Dreadnaught
3 Floyds Brewing Co.

 

 

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.

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.

 

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.

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.

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

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Found this classic at Gary's in Madison not too long ago, as I never had this before. Love 3 Floyds and was glad to see them return to this neck of the woods recently as they were one of the breweries that got me into craft beer, well over 15 years ago. Indeed, this was worth the hype as it's still one of the better Imperial IPA's after all of these years!

Such a beautiful copper hue to this as it was topped off with a ton of head that made this look like a loaf of bread, but with hops. Gorgeous, layered lacing stayed behind as I worked my way through this as I don't think I've ever seen so many rings on my glass at one time. Caramel, earthy hops, pine, dark bread, stone fruit, and a bit of tea spice were in the nose as the taste was just as deep, varied, and enjoyable. This wasn't weak but didn't quite feel as strong as it's listed ABV%, which made this that much more impressive. Toasted malt, weed, and a hint of chocolate stuck around in the back as this was a wonderfully layered beer that opened up nicely once it fully warmed.

This was strong but in the sense that there was so much flavor here as the alcohol was on par with everything else going on. Packaged on 3/21, this held up amazingly well and would be something that I'd easily reach for again. Really impressed with this as I'm glad that this is available here as I can't recommend this enough. It's easily worth it's lofty rating on here as this was an old-school brew that's easily withstood the test of time!

 

 

 

16oz can from Beers of the World. Golden pour with a white fluffy head. Fruity, malty aroma, caramel, pine. Taste is some piney, mildly astringent hops coupled with sweet toffee notes. Bitterness and warmth rise up at the finish.

 

 

 

 

 

ABV: 9.4%
IBU: 86
BOF #42 (currently)

Clear deep amber. Moderately carbonated. Very tall off-white head. The head is thick and creamy appearing with excellent retention. The surface becomes rocky and pitted as it does slowly recede.

The aroma is old-school IPA. Citrus – grapefruit, hints of pine and resin. Melon. Crackers and bread.

The initial taste favors the crackers and melon for the first few milliseconds, but with the grapefruit and pine coming quickly and dominating. Yet, these flavors back off a bit near the finish with a woody tannin and hops bitterness sharpening the end. The aftertaste lingering is bitter grapefruit, tannin and pine, and bitter. And, yet, the finish and aftertaste is on the sweet side. The alcohol is nowhere to be found except in the eventual buzz. The bitterness in the aftertaste intensifies as I progress through the beer, but if anything, that just makes this beer even better. Very well balanced.

The mouth feel is substantial – creamy, thick even for an IPA.

Overall, this is in line with my expectations. That may sound less than high praise, except that my expectations were quite high to begin with given the brewer and the BOF rank of this beer. An excellent DIPA. One to enjoy. Those of the juicy hazy milkshake “IPA” crowd, well, you should just move along.

 

 

 

From the bottom of the can: "PKGD ON 03/21/22"
There is some text below that but it has a big ink blot on it and can't be read.

Appearance: The body is a nice medium gold and light sun tea color. It has good clarity with a light opalescence. There is a medium-sized frothy white head with both very good head retention and good lacing.

Aroma: It has a pleasant wildflower aroma which is obvious and present but not strong. There are hints of hay-grass and pollen. A light mint aroma as well. It smells good.

Taste: Up front there is a light bit of peach with a touch of spearmint. Towards the middle of the mouth there is this light bit of caramel and some pleasant mint flavor. There are earthy notes of oak and twig with hints of tea leaf. Towards the back of the palate there is more of an earthy mint character. It finishes with a bit of cocoa chocolate flavor and toasted oak. It has a lot of complex and interesting flavors.

Mouthfeel: The body feels clean and on the lower side of medium bodied. It sticks to the tongue when it needs to but leaves it when appropriate. It has a medium hop bitterness and what feels like a bit of grain bitterness. Great carbonation.

Overall: It's a solid beer. It has a bit more of an earthy focus with mint notes and hints of oak, giving the beer a lot of depth and complexity. It isn't really an East Coast or West Coast style Imperial IPA which is kind-of fitting for a brewery located in Indiana. 3 Floyds really seems to hit their stride in this beer. By the time the glass is gone you want another one. I highly recommend it, and it's worth picking up at least a 4-pack. I would definitely drink it again. The highlight in this beer is the woody, oaky character that it has.

6 oz mini-snifter pour at Lures Bar & Grille. Excited to finally try one of the OG pine/caramel WCIPAs. Pours a reddish caramel color with a smallish off-white head. Aroma and flavor feature caramel, pine, citrus rind, and booze. Mouthfeel is somewhat harsh and boozy. Overall: I've had some great old-school WCIPAs recently (Double Dale's is excellent) but this isn't one of the better ones.

If I read the label of this great brew I might not have expected the genuine bitterness with not a hint of the usual juicy finish. I'm not disappointed, I just wasn't ready for what was to come. At $5.16 it is a poor value. My sample is exactly one month old.

It pours golden, translucent and fizzy. The aroma is pretty intense if you really go in for it - nice and citrusy. The taste is all dark malty and bitter hops with a thick and very bitter finish.

Recommended. I like a lot of 3 Floyds stuff, and this one is like the extra large version, with an extra bitter profile. Overpriced.

 

 

Haven't had this beer in a long time. I found a 4-pack of tall boys dated two weeks out. Very fresh! How could I resist. This is your classic old school DIPA. Pours a mostly clear amber color, with a giant frothy head that sticks around forever. Aroma has some nice citrus notes with a touch of pine. Flavor is classic, while the hops steal the show, mostly an orangey citrus but some nice pine sap too, there is a nice malt presence, reminiscent if lightly toasted biscuits. Finishes fairly bitter, while the impression is borderline sweet, overall the palate remains dry with a lingering bitterness. Damn, I miss DIPAs (and IPAs in gereal) like this. So tasty! Yes, you can still find old school DIPAs, but they seem to get lost in the sea of hazies.

 

Old school DIPA from Three Floyd’s. I’ve been so happy since we’ve started getting tons of their beers, including the barrel aged bottles. I love getting to drink these reasonably priced old school IPAs. This one pours a clear dark gold, with aroma of citrus, tastes slightly bitter, a bit of malt sweetness making the taste almost of lemons and oranges mixed together. Great west coast DIPA.

 

So I'm updating from my 2013 rating. I gave it a 4.5 then. This probably isn't a good comparison.
I stopped by Glendale Liquors on Rt. 27 in South Brunswick and saw Dreadnaught, and didn't even give any thought to the $18/4pack price. Until sitting here looking at reviews and warming up on a Nugget Nectar, I never even thought to check the date. But I saw a review that says 3F have discontinued this beer. So I looked. I can barely make it out, but there it is, "Pkgd on 2/14/21."
Apparently, Glendale charged me $18/4 for a year old beer. Shame on me for trusting them. But lets see how it is aged. At 9.4% ABV, its got to retain something, though I don't expect it to be hops.
So it looks like a fine NE IPA...dirty blonde color with a good head, so hazy, its opaque...I'm trying to remember if its unfiltered? Do they do that in Indiana?
Age has definitely impacted the nose. I'm getting a moderately sweet, breadyness with no trace of pine or citrus.
Age hasn't been kind to the flavor, either. mostly that barleywineish sweetness with bitterness around the edges. Mouthfeel is still very chewy and quite lovely. But I won't add ratings to waterdown what I gave before.
But after a year, i'd give it 4.25, 3, 2.5, 4.25, 3.25.
And a warning to doublecheck the dates when you think you found something good at Glendale Liquors on Rt 27!!!!