Death Breath V2
Hydra Beer Co.
- From:
- Hydra Beer Co.
- South Dakota, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
- ABV:
- 10.3%
- Score:
- 86
- Avg:
- 3.8 | pDev: 9.21%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 4
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Aug 18, 2018
- Added:
- Oct 03, 2015
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 6
SCORE
86
Very Good
86
Very Good
First brewed for English troops that were stationed in India, IPAs have grown to become a modern day favorite. Its deep golden appearance is achieved with the finest premium base malts with a light touch of caramel malts for a bit of color. Our 2016 Death Breath Double IPA is well balanced for its ABV, dry-hopped for maximum American hop aromas and is followed by a huge fruity hop flavor.
84 IBU
84 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania
3.87/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.87/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Here is another bottle from my ever-diminishing backlog & I am happy to be getting to it. Bottles are the bane of my existence, but I still have a number of them to drink/review/rate.
I love this brewery's beer names & labels. They put me in mind of greeting the wee ones on Hallowe'en - "Oh my! What a frightening costume! I hope that a treat will be enough to send you on your scary way!" The kids beam as they receive their treats & the parents/guardians are also happy since I dispense CANs of Old Milwaukee as long as they have ID.
My costume is an Old Milwaukee CAN with a keg as a hat, so it is fitting. It is done as an homage to The Coneheads & Beldar, explaining to the Neighborhood Watch that he was merely distributing chicken embryos immersed in hot oil (fried eggs) & fermented barley water (beer) to the children! I do not truck in fried eggs, but in 2013, with my first run at mayor in full-swing, I decided to go all-in. The local constabulary supports me & it is a royal porch party every year since, growing in popularity thanks to word-of-mouth. Onward!
I was still savoring that savory Immortal Ale, but time waits for one man (according to John D. MacDonald) & I ain't that guy!
From the Bottle: "Imperial Pale Ale".
Well, if the Hydra was not scary enough, the Griffin on the label was a mutant! It sported two heads, including one that was rearward-facing and with one bat wing opposite its eagle's wing. Eek! I Pop!ped the cap & held my breath, hoping for the best. I went with a slow, gentle pour so as not to rouse it, but no matter which way I held the bottle, the creature was watching me! I then decided to stir things up with an in-glass swirl, just to live a little. This produced just under two fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, light-tan head with decent retention. I think that I scared this beast since it left a sticky trail of lacing as it retreated. Color was solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity, enabling me to see it circling around near the bottom of my glass. Nose smelled most strongly of pine, followed by grapefruit and caramel malt. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, but not quite reaching creamy, which is the demarcation line for this style. Minty pine was definitely the watchword & I fully understand where @The-Adjunct-Hippie was coming from! Phew. This is no playin' around at 10.3% with that kind of hop and alcohol presence, only slightly offset by the caramel malt. Suddenly & without warning, one of the heads snapped its beak at me, nearly catching my nose except for my quick reflexes! Mos def NO playing around! I took a deep breath, but this was not helpful since I got a cool blast of pine mintiness down my throat, causing me to cough in response. Whew! Thankfully, I was nearing the end of my go-'round with this beast. It was definitely NOT one for the faint of heart, although its relatively inexpensive price point should make it rather attractive, especially to the unenlightened. Man, I was starting to sweat from all of it. Finish was cool, minty, pine-like & very dry. Phew!
Aug 18, 2018I love this brewery's beer names & labels. They put me in mind of greeting the wee ones on Hallowe'en - "Oh my! What a frightening costume! I hope that a treat will be enough to send you on your scary way!" The kids beam as they receive their treats & the parents/guardians are also happy since I dispense CANs of Old Milwaukee as long as they have ID.
My costume is an Old Milwaukee CAN with a keg as a hat, so it is fitting. It is done as an homage to The Coneheads & Beldar, explaining to the Neighborhood Watch that he was merely distributing chicken embryos immersed in hot oil (fried eggs) & fermented barley water (beer) to the children! I do not truck in fried eggs, but in 2013, with my first run at mayor in full-swing, I decided to go all-in. The local constabulary supports me & it is a royal porch party every year since, growing in popularity thanks to word-of-mouth. Onward!
I was still savoring that savory Immortal Ale, but time waits for one man (according to John D. MacDonald) & I ain't that guy!
From the Bottle: "Imperial Pale Ale".
