap

04-08-2012 16:19:47 | More by tempest

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.73/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at Al's with Slatetank.

A: The DIPA is golden orange, an amber color that is barely translucent, enough so that I can see the stream of bubbles. A white head, less than half a finger, accompanies the ale.

S: The nose is citrusy, plenty hoppy with grapefruit and lemon driving things. Syrupy at times, plenty of hops.

T: The hops are murky, citrusy and very thick. Sweetness follows, all in the first sip of the beer. Grapefruit and lemon are strong, driving the flavor throughout. Quite heavy too, the ale can't hide its hot streak. Good but I wouldn't go down to the crossroads for this one...

M: A bold DIPA, boozy and hoppy, but it lacks a signature flavor. My soul will have to stay intact.

Serving type: on-tap

12-23-2011 21:25:16 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.4/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a slightly clouded copper orange hazed hue with a bright full thicket of khaki tan head bubbling above the rim of my Dogfish Head chalice. Nose if full of lemon bright notes chalk full of bitter rind with hints of spice hanging out as well. Grapefruit nose comes strnog with Centennial hop additions the same hop found in my favorite Two Hearted Ale. Flavor brings on a boozey hit of alcohol at 10 percent it's really not well hidden and the astringency of the booze and bitterness of the lemonpeel kind of potentiate each aspects of harshness. The smell is much better than the actual flavor I like the 100th birthday, 10.0 SRM, 100% Centennial hops, 10.0 percent abv scheme their using but this isn't a DIPA like 90 minute used to be when it was first released back in early 2000s. Mouthfeel is pure bitterness, slash spice dryness with a disgustingly sweet malt profile lacking hop flavors to mix it up, plus an astringent lemonpeel character outweights the whole experience. Medium bodied evenly carbonated not so much unpleasant as I just don't think lemonpeel is meant to be in any variety of my beloved IPA. Overall character is their as crazy Sam's DFH and crew can churn out something like you've never tasted but is it better than any of their past efforts of good solid drinkable DIPA, of course not.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2011 21:23:40 | More by WVbeergeek

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.13/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Poured a clear a golden color with good carbonation and a small white cap

S: Citrus and thats about it

T: Starts out with a hint at pine and lemon zest. Some other light fruits but not much on hops.

M: Well carbonated, nice feel, clean but the hops are subdued and played out by the lemon and citrus

O: Average

Serving type: on-tap

07-15-2011 01:22:23 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Large, five-finger head that recedes slowly. There is some spotty, but chunky, lace. The brew is orange-amber in color and has a moderate level of haze.

Nice floral hop aroma. I don't detect any lemon as the bottle suggests, but there is a citrus smell (closer to grapefruit).

Smooth start with paler malts showing up initially. There is a strong hop swallow and finish. The bitter aftertaste lasts a long time. I am trying to identify the flavor that is inconsistent with a typical DIPA. It's a clean flavor and it doesn't resemble anything to do with lemon. There's a strong alcohol bite to the finish. The body is full and the carbonation is high.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2011 22:05:54 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to MlhopeTC for this brew.

750ml
Capped
Bottled In: 2011 1

Poured into a DFH glass a nice slightly hazy golden yellow/amber color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger creamy off-white head, which leaves some nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is malty, with some nice hop notes, slight citrus, licorice, pepper. The taste is pretty nice, malty, with some nice hop notes, some citrus, peppery, and a little bit of licorice. Medium Body, nice dry/bitter finish. Overall a pretty nice brew, glad I had a chance to try it, Thanks Matt.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2011 00:29:46 | More by Wasatch