Dragon Series Blue Dragon Double IPA - Alley Kat Brewing Company

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

4.23/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Huge props to my BA bro jemcgrath27 for yet another super score...

A - Pours a slightly hazy copper colour with a golden hue, finger of soapy beige head with some retention and sporadic lacing.

S - Nice soapy citrus, touch of pine, nice caramel undertones with hints of malted milk and earthy cedar.

T - The soapy citrus is heightened with the earthy cedar and pine hop notes, super flavourful yet surprisingly not as bitter as the nose implied. The bready caramel malt lingers on the palette alongside some fresh lemon rind.

M - Lighter bodied bringing about a creamy smooth texture, that finishes surprisingly wet.

O - This is a tasty DIPA and highly recommended to anyone who can get their hands on a bottle. The bitterness is nicely balanced and it boasts a huge hop flavour, and the ABV is well concealed. Super stoked to get a chance to try this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2012 23:06:51 | More by andrenaline

Brianhophead

Alberta (Canada)

4.13/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Blue Dragon pours into the glass pale copper in color, almost resembling a lager. Big bubbles give way to pinpoint carbonation, slightly effervescent in appearance. Carbonation supports a rocky, off white head that lasts and lasts.

S- First aroma out of the glass is hops. Columbia hops give the beer a huge citrussy presence with more than a hint of grapefruit. Hops presence is supported pleasantly by notes of pine. Deep in the center come aromas of toasted bread and notes of caramel. Combination of malt and hops come together well with hints of a faint woodiness. Aroma comes together nicely starting with a big slap of hoppiness then settling down to a nice balance.

T- My first sip is an interesting experience. Blue Dragon has a nice smoothness to it. Malts come out nicely in the forefront giving me a sort of earthy caramel. Carbonation really comes through, coating the tongue. And then boy howdy, those hops kick in liberally coating the back of the tongue. Finish is aggressively bitter.

Overall, not a bad brew. As the label warns, Blue Dragon is intended for hopheads. Columbia hops provide a very different, more assertive hop presence than did the Red Dragon. My only negative comment here is that the balance does skew somewhat towards the hops. That being said, Blue Dragon is a very decent double IPA. Just be warned: This beer is for hopheads only.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2012 19:06:33 | More by Brianhophead

DaPan

Ontario (Canada)

4.55/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a slightly cloudy copper color. Very little head, though a sticky ring of foam remains around the side. Sticky beer coats the side of the glass.

Grassy and piney hops on the nose, exciting aroma!

Very balanced tasting. Really impressive balance between bitter hop flavor, lemons and smooth malt backbone.

Very enjoyable ale.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 02:56:32 | More by DaPan

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.98/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - a clear dark golden, one finger of head head dissipated to a respectable lace ring
S - medium hop aromas of citrus, spice, and some earthiness, with sweet woody and toasty accents, well balanced aromas
T - definitely a hop bomb, big spicy and dry earthy flavour, some pine resin and grapefruit rind, slightly boozy, with toasty malt in the background
M - medium body with a BIG bitter kick, living up to the 100+ IBU claim on the label
O - being a hop head I'm always partial to a DIPA, and the columbus single hopping make this a rarely seen unique flavour in these parts, not my favourite DIPA but a must try if you can get your hands on it

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 01:53:48 | More by joemcgrath27

EnemyWithin

Ontario (Canada)

3.23/5  rDev -20.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Blue Dragon Double IPA from Alley Kat. Into Unibroue glass on Dec 11, 2011.

Appearance 3.5
Golden yellow, clear. Less than ½ inch white head that dissipates into a thin covering.

Aroma 3.5
Mild citrus, esp grapefruit. Get some sweetness of the malt. Not overly aromatic.

Taste 3
More bitterness than citrus flavour from the hops. Does have notes of mild citrus with faint pineyness. Midway through strong bitterness dominates and is contrasted by sweeter crystal malt. Very average tasting. Wondering if hop fading has affected it at all, although the bottle is not more than a few weeks old.

Mouthfeel 3
Mild to moderate thickness with mild/moderate carbonation. Nothing special.

Overall 3.5
Average double IPA. Seems more like IPA to me. Not a bad offering, but not something I would have again.
Not Recommend.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2011 00:49:21 | More by EnemyWithin

Dawkfan

Alberta (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Long lasting white head above a clear golden body, stringy, patchy lacing. Slow steady carbonation.

S- Sweet aroma of caramel malt and sugary fruit. It's a little soapy smelling as well.

T- Much different from the aroma, hops dominate the palate right from the start. It has a nice bitterness, but the flavor from the hops is mainly earthy with a slight pine punch in the end. The malt is very subtle, there's a slight metallic twang here too.

