Dreadnaught
3 Floyds Brewing Co.

DreadnaughtDreadnaught
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From:
3 Floyds Brewing Co.
 
Indiana, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #41
ABV:
9.4%
Score:
97
Ranked #483
Avg:
4.4 | pDev: 9.09%
Reviews:
1,807
Ratings:
6,290
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 06, 2024
Added:
Sep 19, 2001
Wants:
  2,003
Gots:
  987
An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body and a crisp finish.

100 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BuckeyeNation:
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

4.67/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Hazy, rich orange-amber; more the former than the latter. The head is dark cream to very light tan, is large to start, eventually falls to a thin disk and leaves a decent amount of lace in fat rings and sheets.

Sweet Mother of Hops, this big DIPA smells incredible! It has one of the most intoxicating noses that I've ever had the pleasure to sniff. Needless to say, American hops are front, back, center, top and bottom. The beer smells floral, grapefruity, lemony and piney.

The flavor mirrors the aroma, which is a very good thing indeed. A tidal wave of resinous hops hits the palate with force and is sustained for the life of the mouthful... and beyond. The bittering is definitely there, but Dreadnaught (as is the case with all hoptastic beer) is more about hop flavor than about bitterness per se. Hopheads should do whatever it takes to acquire as much of this stuff as possible.

The body/mouthfeel is simply amazing. This is the thickest, heaviest, chewiest non-stout that has ever entered my mouth. Unfortunately, alcohol isn't as well-hidden as it could be. This would be slightly better beer at about 8.0%. Drinkability takes a small hit since no one will be pounding this bad boy.

Obtaining Dreadnaught was an obsession for me. Finally... finally... I was able to lay my hands on four bombers. I live about 5 hours from the brewery in Munster and am giving serious thought to spending a day resupplying when my stash runs out. The following is a paean to hops that I wrote in anticipation of this review, which is the one that earns me my BA mug.

"Ode to Hops" (with apologies to John Keats)

O leafy shape! bitter attitude! I'll leave
No Stone unturned in quest of beer
That wears its hop-like heart on sleeve,
Tho my Ruination may be near.
Bursting nose of pungent flower, citrus peel,
With bittered brightness like the sun;
We drink and swoon, my God! we feel
The power of the Dreadnaught's guns,
A Wallop to the Heart of Man.
'Hops are beauty, beauty hops-that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know'.
Feb 23, 2004
More User Ratings:
Photo of moysauce
Rated by moysauce from Illinois

4.31/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
From Untappd 2021
Mar 06, 2024
 
Rated: 4.5 by Nyoder

Nov 25, 2023
Photo of Sparty1965
Rated by Sparty1965 from Michigan

4.01/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
I dig it but a little too bitter. And I’m a little too bitter.
Sep 04, 2023
Photo of ommegangpbr
Reviewed by ommegangpbr from New York

4.17/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I remember, once upon a time, when this was the highest rated double IPA on beeradvocate and I could not get it in my area. Much time has passed and I am really grateful I can now get this beer where I live.
16 ounce can, 3/17/2023 born on date; I imagine this would be even more impressive when sampled closer to the born on date but it's still a pretty fresh sample.
Fruit flavors are pineapple and peach. Alcohol is very well concealed. This is a sweet and juicy sample of the style. I prefer crisper versions but if I see this on tap I'm going for it.
Aug 20, 2023
Photo of Dimagio
Rated by Dimagio

4.65/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Best ipa I've had yet...
Aug 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4.23 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Jul 09, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by PaleAleWalt from New York

Jun 14, 2023
 
Rated: 4.21 by jeffmck09 from Connecticut

May 29, 2023
 
Rated: 4.28 by blissfulNemo from Michigan

May 28, 2023
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

4.42/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium to dark coppery amber with a three finger white head with great retention and solid lacing, looks nice. Aroma of biscuit malt, citrus hops, lemon, orange, grapefruit and some dankness. Flavor is biscuit and light dry caramel malt, citrus and piney hops, grapefruit, orange, pine, mild mixed tropical fruit, a little rye; resinous pine and citrus rind finish with great alpha oil bitterness. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Glad to finally try something from this venerable brewery and I'm glad I started with this. Getting an IPA from the Midwest that has substantial bitterness is a joy in this hazy age and this is one solid IPA. The malt is somewhat old fashioned with good biscuit notes, but the hops are classic NW IPA, which is my favorite profile. Lots going on here and quite enjoyable. This IPA has been off my radar, I'm going to try to snag a Gumball Head next, one of my favorite ale names. Looks, smells and tastes great.
May 25, 2023
Photo of Papercut4
Reviewed by Papercut4 from Wisconsin

