1. Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate

Hakuna Matata
D9 Brewing Company

Hakuna MatataHakuna Matata
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
D9 Brewing Company
 
North Carolina, United States
Style:
American IPA
Ranked #3,087
ABV:
6.6%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,900
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 13.78%
Reviews:
26
Ratings:
121
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 17, 2023
Added:
Dec 17, 2014
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  28
Tropical IPA brewed using hops from the US, UK, Germany, Slovenia, and New Zealand. The result is a much more balanced, less bitter but more flavorful Dank-style IPA with hints of Mandarin Orange, Pineapple, Grapefruit, and Elderflower.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by AngusOg:
Photo of AngusOg
Rated by AngusOg from North Carolina

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

May 03, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.69 by Nitty703 from Virginia

Sep 17, 2023
 
Rated: 3.97 by BlueSpader from Washington

Sep 09, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by richj1970 from Alabama

Jul 01, 2023
 
Rated: 2.17 by Tokentoken from California

Apr 02, 2023
 
Rated: 3.74 by BeerBeast from Florida

Oct 24, 2021
 
Rated: 2.59 by bendukes86 from South Carolina

Oct 16, 2021
Photo of HarlotBronte
Reviewed by HarlotBronte from District of Columbia

3.56/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
L: Clear amber, foamy white head
S: Light stone fruit and undertones of caramel malt
T: Dry, dank, caramel malt, notes of stone fruit, bitter— definitely not a NEIPA
F: Medium bodied with a drying finish
O: A good, basic IPA
Sep 19, 2021
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
I tried a can of this beer at our friends home in Naples, FLO-RIDA. It poured a hazy orangish with white head that is leaving some lace. The scent had dank stone fruit notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with ripe dank fruit notes. The mouthfeel was lighter in body and had good carbonation. Overall it is a good beer.
Sep 08, 2021
Photo of Aglassplease
Rated by Aglassplease from North Carolina

2.98/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
It left me with a metallic aftertaste
Aug 05, 2021
 
Rated: 3.35 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Jul 04, 2021
 
Rated: 3.68 by eluvah from New York

May 31, 2021
 
Rated: 4.16 by sirspins from Florida

May 08, 2021
 
Rated: 3.72 by Pro_Magnon from Texas

May 04, 2021
Photo of NiceTaps
Reviewed by NiceTaps from New Jersey

3.77/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
On tap in a 20 ounce mug.

Dark orange color, cloudy. Thick foamy white cap, very lasting and leaves heavy lacing.

Dank aroma. Some mild tropical and stone fruits.

Caramel malt, dry tropical fruit, dank.

Medium bodied, refreshing. Finished with a hop bite.

Traditional base IPA with dank and tropical features. Works well.
Feb 28, 2021
Photo of Beaver13
Reviewed by Beaver13 from Colorado

3.52/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
16 oz can. Pours very hazy dark orange with a big pillowy white head that retains well and leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is sweet sugary pithy fruit.

The flavor is some sweet caramel malt with a lot of sugary tropical fruit and a little resin and grass in the finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall, a decent fruity IPA.
Jan 10, 2021
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.79/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
D9 Brewing Company "Hakuna Matata"
16 fl. oz. can without production codes or freshness dating
$3.49 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: It's poured a cloudy deep orange-copper beneath a full head of frothy off-white foam. Particulate has already dropped to the bottom of the glass, and from the look of it it's yeast. The aroma is floral and perfume-like. It's like lilies and orange blossoms. There's some malt there as well with a bit of a caramelish edge, and unfortunately, some actual yeast. On to the flavor... there's some orange flavor to it but not much. It's got some other tropical fruit to it but nothing I can really pinpoint, maybe some grapefruit. Wow, that's disappointing. Perhaps this is an old sample? Without any dating on it I have no way of knowing. There's a touch of acidity to it, and the malt is grainy and gently caramelish. A solid bitterness backs it and it finishes dry with some citrus and floral character lingering. Looking back, the head held up well, and it's left some really nice craggy sheets of lace about the entire glass. In the mouth it's medium bodied and crisp - pretty standard. So what to say about this? It's lackluster. It's tropical but not brightly tropical, and the somewhat caramelish malt doesn't help it. It's got a decent bitterness to it at 65 - 70 IBUs, and a fair strength at 6.6% which clearly leaves it as an IPA but I feel it's lacking hops in both the flavor and aroma. It's kind of like an English IPA with some tropical hops thrown in. Still, as a basic IPA I guess it's hard to fault, it just doesn't inspire me.
Review #7,150
Dec 31, 2020
Photo of JerzDevl2000
Reviewed by JerzDevl2000 from New Jersey

3.69/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This another beer that I picked up this week at Total Wine in West Orange. Never had anything from D9 before and I almost thought this was related to The Lion King because of it's name. For some reason, it didn't connote any tropical sense either as this was a bit all over the place both in terms of the hops used and the flavor profile that it had. It was fine to relax with but the elderflower gave it a dry, English feel that was far from tropical...

The pour to this beer was alright as it had a dark copper hue to it with a bit of dark sediment floating in it. Enough head topped it off as the lacing left behind was in the form of a few rings of lacing in the middle, as the thicker ones were down below. Not much of an aroma to this besides the typical citrus and tropical undertones with caramel and elderflower countering them. The taste was pretty straight-up, nondescript, and moderately slick as this didn't know what it wanted to be. East or west coast? British? Exotic? You could find a reason to call this any of those or none of those at the same time. The carbonation was light and the body was balanced as this somehow fit the mold of an American IPA while never coming across as a hop bomb.

A bit of a metallic and earthy aftertaste fit in with the caramel well but served to hide the alcohol as it was nearly impossible to distinguish here. Nothing was written on the bottom of the can as it was impossible to guess how old this was, but it seemed to hold up well for it's age. As an IPA, this was fine but it was hard to pick out any outstanding or noteworthy attributes to it. Worth a go once just to kick back with...
Oct 25, 2020
 
Rated: 3.53 by PaleAleWalt from New York

Oct 11, 2020
 
Rated: 3.64 by FrancisM12 from New Jersey

Sep 19, 2020
Hakuna Matata from D9 Brewing Company
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 121 ratings