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Devil Dancer
Founders Brewing Company
- From:
- Founders Brewing Company
- Michigan, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
Ranked #1,913 - ABV:
- 12%
- Score:
- 87
Ranked #15,426 - Avg:
- 3.9 | pDev: 13.33%
- Reviews:
- 1,499
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 05, 2024
- Added:
- May 17, 2004
- Wants:
- 346
- Gots:
- 1,159
Triple IPA. Dry-hopped for twenty-six days straight with a combination of 10 hop varieties. 112 actual IBU; although it calculates to over 200!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jegross2:
Reviewed by jegross2 from Illinois
3.72/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.72/5 rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Reviewing a fresh and year old bottle of Devil Dancer from Founders Brewing Company.
Fresh Score: 86
Year Old Score: 45
Bottled 06/17/11 and 06/01/12. Served in a snifter glass and enjoyed on 07/13/12.
Appearance: Pours a murky blood orange-red color. The fresh 2012 vintage looks a little darker in color than the year old bottle. The fresh bottle pours a thin layer of creamy tan color that settles to a pencil thin ring around the glass with okay lacing and retention. The year old bottle pours less head with less lacing/retention. 3.5/5
Smell: The fresh (2012) bottle has heavy notes of floral hops ahead of a strong caramel malt backbone. Some earthiness, lemon, citrusy pine and onion. Light booziness. Very balanced for such aggressive flavors. The year old (2011) vintage is super malty with strong doses of garlic and a little fruitiness. The 2011 bottle is much less balanced and aggressive in the nose and reminisce of a boozed up caramel-forward barleywine. Not getting any hops off the 2011 vintage. 4/5 (2012), 3/5 (2011)
Taste: The 2012 vintage is not as balanced on the palate as the nose leads on. Lemon citrus and piney hops, sugary caramel malt and a little onion. Earthy hops too. Very hop forward. Lingering spiced caramel malt flavor. The 2011 vintage is incredibly vegetal, caramel-y and barleywine like. Heavily laden with garlic and onion flavor with a ton of undesirable linger. This is a true palate killer. A little lemon in the background too. Strong lingering garlic flavor. Incredibly unbalanced and still quite boozy. This made me cringe as I sipped it. 3.75 (2012), 1.5/5 (2011)
Mouthfeel: Same mouthfeel to both beers. Medium-plus bodied, low carbonation. Oily mouthfeel. Bitter, sweet malty mouthfeel. 3.5/5
Overall: The 2012 kills the 2011 vintage. For what it's worth, the 2011 batch was not very good fresh either. I remember this beer being much more delicious when I first got into craft beer in 2009, but I only really liked IPA back then and had not really explored the depths of the IPA genre yet. This a very caramel-forward and hoppy beer that does not try to hide the hot booziness.
Recommendation: Casual beer drinkers should avoid this brew. If you like earthy hops and caramel-forward IPA or English-style barleywines, give this one a whirl. If you do decide to buy a four pack, DO NOT AGE ANY! Drink this one fresh.
Pairings: Indian food.
Cost: $19.99 for a four pack.
Jul 13, 2012Fresh Score: 86
Year Old Score: 45
Bottled 06/17/11 and 06/01/12. Served in a snifter glass and enjoyed on 07/13/12.
Appearance: Pours a murky blood orange-red color. The fresh 2012 vintage looks a little darker in color than the year old bottle. The fresh bottle pours a thin layer of creamy tan color that settles to a pencil thin ring around the glass with okay lacing and retention. The year old bottle pours less head with less lacing/retention. 3.5/5
Smell: The fresh (2012) bottle has heavy notes of floral hops ahead of a strong caramel malt backbone. Some earthiness, lemon, citrusy pine and onion. Light booziness. Very balanced for such aggressive flavors. The year old (2011) vintage is super malty with strong doses of garlic and a little fruitiness. The 2011 bottle is much less balanced and aggressive in the nose and reminisce of a boozed up caramel-forward barleywine. Not getting any hops off the 2011 vintage. 4/5 (2012), 3/5 (2011)
Taste: The 2012 vintage is not as balanced on the palate as the nose leads on. Lemon citrus and piney hops, sugary caramel malt and a little onion. Earthy hops too. Very hop forward. Lingering spiced caramel malt flavor. The 2011 vintage is incredibly vegetal, caramel-y and barleywine like. Heavily laden with garlic and onion flavor with a ton of undesirable linger. This is a true palate killer. A little lemon in the background too. Strong lingering garlic flavor. Incredibly unbalanced and still quite boozy. This made me cringe as I sipped it. 3.75 (2012), 1.5/5 (2011)
Mouthfeel: Same mouthfeel to both beers. Medium-plus bodied, low carbonation. Oily mouthfeel. Bitter, sweet malty mouthfeel. 3.5/5
Overall: The 2012 kills the 2011 vintage. For what it's worth, the 2011 batch was not very good fresh either. I remember this beer being much more delicious when I first got into craft beer in 2009, but I only really liked IPA back then and had not really explored the depths of the IPA genre yet. This a very caramel-forward and hoppy beer that does not try to hide the hot booziness.
