Founders Devil Dancer - Founders Brewing Company

rajendra82

Georgia

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

An awesome trade from CRJMellor brought this 12 oz. bottle to Georgia from Michigan. The choice of label art was interesting, to say the least, and so was the style moniker of Triple IPA. The beer poured barley wine like deep red amber, with a thick syrupy, dense body that was topped by an average sized beige head that left a good curtain of lace. The smell was citric hoppy reminding me of grapefruit rinds, and had roasty sweet malts lurking just behind the blanket. The beer was leaning definitely on the hoppy side with a zesty peppery taste of burning hop oils. The caramel and pale malts were not quite subdued with the boisterous hoppyness and provided a nicely sweet backbone. The mouthfeel was slick and was followed by a soft buttery-sweet aftertaste. Dangerously drinkable beer that will be sorely missed for being absent from these parts.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2005 03:06:07 | More by rajendra82

mynie

Indiana

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a deep, dark rust with a surprising head. Remarkably clear without excessive filtration.

Smells of like a dozen different hop varieties. Insane. Indescribable. Sooo much, but it somehow lets a strong malt syrup come through. Just boldness.
It's bold.

Tastes of strong syrup tastypain. Moves into a wooden, oaky, piney, sweet, grapfruit, dry, wonderful blend of hops. The hops just blend and bend into one another like opitcal illusions emerging randomly out of television static. Wonderful. Perfectly perfectly wonderful and balanced out with a bready death yeast that tastes like heaven and biscuit dough, strong enough to be a very strong stout.

Fucking great.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2007 04:16:06 | More by mynie

paco1029384756

Illinois

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Dark ruby copper appearance, small head with perfect lacing. Strong scent of hops, slight blueberry, citrus, molasses, honey. Intense hop flavor, with strong bitterness, caramel, slight citrus, prunes; some yeast in the finish. Commendably smooth mouth feel, lingering bitterness, just remarkable.

An excellent beer, a top notch Imperial IPA. Incredible smoothness for the huge hoppy flavor and clinging bitterness. An entirely relaxing and immensely enjoyable beer. Please go buy some.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2008 01:24:05 | More by paco1029384756

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Serving type: on tap at the South Philly Taproom, Founders Event, Philly Beer Week 2007.

Pours a nice amber color with foamy off-white head. Hoppy aroma with hints of malt and citrus. Very smooth and well balanced. ABV very well hidden. Creamy and somewwhat sweet with a nice malt presence that balances out the floral and citrus hops. Excellent!

Serving type: on-tap

11-27-2008 17:53:10 | More by corby112

BigMike

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

From a 12oz bottle into a Duvel Tulip

Pours a glowing orange with some reddish accents. A thick two finger head tops it off.

Smell is magnificent. Ripe pineapple, citrus, mainly grapefruits and orange. Tons of fresh hop aroma and the slightest amount of caramel malt smell.

The flavor is everything i expected from a Triple IPA from founders. WOW! This is one helluva BIG BEER! One of the best malt flavors i have ever had. Caramel, molasses, maple brown sugar syrup. Tons of hoppy bitterness. Pineapple, and grapefruit. Perfectly balanced in my opinion.

Mouthfeel is big and thick and rich. A delight on the tastebuds. Just enough carbonation.

No doubt about it. This one is a sipper. 12-13% abv is noticeable although they make a strong attempt at hiding it.

Founders is undoubtedly one of the best breweries in the country. They consistently produce world class beers.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2009 00:06:14 | More by BigMike

jdg204

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Thrilled to get another shot at a Founders brew from my buddies at Abe's Cold Beer in Bethlehem, PA. I've had an incredible streak of success with Founders thus far and when I saw this well touted Seasonal I knew I had to try it.

A: Dark, hazy orange color with a thick head that falls quickly to a thick surface foam with good lacing.

S: Good deal of pine and grapefruit leap out of the glass.

T: Huge malt profile (which I like) starts with a heavy dose of grapefruit, citrus, and pine. Some apples and honey come on later and it's all extremely well balanced with a serious hop bitterness.

M: Heavy body with good carbonation. Aftertaste is fantastic and stays on the tongue for a good while.

D: Well I've found a new love and a new favorite Founders (which is saying something). This was an amazing brew and it really lived up to the Triple IPA billing (I could easily see this classified as a West Coast Barleywine as it reminded me of Bigfoot). A tour de force of beer as the guys at Founders show why they may be the best brewery in the country (can't wait to try KBS and Old Curmudgeon which are in the fridge). I can't reco this brew highly enough, go find it!

