Founders Devil Dancer - Founders Brewing Company

meathookjones

Virginia

5/5  rDev +26.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This review is from a 12oz bottle sampled on 12-18-04. Pours out a bright reddish amber with about half an inch of light tan head that slowly forms. This leaves some rings of lace around the glass and has fairly decent retention for a 13% monster brew. Aroma starts out with a bit of sweet malt before the huge hops take over. Citric and earthy hops galore leave notes of grapefruit, pine, grass and other yummy hops smells. As it warms some alcohol sneaks into the aroma reminding me of a heavily hopped barley wine. A good amount of caramel malt sweetness starts off the flavor before giving way to a strong citric hop presence. Notes of alcohol are small but there and add greatly to the taste. This really seems like a super hoppy barley wine to me, like a double IPA crossed with an American Barley wine. It finished up on a hoppy and slightly warming note. Mouthfeel is thick and creamy with a warming feel to it. This is remarkably drinkable to me for the strength, but considering this seems to meld 2 of my favorite style it’s not a big surprise. The 13% is hidden quite well and only shows up to add to the experience. Awesome all around beer if you like big beers, Founders did another great job here. Many thanks to Tikkigodxxx for the chance to try this beauty.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2005 14:58:37 | More by meathookjones

clvand0

Kentucky

4.38/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I'm liking Founder's more and more each time I try their brews. This one poured a bright brown/red color with a small head that doesn't have good retention but leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma is ... yeah, hops. Citrus, grapefruit, pine, grassy. All hops. Surprisingly, this one has a great caramelt malt in the flavor. The hops take main stage here. Grapefruit, pine, etc comprise most of the flavor. Strangely drinkable for the high hops and the high alcohol level. Thick mouthfeel. Great brew here.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2005 13:27:18 | More by clvand0

hustlemuscle

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I am a bit disappointed with this one. It looks good, a beautiful golden amber. It smells powerfully of hops, which I like, but man, does it fall apart when you drink it. It is good, but so hopped up that it is actually kind of hard to drink, it is literally so bitter it is searing, and you can feel a burning in your throat as it goes down. A very big beer, warming, but with a bit too much alchohol tang. The hops oil it up, it feels almost slimy as you drink it, you feel it in your throat and on your lips. It is good, but certainly not a session beer, even if you can afford the heavy duty price tag. I am a hop head, and was excited to get a chance to try it, but this one needs some time alone in a dark closet, to see if a little time with meld it into an upper echelon double (or triple?) IPA.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2005 04:36:18 | More by hustlemuscle

kmpitz2

Tennessee

4.55/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

We found this one this week on our treck to Cincinnati. It pours a brillian red color with a small head overtop that falls to coat the beer. The nose is very rich in grapefruity hop and deep sweet caramel, and an apparent alcohol, but at 13%, it is expected. I can't wait to taste it. The flavor is sublime. Lots of brilliant citrus hop, but with a rich caramel malty backbone that supports the hop very well. For such a strong set of flavors, it is really very nice. The fell is very thick, and rather warming after swallowing it. For 13%, this beer is highly drinkabile. Everything is balanced in the flavor, and the alcohol does not get in the way of any part of it. This is a very nice contrast to the breakfast stout. I think Founders has found their niche in the beer market. I'm very happy we can get their stock down this way. Its worth the trip to Cinciy to get it.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2005 03:21:59 | More by kmpitz2

mentor

Colorado

3.55/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Hard poured to create a whitish 2-finger head when poured from a chilled 12 oz screw-top bottle (December, 2004). No sediment in the bottle, a not-so-clear ruby orange/red color. Smells strongly of woody and then citrusy hops with a faint caramel & malt sweet. Also a winterfresh, which may be the alcohol (13%) mixing with some spicey hop. Thick mouthfeel. ALCOHOL, then hop bitter, and a mild caramel sweet. Some citrus, but not as strong as I was expecting. Some hop woody and some malt/yeast biscuity. The alcohol predominates throughout. This needs some kind of fix. To hot alcohol, not enough malt. Don't believe the hype.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2004 03:47:16 | More by mentor

marburg

Michigan

2.9/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

12/17, 8:40am, addendum: I just walked into my den, where I left the glass for this, and the *instant* I walked it, the entire room smelled like hops -- and maple syrup w/ a kick of fermenting wort. The glass was empty. Upon contemplating what this means, I guess "smell" isn't so god-awful. Points for staying power.