Well, if the Hydra was not scary enough, the Griffin on the label was a mutant! It sported two heads, including one that was rearward-facing and with one bat wing opposite its eagle's wing. Eek! I Pop!ped the cap & held my breath, hoping for the best. I went with a slow, gentle pour so as not to rouse it, but no matter which way I held the bottle, the creature was watching me! I then decided to stir things up with an in-glass swirl, just to live a little. This produced just under two fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, light-tan head with decent retention. I think that I scared this beast since it left a sticky trail of lacing as it retreated. Color was solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity, enabling me to see it circling around near the bottom of my glass. Nose smelled most strongly of pine, followed by grapefruit and caramel malt. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, but not quite reaching creamy, which is the demarcation line for this style. Minty pine was definitely the watchword & I fully understand where @The-Adjunct-Hippie was coming from! Phew. This is no playin' around at 10.3% with that kind of hop and alcohol presence, only slightly offset by the caramel malt. Suddenly & without warning, one of the heads snapped its beak at me, nearly catching my nose except for my quick reflexes! Mos def NO playing around! I took a deep breath, but this was not helpful since I got a cool blast of pine mintiness down my throat, causing me to cough in response. Whew! Thankfully, I was nearing the end of my go-'round with this beast. It was definitely NOT one for the faint of heart, although its relatively inexpensive price point should make it rather attractive, especially to the unenlightened. Man, I was starting to sweat from all of it. Finish was cool, minty, pine-like & very dry. Phew!
Reviewed by hoptheology from South Dakota
3.17/5 rDev -16.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.17/5 rDev -16.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Pours a relatively transparent golden blonde color without much head or lacing. A thin ring of tiny bubbles floats on top.
Aroma is of old discarded grapefruit rinds and antiseptic. Some slight fresh pine and honey behind that.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't taste like Pine Sol. Boosted with cilantro, mint, and grass. It's pretty antiseptic and cleaning supply-esque. Still, there's a minty/lemon-lime freshness that dries on the finish that suckers me into drinking another sip. And another.
Feel is hot and boozy, extremely carbonated, and dry on the finish.
Overall, if chewing on Car Trees is something you dig, try this beer out. Otherwise I'd completely skip it.
Apr 28, 2017Aroma is of old discarded grapefruit rinds and antiseptic. Some slight fresh pine and honey behind that.
I'd be lying if I said it didn't taste like Pine Sol. Boosted with cilantro, mint, and grass. It's pretty antiseptic and cleaning supply-esque. Still, there's a minty/lemon-lime freshness that dries on the finish that suckers me into drinking another sip. And another.
Feel is hot and boozy, extremely carbonated, and dry on the finish.
Overall, if chewing on Car Trees is something you dig, try this beer out. Otherwise I'd completely skip it.
Reviewed by Todd from Finland
3.6/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.6/5 rDev -5.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bitter, Juicy, Boozy, Under-carbonated
Rich, bright golden in color with one hell of a sticky lace. Fruit, apples, dank herbs and mint appear in the nose. Under-carbonated with some chewiness and a syrupy mouthfeel. Very fruity up front with bready malt flavors pushed beneath it. Green and grassy, Death Breath has a hoppiness that sticks to the palate with an abrasive and raw edge. The finish is dry, crackery and resinous with some booziness on the breath. Unfortunately, the lack of carbonation really dulls things down too much, resulting in a beer that tastes more like a bitter fruit juice blend spiked with vodka.
As reviewed in BeerAdvocate magazine #121 (February 2017).
Feb 18, 2017Rich, bright golden in color with one hell of a sticky lace. Fruit, apples, dank herbs and mint appear in the nose. Under-carbonated with some chewiness and a syrupy mouthfeel. Very fruity up front with bready malt flavors pushed beneath it. Green and grassy, Death Breath has a hoppiness that sticks to the palate with an abrasive and raw edge. The finish is dry, crackery and resinous with some booziness on the breath. Unfortunately, the lack of carbonation really dulls things down too much, resulting in a beer that tastes more like a bitter fruit juice blend spiked with vodka.
As reviewed in BeerAdvocate magazine #121 (February 2017).
Rated by MinnesotaIPAGuy from Minnesota
4.06/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.06/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Good solid local IPA
Apr 08, 2016Reviewed by SDak from South Dakota
4.14/5 rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.14/5 rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
L deep gold body capped with a slightly off white head
S aromas of dank citrus with some melon - not too overpowering
T more of the melony hop with some of that strong “green” flavor while some of the maltbackbone sneaks in around the edges
F mid to low carbonation, on a medium body, with some warming as expected for +10% and I assume this is very fresh
O A pleasant surprise here with a Double IPA from Sioux Falls, SD. First of its kind that I have seen.
Jan 22, 2016S aromas of dank citrus with some melon - not too overpowering
T more of the melony hop with some of that strong “green” flavor while some of the maltbackbone sneaks in around the edges
F mid to low carbonation, on a medium body, with some warming as expected for +10% and I assume this is very fresh
O A pleasant surprise here with a Double IPA from Sioux Falls, SD. First of its kind that I have seen.
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