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2009 12:28:13 | More by jdg204

david18

New York

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I previously reviewed this beer under my own created brand because I thought it wasn't on BA. The brand says Triple IPA so I was confused. Here's what I wrote:

I wasn't sure if this was a triple IPA, like IPA with more intense hops and malt or tripel IPA, some amalgam belgian ipa. It was definitely the former and definitely one of the best over-the-top IPAs I've ever had. Great hop aroma and intense bitterness. Very good malt/sweet flavor. Really strong...I'm feeling it now. Definitely get this beer. I forget the name but will post when I see it again.

Serving type: on-tap

07-02-2010 21:39:20 | More by david18

machostacos

Indiana

4.88/5  rDev +23.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into my favorite tulip glass from the classic Founders stubby bottle. Dated 06/17/11 08:55.

A: Gorgeous ruby-hued amber, clear as day, with a small eggshell-white head. There is not much head, nor does it show much staying power, but at 12% ABV that's not a surprise. Thin, wispy lacing. This liquid looks as though it is dancing - the name and label artwork are perfect.

S: This thing smells like hoppy Kool-Aid with an alcohol burn...but I mean that in the absolutely best possible way. It's so sweet it's like candy, but with the most glorious hop aroma I have ever experienced. You see aroma and flavor descriptions like "pineapple", "mango", and "peach" thrown around a lot, and most of the time the description is close (...to a point - more-so as a reference and not a literal 1:1 description.) But in Devil Dancer...it's as though the most perfectly ripe of hand-picked peaches and pineapple and mango were gently crushed, dusted with the lightest bit of sugar, and delicately dipped into this delectable ambrosia. And the alcohol, while certainly apparent, is integrated so well into the thick fog that hovers over this beer that it merely adds yet another dimension of interest. This aroma is 100% unique to Devil Dancer, and it is glorious.

T: The joyous triumphant tears of the heavens were wrung into this bottle. Is this what the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil tasted like? Incredible hop flavors, again, of literal pineapple, mango, papaya, peach, and the sweetest and most bitter of grapefruits mingle and sway in concert with a strong but never imposing malt backbone. The massive bitterness is slowly and dramatically unveiled in the middle of a sip, like the unfurling of a velvet curtain, and it slowly and triumphantly withers in an embrace with the bright and glowing sweetness until only the resplendent wreckage of your palate remains, begging for another adventurous sip.

M: Syrupy, slick, thick, and oily. Mouth-coating and tongue-destroying. Oppressive yet embracing. This is a lover and a fighter, with equal parts of each. The interplay between sweet and bitter, delicate and destructive, delightful and disastrous, is unmatched in my experience. The vapors of alcohol and sheer bitter carnage waft ominously from an open mouth after only a few sips. This beer is both reason and insanity, and it is magnificent.

O: I am no poet, but Devil Dancer inspires more than mere prose. It is masterful in every way, and will inspire and impress whether a few weeks or a few years old, as it will no doubt age with the best of them. Devil Dancer is certainly not for the faint of heart, but if you are truly prepared to dance with the devil, you are in for one spectacular ride.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2011 05:15:29 | More by machostacos

jbhuxley

South Carolina

4.85/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This is the last survivor of the 4 pack that I purchased in July. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a snifter. Bottled on 6/17/09.

Pours hazy, brilliant ruby copper in color, with one finger of smooth cream colored head. Retention is good, subsiding to a ring after the first couple of sips. Leaves behind a solid sticky but runny coat of lacing.

Smells strongly of grapefruit citrus hops with a malty, honey/toffee aroma. Alcohol presence is also very noticeable. As the beer warms up a bit, some dark fruit scents begin to come out.

There's a blast of earthy, grassy hops right from the start. The malt is packed full of brown sugar flavors, but not overly sweet. The alcohol warms on its way down.

There is less of a fruity hop presence than I remember from drinking this beer back in July and August. I would have loved to save this beer for longer, but I didn't want to kill the hoppiness. I am however, getting much more of a toffee presence than I remember from drinking this beer in the past.