M - Ample carbonation to go along with a medium body and a slick feel over the tongue.

O- A nice beer for sure, I preferred the Red Dragon but this isn't one to stick your nose up at either. Again, I've really been enjoying this big bottle series. Keep it up Alley Kat.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 05:56:15 | More by Dawkfan

leaddog

Alberta (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - Hazy golden straw with hues of orange. Thin white head with lacing.

Smell - Citrus and pine notes, hops, passionfruit aroma.

Taste - Very hoppy upon the first sip. Definitely an earthiness with piney flavours. Leaves a lingering bitterness that is pleasant.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied with good carbonation. Surprising to feel some creaminess in this ale.

Overall - Nice DIPA from Alley Kat. Smooth-drinking ale despite the heavy bitterness. A nice twin to the Red Dragon (released earlier this season).

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 03:45:59 | More by leaddog

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

So one evening during a cask event I was sitting next to Neil Herbst of Alley Kat when he casually asked the table if they had any suggestions for a possible follow up single hop DIPA to their Simcoe Red Dragon. We all threw out all sorts of tasty hop suggestions, only to be told that none of them were available to purchase in commercial sized amounts at the time. Off the top of my head I mentioned Tomahawk (better known as Columbus), which I thought would be an interesting experiment. A forward hop that covers all the bases, and kinda gets in your face while it's at it. A couple of weeks later I found out the brewery was going with Columbus for the next single hop DIPA--be careful what you say out loud in public. So then, I'm curious how things turned out myself....

From a 650 ml brown bottle. Pours out a bright clear light coppery hue, tight creamy off-white head with solid retention. Rings of sticky lacing.

Hops jump out on the nose right from the start--leafy green with some citrus zip and a marmalade character, plus a dry herbal prominence. Toasty bready malt provides a backbone to prevent a runaway train.

Big dry spicy hops up front in the flavour, some dandelion greens and grapefruit pith manifest in the middle, with grapefruit zest, pine and herbal notes on the finish. Very mild bready malt holds up the show in the background, however this is still an unequivocal hop bomb.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth and slick texture, with moderate carbonation.

A decent offering that shows that Columbus hops work better in unison than they do solo. They're intense, having aspects of British and American hops, but not delivering the sweet puckering grapefruit whollap of other American style hops that our local palates are so used to. I'd have to say the Red Dragon Simcoe has been the more rounded and balanced of the two, yet this one doesn't really disappoint either. If you're itching for an aggressive hop fix then your prescription is right here.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2011 08:01:00 | More by IronDjinn

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

650ml bomber poured into tulip 22/11/11

A clear golden liquid with only a few bubbles but a long lasting two finger head that leaves several partial rings of lace well down the glass

S mild floral aspect with some tropical citric notes, smells sweet like candy with a little lemon rind, I find it simple but just lovely

T some bready wet wood with some faint pine and just a little booze, finishes with a earthy herbal aspect I can't quite place, a little surprised how different this is from the smell, its quite good and more complex but I prefer the nose

M leaves a little behind on the gums and has a bite to it but not as bitter as I would expect at 100+IBU's, medium bodied with more bubbles then one would expect after looking at it

O pretty sexy DIPA at the end of the day, great nose and doing well in all other areas, I'll be picking up another

I hope Alley Kat pumps out some more single hoped DIPA's for their Big Bottle Series, I'm loving all the new offerings from Alley Kat keep em coming boys and girls

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2011 07:02:07 | More by wordemupg

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

650ml bottle. A sister brew to the Red Dragon DIPA from a few months back, the delta this time being the single-hopping with the Columbus varietal. Still 100+ IBUs, still intended for hop heads.

This beer pours a clear, medium golden hue, with three fingers of dense, foamy, and silky white head, which leaves a kaleidoscope of painted and ropey lace around the glass in its wake. It smells of bready caramel malt, some citrus peel, earthy tea leaf, and green weedy hops. Kind of like a souped up, on all accounts, Full Moon. The taste is quite fresh, the hops more in the forefront - grassy, leafy, a bit of pine, and just a twinge of tart citrus, all over a still solid edgy, and subtly nutty, caramel malt. The carbonation is moderate, and strangely comforting, the body a bit on the lee side of medium, but to no ill effect, and agreeably smooth. It finishes off-dry, the bready caramel malt tangling with some herbal, grassy hops.

A decent beer, to be sure, the booze sure does its part by remaining damned near invisible. I now know, however, that this particular hop, on its own at least, isn't really for me. Not enough of the bitter citrus and pine character that I stereotypically, um, pine for.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2011 01:03:49 | More by biboergosum