Recommendation: Casual beer drinkers should avoid this brew. If you like earthy hops and caramel-forward IPA or English-style barleywines, give this one a whirl. If you do decide to buy a four pack, DO NOT AGE ANY! Drink this one fresh.
Pairings: Indian food.
Cost: $19.99 for a four pack.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan
4.37/5 rDev +12.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.37/5 rDev +12.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
The first time I was able to try this I was on Mackinaw Island and one of the pubs had it on tap. As the Grand Hotel only had Bells Oberon (this was in late September, it was brewed in March) this was sublime. But that was before I paid attention.
Now I’ve had it fresh and aged and both are great.
The pour is a reddish tinted amber and fresh it has a dense beige head that leaves rings of lacing.
The taste, oh my. Fresh it’s a menagerie of hops that assault your mouth with no intent on letting you surrender. Piney grapefruit, herbs and grass and some flavors I still can’t describe. To top that off, it’s somehow balanced with malty flavors and rein in the bitter and provide a nice base.
Aged the malty flavors take the lead and the hops not so much fade as morph into edging for the malt flavors so it doesn’t get too sweet. Weird the way that works, but tasty!
The feel is so good for the absolute attack of flavors; medium viscosity carries them all easily and makes this a slow sipper.
Jan 05, 2024Now I’ve had it fresh and aged and both are great.
The pour is a reddish tinted amber and fresh it has a dense beige head that leaves rings of lacing.
The taste, oh my. Fresh it’s a menagerie of hops that assault your mouth with no intent on letting you surrender. Piney grapefruit, herbs and grass and some flavors I still can’t describe. To top that off, it’s somehow balanced with malty flavors and rein in the bitter and provide a nice base.
Aged the malty flavors take the lead and the hops not so much fade as morph into edging for the malt flavors so it doesn’t get too sweet. Weird the way that works, but tasty!
The feel is so good for the absolute attack of flavors; medium viscosity carries them all easily and makes this a slow sipper.
Reviewed by imscotty from Massachusetts
4.6/5 rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.6/5 rDev +17.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I am enjoying one of my 2012's right now. That's right, this beer is eleven years old. I think Devil Dancer ages just fine. Don't worry, I drink them fresh too.
I think the fresh ones have a bit of an oniony flavor. Not that I mind it. As it ages the onion fades, leaving behind all that piney, caramel, tarry beauty. Finish leaves a nice bitterness on the tongue. Lucious Mouth feel. Yum!
Yes, I confess, this is one of my old-time favorites. I do not get it very often enough now, Glad I found a dusty old one in my cellar.
Nov 06, 2023I think the fresh ones have a bit of an oniony flavor. Not that I mind it. As it ages the onion fades, leaving behind all that piney, caramel, tarry beauty. Finish leaves a nice bitterness on the tongue. Lucious Mouth feel. Yum!
Yes, I confess, this is one of my old-time favorites. I do not get it very often enough now, Glad I found a dusty old one in my cellar.
Reviewed by buckthehog from Texas
4.76/5 rDev +22.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.76/5 rDev +22.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Drinking this triple ipa with my boys Keith and Greg on the patio on a hot summer night in Dallas brings back great memories. So dank and so dirty. Like the pine tar from George Brett’s bat mixed with the sweat from a Neanderthal woman. Physically and psychologically one of my favorite dirty bird beers ever. I love you Founders.
May 18, 2023
Devil Dancer from Founders Brewing Company
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
5114 ratings
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