Mouthfeel is not overly thick but still a bit sticky. The alcohol is not so much noticeable in the taste, just in the warming as it goes down. This beer is exceptionally drinkable, considering the ABV and the IBUs listed on the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2009 01:29:47 | More by jbhuxley

Bighuge

Minnesota

4.83/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This beer is a deep, slightly murky looking shade of burgandy. A thin white head caps it off quite nicely (especiall given this one's 13%). The lace formed is web like in nature and quite abundant. Again, impressive given the a/v. Pure hop bliss on the nose. Hop resin. Mary Jane like pungency. Tropical Fruit Medley. Pine sap. And some sweet caramel maltiness in the background. The taste follows suit in a big way. Tropical fruit blends with sweet caramel and toffee. And hop cone and grapefruit rind and pine resin... Great hop flavor. The bitterness is real and it is raw...in a good way. This beer has an edge to it but is really quite drinkable as well. I am very impressed with this one.

Thanks for the Devil Dancer cokes. Next time, how 'bout a Lap Dancer??

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2005 06:02:19 | More by Bighuge

FishHeadLover

Tennessee

4.83/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

First off let me say that I love IPAs and this beer scared me.

Pour= Redish brown color with very little head disappearing into very little to no head.

Smell= Hops and syrup. Grapefruit and alc.

Mouth= thick syrup and bite.

Taste= Hops Hops Hops and more hops

Drinkability= Very drinkable. Nowonder they sell it in a four pack and not a six, six would kill you.

I highly recommend for IPA lovers!

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2008 08:52:17 | More by FishHeadLover

jbphoto88

Texas

4.83/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Fired brick red with a slow to form pitiful head. A thimble full of off white spit is all I get before it fades back into the opaque liquid. The higher ABV and the screw cap is where I'll blame the lack of show.

The smell is almost all bitter awesome hops. They dominate the aroma but not completely as a subtle caramelized grain mixed with vodka fight through. I can't wait to taste this beer based on the nose.

The taste doesn't disappoint. The first sip crushes your tongue with 112 IBU's and doesn't let up from there. As the enamel is stripped from my teeth, thick sweet malts that range from a caramel syrup to rum cake flood my palate and assault the nerves. Awesomeness. This beer has giant flavors and they compliment each other magically. This beer is like a fine crafted automobile where it has all the same parts of a regular car but the difference is clearly evident in the performance and quality.

High marks again for the mouthfeel. Devil Dancer has more thickness then some RIS I've had. DD is past the full bodied stage and has moved into chewy beer granola bar status. I've found that exceptional beers like this one are harder for me to review because my mind goes in so many different directions at once. It's difficult to find the words to describe such a bold feel, amazingly good aroma and a taste that is one of the best I've ever had, especially when they come at you all at once. An amazing beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2009 00:07:09 | More by jbphoto88

CampusCrew

Florida

4.83/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

appearance: reddish amber, frothy and creamy looking

smell: major grapefruit

taste: huge hop bomb and alcohol well hidden. drank this very quick for a 12%. lots of bready malts, decently balanced. loaded grapefruit

mouthfeel: medium-full bodied

drinkability: amazing. funny story.. My mother in law was sittign next to me and she suddenly said.. Hmm I smell grapefruits. I said smell my empty glass. She was amazed that that what she smelled.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2010 04:05:11 | More by CampusCrew

Lauthaha

Michigan

4.83/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Served on-tap at my local watering hole. (From notes)

Appearance: Deep amber color with burnt sienna and ruby color hues. Head is thick and creamy with a cappuccino color, and leaves heavy spiderweb lacing as it recedes.

Smell: Sweet and bready. Some currant/red berry tones as well. Very floral hops. Despite the high ABV, it's supremely easy on the nose as well.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Beer comes in beautifully bitter. As the frothy carbonation works its magic, toasted caramel and butterscotch along with purple/red fruits and a plethora of hops attack the taste buds. Under it all is a superbly underwhelming wine-like alcohol which is very well hidden. After taste is dirty bitterness and earthy flavor.

Overall: A great example of Michigan ingenuity. Once again, bravo to Founders!

Serving type: on-tap

07-01-2011 13:02:03 | More by Lauthaha

RenoZymurgist

Nevada

4.83/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured a clear deep amber/red with a thin white head that disipated quickly.

The aroma is of rich resinous hops with a light sweet maltyness and an alcoholic warmth.

The flavor is amazing with a quick malty intro the hops assault your tastebud with more of the dank, resinous hop flavor.

