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

Robert Johnson's Hellhound On My AleRobert Johnson's Hellhound On My Ale
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
 
Delaware, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
10%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.93 | pDev: 13.49%
Reviews:
578
Ratings:
1,882
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 08, 2021
Added:
Mar 15, 2011
Wants:
  134
Gots:
  374
Hellhound is a super-hoppy ale that hits 100 IBUs in the brewhouse and 10% ABV. It's dry-hopped with 100% Centennial hops at a rate of 100 kilos per 100 barrel brew-length. Can you tell we're stoked for this mighty musical centennial?

To accentuate and magnify the citrusy notes of the Centennial hops (and as a shoutout to Robert Johnson's mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson), we add dried lemon peel and flesh to the whirlpool.

58 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jzeilinger:
Photo of jzeilinger
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

4.27/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A - Pours a golden orange color with a mild white creamy head that dies down to a faint ring, carbonation is minimal.

S - Pungent lemon grass, biscuity caramel malt, and light grapefruit rinds. The lemons cut through and is more noticeable than the other aromas.

T - Similar to the nose with big, grassy lemon rind in the forefront followed by a bitter orange & grapefruit rind with big boozy effervescence. There's a touch of spiciness in there as well but the lemons play the biggest role on the palette.

M - Heavy medium body and almost velvet feeling on the tongue.

O - Bitterness and booziness come to mind with this beer. It's very different compared to the other DFH IPA's I've had in the past, it "reads" more like a West Coast IPA with a totally different twist. Hats off to Sam and his band of brewing bandits, I really like this one! I really like DFH's premise for brewing this beer (as read from the bottle label): "2011 marks the 100th birthday of Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson who, according to legend, sold his souldown at the crossroads in a midnight bargain and changed music forever. DFH pays tribute to this blues legend by gettin' the hellhounds off his trail and into this finely-crafted ale...To accentuate and magnify the citrusy notes of the centennial hops (and as a shout out to Robert Johnson's mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson) we added dried lemon peel... Being a guitar player of 35+ years and an avid homebrewer and lover of IPA's, this beer is the bomb. Setting everything else aside, how cool is it to draw from real people and experiences to brew a really good beer? The inspiration is really neat, and how this was pieced together was cool also. There's other greatly inspired brews out there, but this one really hits home with me because they hit on three passions: music, guitars, and brewing. I want to emphasize that my review isn't based on the fact that I love music and guitars, it's an honest assessment of the beer. I think it's underrated in this particular case.
May 18, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of moodenba
Rated by moodenba from New York

3.67/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Blues fan. Son bought the bottle for me.
Apr 08, 2021
Photo of feloniousmonk
Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Appearance: hazy, amber. lasting white head on top.

Aroma: mild hop approach, but plenty of fruit and citrus, lots of malt-delivered fruit-y character. Terrifically pleasant. I'm happy.

Taste: So, I'm spinning the classic Columbia album, "King of the Delta Blues Singers", from the "Thesaurus of Classic Jazz". "Rambling on My Mind" is on right now. All the lemon in this makes me stay a second, no matter how hard she treats me. We've gone through Preaching Blues and When You Got a Good Friend, and are 5 tracks away from the title that lends it's name to this ale, in a fashion, "Hellhound on my Trail". Bitter and sour, with a lean malt body, the hops and the citrus addition become primary.

As I often report from the lines of label copy on beer bottles, I know quote from the album: "Robert Johnson sang primitive blues about women, His references were earthy and only thinly disguised. He lived the life he sang about and which ultimately killed him. He was not unique in that respect. /..."

I'm still not 100% sure that this is the best beer with which to give him tribute.So the blues equal bitter, therefore a lemon-infused ale? Maybe something earthier? Richer, darker? "Hellhound" has no direct relation to lemons. Maybe I missed something?
Oct 17, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by brittanylicious from Indiana

Oct 20, 2019
 
Rated: 4.23 by Specules from California

Aug 30, 2019
 
Rated: 4.19 by Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

May 04, 2019
Photo of GuyFawkes
Reviewed by GuyFawkes from Illinois

4/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bright yellow/orange hue.

White head; nice lace.

Lemon citrus nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

A refreshing lemon citrus flavor; not too bitter.

Well done; booze is well hidden!
Apr 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.99 by dafla67 from Pennsylvania

Mar 28, 2019
 
Rated: 5 by Reggie_Dunlop from Pennsylvania

Jan 13, 2019
 
Rated: 4.43 by JohnDon from Texas

Oct 04, 2018
Photo of MikeWard
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

3.86/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
1pt 9.4oz bottle into a pint glass. bottled 10/21/13, so 4 1/2 years old here. This should be interesting...

hazy bordering on murky dark amber body. with good bubbly cream colored head. slow carbonation. decent lacing.

aroma is of old malts.

taste isn't bad at all. sweet, malty, faintly lemon which gives it some bitterness. a little sour. A decent drink, given the age.

mouth closing in on full, finish bittersweet, and slightly sour on the back of the mouth.

overall, given that this is categorized as a DIPA, and it's 4 1/2 years old, this is not a terrible drink at all. in fact the longer it goes on, the more pleasing it becomes. The hops have completely faded of course, but the lemon and lemon peel still give it some residual bitterness. 10.0abv is very present, so the beer must be respected.
May 04, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by jhlosito75 from Pennsylvania

Dec 28, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by GreenBayBA from Wisconsin

Oct 26, 2017
 
Rated: 3.67 by themegamancave from Illinois

May 04, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by BarrelAgedG from California

Apr 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.39 by CreightonSM from New York

Apr 19, 2017
 
Rated: 3.79 by therealJAYZ from Pennsylvania

Mar 21, 2017
 
Rated: 4.05 by Kurzman from Rhode Island

Feb 08, 2017
Photo of q33jeff
Reviewed by q33jeff from New Jersey

3.82/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
**
03/02/2014
Aroma Is lemon and hops. Yellow- orange color. Tart citrus flavor with the strong caramel dry grainy English ale flavor. Alcohol present. Very ""in your face"", but a good ale."
**
Jan 17, 2017
 
Rated: 3.9 by MI_beerdrinker from Texas

Oct 17, 2016
Robert Johnson's Hellhound On My Ale from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 1882 ratings