Dr. Dank
Wicked Weed Brewing

 

 

I can only wish this beer got distributed more widely. I live in Houston, Texas and it has to be imported by car for me to lay hands on it. I am an old hippy who had a very mis-spent youth as a heavy herb user. The first sip I had of this beer took me back to childhood. The flavor I get sends chills up my spine as it recalls those various times when we would run out of herb and sit around trying to get off smoking seeds and stems (only to end up with headaches). The hemp flavor that Wicked Weed achieves somehow through their use of hemp seeds in the beer brewing process is phenomenal and I love it. This is one of the best beers I have ever had.

I just got back into the home brewing process after a 30 year hiatus and am now trying to replicate this beer with several hemp-related ingredients. Hulled hemp seeds also known as hemp hearts are one. Toasted hemp seeds (hulls intact) are a second. The third is a hemp infused pelleted Cascade hops that I found at East Coast Hoppers in Canada and was able to purchase.

The range of Dr. Dank clone recipes out there (see the Brewer's Friend website for examples) is extensive but few try to use real hemp (hemp seeds) as Wicked Weed apparently does. I am not trying to use real herb here, I really want to come up with a great home brew recipe that is a true Wicked Weed Dr. Dank clone as I flat can't get their beer here in Houston, TX.

 

 

 

Tried this beer on tap at a local bar. I wasn't sure if I'd like this beer at first, but the first sip was all I needed. I had 4 or 5 that night, I just couldn't get enough of the taste. Excellent beer! A funny side note: my pee smelled like straight gas the next day, I'm talking it was like opening a Ziploc of some serious quality bud. Ahhh, good times...

 

Of all the pot-flavored (okay, hemp...) beers I've had, this is the best! The smell is good despite the hemp and the flavor is complex and, well, tasty.

12 oz. can poured an adequate white head...I would say only a slightly dank smell, a little fruity, a little floral...hoppy and slightly hazy, mild dank flavor, maybe a little piney, slight bitterness at the end.

 

 

 

On tap.

A - Nice clear, medium gold color with thick head reating on top.

S - Big dank juicy citrus aroma with grapefruit and some weedy presence.

T - Cardboard, weed and citrus.

M - Medium body with gentle carbonation.

O - I'm thinking maybe this tap is old and stale? Not impressed.

 

 

I swear I've had Dr. Dank before but apparently never rated/reviewed it. And this probably isn't a fair review because the can is really old (5/6/22 packaging date and 4 months past the 8/4/22 "best by" date), but I like Wicked Weed beers and will plan to track down a fresh can/draft pour and revisit this.

A little pedestrian looking, very pale and light with a slight chill haze but definitely traditional American/West Coast IPA in style. Lots of carbonation and a respectable head of bright white bubbles. The initial head from the pour dissipated quickly but a few concerted swirls of the glass bring back a nice foam. Spotty lacing for show.

The primary reason I wanted to go ahead and get a review down in writing (even with an aged can) is to capture how profound the marijuana aroma is (and revisit a fresh can in the future to see if that's always the case). I like weedy beers and have had plenty in my time that give you a dank and weedy, even hempy vibe. But this is something altogether different: full-on blast of fresh herb, like you just walked past someone smoking a joint and got hit with that unmatched aroma. I get some citrus juice and white wine behind the scenes, but this thing is all about the fresh ganja. No clue how to rate that, nor whether that's what the brewer is actually going for, but it's definitely unique!

Amazingly the cannabis note is obvious on the tongue, but clearly a big part of that is the aromas leaking into the tasting experience. It's herbal, nicely pithy and bitter, with a slightly grapefruit juice semi-sweetness to balance things out. Incredibly drinkable and quite tasty, even old. I love a clean, clear, highly-drinkable American IPA, and this one fits the bill.

Nicely silky and coating mouthfeel, which makes for a lasting bitter pith and hempy herbaceous vibe. Truly fascinating beer. I can't wait to try a fresher sampling.

 

 

An incredibly solid offering.....

I don't drink much Wicked Weed stuff but picked these up on a whim and I'm glad I did....

Super resinous and sticky....loads of citrus fruit and pine...dang, I wasn't expecting the pop on this...

I would purchase this regularly were it on my shelves all the time...dang good IPA!!