Mouthfeel was perfect for the style as the body was not too thick for the lingering hop bitterness.

Overall a very delicious beer. I would recommend it to anyone who really loves hops.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2011 20:22:34 | More by RenoZymurgist

SheepNutz

Kentucky

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

12oz. bottle poured into a tulip-style glass. It pours a deep burgundy color with three fingers of head on a heavy pour that stick around for quite some time. There's a damn good amount of lacing for a 13% brew. The smell is very sweet and very hoppy. It smells like a grapefruit hard candy (vitamin-C drop anyone?), but a little bit better. It's a fairly pronounced smell. The taste is superb, with lots of maltiness up front that is fairly sweet. Don't look for it to stay long though, as the hops come rushing over the tongue, covering it in alpha acid goodness. The bitterness is not overpowering at all, and there is NO trace of alcohol at all. The mouthfeel is very thick and heavy, yet smooth. The drinkabiliy couldn't get any better for a 13% brew. Take some notes Avery, this is a high alcohol, highly hopped beer that you can actually drink. Hooray!

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2005 04:21:40 | More by SheepNutz

nortmand

Virginia

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours deep ruby red with a quickly disappearing off white head.

Resin smell dominates. Very piney, with a bitrusy background. Alcohol presence enough to make your eyes watery. some raisiny malt notes.

Upon drinking, instant hop gratification ensues. Huge flavors of kumquat and pomegranate. Raisiny sweetness. Leaves a very bitter nearly rubber flavor on the back of the tongue. Lingers, just won't quit. Warming alcohol on the way down.

Big and chewy, nearly oily, the only improvement this beer could use is a bit more dryness. Other than that a fine beverage. Close enough to 120 min. for government work with 1/3 the pricetag.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2006 02:01:08 | More by nortmand

mrasskicktastic

New Jersey

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A - A small head sits atop an opaque sienna brew. As the tiny bubbles of carbonation strive to rise to the surface of the viscous brew, they move as if through corn syrup. Isolated specks of lacing are scattered about the walls of the glass.

S - Very potent pine and citrus hops over a sweet aroma of figs, honeydew melon and caramel. Abv is wholly masked. Very nice.

T - A pleasant sweetness strong in dark fruits quickly turns to a grapefruit pith bitterness that escalates in strength until it reaches a comfortable level which could turn a lesser man inside-out. Damn good.

M - Very thick, it has the consistancy of maple syrup (the real stuff, not that Mrs. Butterworths stuff), it is astonishingly refreshing considering the sweetness and the bittermess.

D - I don't know how other's feel about this, but I could drink this every day. (Note to self: Move to Michigan.) If I had ready access to this and it was cheap, I'm sure I'd drink myself to death within a month. (Note to self: Ignore last note for longevity's sake.) This is the sort of beer that is a terrible idea to session, but I know that I'd find myself doing it anyway. I will make I point to buy this again if I am ever in an area that distributes it. How does it go with food? Well, I had a burrito for dinner. I burrito that I botched and put in about 3x the cumin I should have. Devil Dancer was not only able to hold it's own against this burrito, but it tasted almost exactly the same. Amazing. Top notch performance Founders!

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2006 22:51:38 | More by mrasskicktastic

madtowndmb1

Wisconsin

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A: Pours a great brownish-red with little head

S: Has a fruity smell. One of the best smelling beers I've run into yet.

T: What else can I say, might be the best beer I've had yet!!

M: A bit bitter off the bat, but mellows out to leave a sweeter after taste. Enjoyable indeed.

D: At %13 you could get in trouble, but drinking a bunch of these is not out of the question.

One of the best beers I've had yet

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2008 00:56:16 | More by madtowndmb1

dancinwillie

Wisconsin

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a chalice.

A: pours a dark reddish/brown with a 1 fingered, viscous light tan head that struggles to stay formed. the head drops to a modest covering within minutes. devil dancer appears to be a malty IIPA, which is much to my liking.

S: Piney/Grapfruit hops hit me right away, with an underlying whiff of alcohol. I am not smelling any malt, which seems so pronounced in the appearance.

T: Strong hop bitterness, a dead heat between the pine, and the grapefruit that was picked up in the aroma. sweet malt flavor is very noticeable too, however, and it comes across as a great balance between the two. I don't notice too much of an alcohol taste, but I can still smell it strongly. Also picking up a rich fruitiness, which I attribute to the yeast strain(s).