12/17, around midnight, original review: I've been drinking this for about 45 minutes, and I'm only half finished. See, I like just about every style of beer, and it's rare that I really dislike something, so this is probably not a good thing.

Tonight was pale ale/IPA night, and I decided to close with the ol' Devil Dancer. Snaps for the kick ass label.

But let's talk about the beer.

Eh...well...this kind of sucks. Sure, the shade of red is bewitching and matches the reddish label perfectly. But this doesn't even smell like a plant or fruit that gives the impression of hops like pine or grapefruit. This smells like someone dropped me in the middle of a hop field straight out of Little Shop of Horrors and the little bastards were trying to eat me alive. They're everywhere and allow practically no nuance to escape -- a fleeting, miniscule hint of resinous, raw evergreen. Then straight back to the raw hops. They're here to take over the world.

You'll have to pardon my anger. But really, I'm just pissed because my tongue is going to require surgery to recover. This starts with a sweet caramel malt presence and chewed, sweet, used rubber. Briefly interesting. And then I stop tasting anything because all the hops and alcohol kill my palate. Sitting for a bit and not drinking allows this lingering Pepto-Bismol, jelly-like texture and residual barleywine boozey sweetness to emerge, so I'm left wondering if there was something interesting I missed in the finish.

Because there is no finish to this beer.

The "finish" would be like equating global thermonuclear war to the end of a military skirmish. There's not really anything left to talk about, no victory to celebrate.

Consolation prize: It's got some body to it. And the hops really do beat the shit out of the 13% alcohol. Other than in the finish, it was barely there for what is now 50 straight minutes of consumption. But really, served even a little cold, the hops blow it away.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2004 03:52:04 | More by marburg

Wildman

Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This beer bills itself as a triple IPA with a heavy duty IBU level and 13% alcohol. It poured a a clear medium reddish amber color and formed a hubge off white foam head that behaved like a float, coating the glass with lace as it slowly subsided. An aroma of hops, caramel and some pine. The flavor was of hops, caramel and some other candy elements. The body is fairly smooth and the finish sweet with a touch of astrigency. The alcohol is hidden well. Style wise it reminds me of types like Moylan's Double IPA and such that tend to be sweeter than say the arid Ruination.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2004 01:26:56 | More by Wildman

CRJMellor

Arkansas

4.35/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Special thanks to TikkiGoddxx for the bottle
Pours red and caramel with a moderate light tan head that fades away and leaves small spots of lace. Lots of yummy yeasties suspended in the liquid.
Aroma of heavy, sweet caramel and toffee in the background with a raw, resiny, sweet hop hit upfront.
Flavors of sweet caramel, a hint of chocolate, some wheat bread, hint of dark citrus fruits combine with dripping, oily raw, resined hops. Very earthy and extremely oily and resiny.
Mouthfeel is swet throughout. Bitterings don't really cut the sweetness but rather shape the direction of the sweetness. In the middle a fairly dry point shapes but is smoothed by continuing malt sweetness.
Drinkability is very high for such a big ABV and IBU brew. Little alcohol is present on the tongue. Pleasant combination of tastes and flavors are sharp yet not enough to overpower in any direction. Have to get this recipe, great beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2004 16:37:41 | More by CRJMellor

granger10

Wisconsin

4.68/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I have to review this one now while the taste still lingers in my mouth. This beer poured a very dark brownish color with purple highlights and a frothy tan head. The aroma was difficult to detect because of the coldness of the beer and smokiness of the place but I did get some pine and floral hoppiness on the smell. The taste wasn't the overly bitter, out of whack hoppiness I was half expecting considering the name. This beer simply amazed me! First it was very creamy which is odd for a 10% beer. Second it was quite thick and syruppy. Lastly it was extremely smooth and easy to drink (way too easy to drink). The balance was remarkable. Lots of sweet, syruppy maple and caramel at first but then the hoppiness kicks in. More flavor from the hops than bitterness but it was still bitter. This wasn't the most complex beer I have had but that might have been because of the coldness of the beer and the fact I drank it too fast to let it warm. This was liquid candy for any hop head or malt head or anybody who appreciates good beer. The best DIPA I have had to date!

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2004 15:50:27 | More by granger10