4.35/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Pours out of the can a gently hazy deep copper with a nice two finger white head and great retention. Laaaazy bubbles up the side of the glass. Smells piney, resinous, and like ripe citrus. Tastes leans heavier on the pine and resin and hits you a bit with the alcohol. I think on the third sip I was starting to find the malt notes that are advertised on the can. If I'm honest, it's really well done, but the alcohol is a tad bit distracting from the overall flavor, but not enough to bring its score down too bad. It's a robust mouthfeel and is carbonated expertly. Glad I got to try this old school imperial that I've heard was a game changer years ago.
May 12, 2023
 
Rated: 4.34 by adami from New York

May 05, 2023
Photo of JohnniEMc
Reviewed by JohnniEMc from Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
From a tap, delivered inside a clear pint glass it came. It's beautifully and brightly copper-amber with a very modest off-white head. The aroma, although not pronounced, brings IPA hops and malt. There's a little too much alcohol to taste to keep it from excellence, but the ABV is 9.4, for goodness sake. The malt body is rich and up to carrying the hops and most of the alcohol. As it should be the hops, both citrusy and earthy, dominate the outstanding taste.
May 05, 2023
Photo of cjeep
Reviewed by cjeep from Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Special stuff from a special outfit.
L: from the canon McCann is very stylish and somewhat psychedelic.
S: big citrus hoppy aroma. Simply delicious.
T: just awesome and special. The bitterness is almost overwhelming at times. All kinds of happy goodness flavors lotta citrus pine.
F: smooth and rich.
O: this is a terrific beer and I’m always thrilled when I find it.
May 01, 2023
Photo of MrOH
Reviewed by MrOH from Maryland

4.38/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Deep orange with chill haze, big white head, excellent retention, thick rings of lace
Musky tropical fruit, some pine, sweet citrus, a bit of dank, hints of rich, caramelly malt aroma
Sweeter than I'd like, lots of rich, caramelly malt, citrus, especially grapefruit and orange, some pineapple and mango flavors. Hints of pine
Medium-heavy bodied with appropriate carbonation, slightly cloying
Heavy, syrupy bodied keeps this from being drinkable, but otherwise, exemplary
Apr 28, 2023
Photo of dano213
Reviewed by dano213 from Pennsylvania

3.79/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
16oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $4.89. Canned on 3/17/23, so this is five weeks and a day old.

Look: It pours out a very nice light orange amber color with very tiny floaties. The two fingers of rocky, beige-colored head slowly dissipated. Looks like a nice Imperial IPA.

Smell: It smells super piney along with a bit of citrus notes. I get orange peel and some pepper. There's also some sweet malt notes and some boozy bubble gum notes. For a beer that is this big, the nose is underwhelming.

Taste: This is a huge Imperial IPA. At 9.4% ABV, it really does not taste nearly as strong as it is. It's dangerously drinkable and it's actually somewhat balanced. Up front, it's malty and sweet for a very short time before the hop bitterness takes over. The finish is very bitter and earthy with huge pine notes and grapefruit peel and it lingers super long. Eventually, orange peel and caramel/crystal notes come forward after the bitter hop resins fade from the front of the palate. After pouring the bottom of the can, the body improved a bit but the taste also became slightly chalkier.

Feel: It's medium plus bodied with a nice chewy, slick, and slightly oily mouthfeel.

Overall: This is definitely a solid Imperial IPA. I can appreciate this beer, but it's not really my personal preference to go seeking this out again. I may have had it many years ago via Beer Trade, but at that time I was just looking to seek out the "big beers" that were highly rated and I may not have even had an Imperial IPA before, so it was worth trying again.

From the can:
An Imperial India Pale Ale with an intense citrus hop aroma, a huge malt body AND a crisp finish.
Apr 23, 2023
 
Rated: 4.45 by HarlotBronte from District of Columbia

Apr 20, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by KT3418 from Colorado

Apr 05, 2023
 
Rated: 3.95 by SoundMakesSense from Indiana

Mar 05, 2023
Dreadnaught from 3 Floyds Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 97 out of 100 with 6290 ratings