M: Creamy, thick, and oily, but all in a fantastic balance. This is a full bodied beauty .

O: This is a big beer that doesn't feel the need to rely on over-doing one aspect of it's own style. I don't feel this is a hop-bomb at all. A well balanced, quaffable IIPA that could only disappoint serious hop heads. This is sure to be one of my new favorite seasonals.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2008 04:19:45 | More by dancinwillie

buffettfan

Arizona

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had at a night of beer tasting at Stella in Traverse City Mich. Our waiter warned me when I ordered it!

Appearance. Golden dark brown/redish.
Smell- at first, tons of hops, with a candy/carmel sweet smell, with some alcohal notes.
Taste- WOW! Explosive flavor! Almost overloud. Not as hoppy as I was expecting, but there was a lot of hops there. Has a sweet, carmel flavor, like brandy.
Mouthfeel was very thick. Not a lot of carbanation.
Drinkablty- not something I would want to drink everyday. Its a good dessert beer, and should be enjoyed one at a time.

Great beer, wish I could get it in my area!

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2008 18:39:48 | More by buffettfan

klevelandrocks

Ohio

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Note that I'm a hophead. This is one of the most amazing brews from one of the best breweries (keep in mind, the brewery is in Michigan and I live in Ohio and phrases like this aren't allowed)

A very nice looking beer with a great, lacy head. The smell is very complex with a very clean grapefruit aroma coming through (this is from my wife who drinks nothing but sweet wines). The taste is amazing with a good level of maltiness with a BAM of hoppiness that I expected from a 'triple IPA' called 'Devil Dancer'.

The mouthfeel was very good, has everything a great IPA should have - from malt to incredible hoppiness, and I mean INCREDIBLE hoppiness.

As far as drinkability is concerned, this would be difficult for newbies or those that do not appreciate hop bombs, but I could drink this all night long and for breakfast if the wife did not catch me. Amazing brew for hopheads that enjoy balance over bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2009 03:24:09 | More by klevelandrocks

zbuc919

Michigan

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Ashley's in A2. Taking a nice big whiff the aroma blew my mind. It was not only grapefruit, but loads of tropical fruit too. A sip was a wave of flavor, nice citrusy hop flavor up front with a sweet body and a bunch of hoppy bitterness, but really well balanced, almost surprisingly so. The alcohol warms the end as the flavor continues to shift through. This is an awesome beer, well done again Founder's!

Serving type: on-tap

07-24-2011 04:09:48 | More by zbuc919

cdkrenz

Wisconsin

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A gift from XCal29 back in October of 2010, I've been cellaring this July 2010 release ever since at a temperature above 45 degrees.

A - A cloudy orange-brown body with a quarter inch of medium tan head of decent stamina leaving a nice lacy trace along the interior of my pint.

S - A surprisingly malty nose accented by pungent plum, anise and alcohol.

T - A deep, rich, bold combination of medium roasted malts and hops. This has a firm flavor of malt and the balance offered from the hops make for a supreme tasting IPA. It nears the flavors offered in a very good barley wine.

M - Thick, sticky, mild abrasive feel in the back of my throat, and an every lasting flavor residue left behind each pull.

~ This is an amazing beer. This has to be one of the best Imperial IPAs I've ever enjoyed. I'm even more impressed at how well it aged over the past year.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2011 17:20:31 | More by cdkrenz

challenja

Virginia

4.8/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Served On Tap at Churchkey DC.

A: A beautiful red blood orange hue. Zero head, all Laroux "In for the Kill" Bizness!
S: Sweet hoppy malts. !0 different hops in this freakish beauty. Fragrant ruby red grapefruit, sweet cherries, and sweet hay grass.
T: What can I say but DELICIOUSNESS in a glass!! This is my favorite IPA. Its got the sweet pull of a Lagunitas Undercover shutdown ale with the lushiousness of a Firestone Double Jack. It is the best of the best! Sour mash ruby red grapefruit, red berries, orange rind, honey hop sweet grass.
Ahhh so good!

M: Thick creamy low carbonation booze tingling amazingess. So thick. So syrupy, so good!

O: This is my favorite IPA hands down. Champion style beer that isn't too much of a Palate Wreaker. Just fantastic goodness in a glass!

Serving type: on-tap

07-06-2012 22:28:30 | More by challenja