The Perfect Disguise
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

The Perfect DisguiseThe Perfect Disguise
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From:
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
 
Delaware, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #1,541
ABV:
8%
Score:
90
Ranked #9,305
Avg:
4.03 | pDev: 7.69%
Reviews:
92
Ratings:
302
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 29, 2023
Added:
Oct 26, 2018
Wants:
  10
Gots:
  51
On the surface, The Perfect Disguise looks like a straightforward Kölsch with a crisp Kölsch yeast and traditional German malts and hops … but things aren’t always what they seem. With a quick sniff and a slight sip, you’re greeted by a creamy mouthfeel and full body thanks to the addition of a unique German chit malt - the first hint that this beer may be somewhat different.

Hiding deeper behind that German disguise is the double dry-hopping of an American Double IPA, with nearly 4 lbs. of German and American hops per barrel. It brings tropical flavors of citrus, tangerine, mango, gooseberries and peach.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Dave1999:
Photo of Dave1999
Rated by Dave1999 from North Carolina

4.08/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

May 05, 2020
More User Ratings:
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.5/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from Brewers Haven. Medium to dark golden, small foamy head. Musty, fruity aroma, papaya. Taste is more tropical fruit, nice juicy feel. Bittersweet finish.
Jan 29, 2023
Photo of jopezu
Reviewed by jopezu from Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
pours a hazy, gold amber. nose; lemon, clean grain/barley, & citrus hops. taste; mid malt (german chit malt), light grapefruit, stone fruit, peach, & again with the citrus hops. semi-dry finish and some farmhouse-esque hay on the backside. medium mouthfeel & carbonation. this is a kolsch base beer that was perverted into an ipa by the wizards at dogfish head. feels like a saison & easy tropical dipa rolled onto one. cheers!
Nov 14, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by szmnnl99 from Michigan

Apr 14, 2022
 
Rated: 3.5 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Dec 08, 2021
Photo of jdhilt
Reviewed by jdhilt from New Hampshire

3.73/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a two-finger off-white head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Almost clear amber color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Citrus nose mostly grapefruit and flavor is slightly hoppy citrus. Reasonable DIPA. Higher ABV (8%) is hidden. $2.69 for a 12oz bottle from Beverage Warehouse Winooski, VT.
Mar 26, 2021
 
Rated: 3.75 by Chipwells from Georgia

Feb 01, 2021
 
Rated: 4 by a77cj7 from South Dakota

Jan 21, 2021
Photo of mothmanscott
Reviewed by mothmanscott from Georgia

4.12/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A Kolsch beer hopped to become an imperial IPA? Dogfish head strikes again!

Pours a chill-hazed deep gold producing 1.5 fingers of frothy/soapy, white head. Abundant effervescence rises from the bottom of the glass. Aromas of stone fruit, citrus and berry mixed with bread and biscuit malts greet the nose. Taste is stone fruit, citrus, tropical fruit, melon and berry combined with biscuit, caramel and honey. The finish is earthy, grassy and herbal. There is a spiciness throughout with a little astringency in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied with moderate carbonation, smooth and creamy with a fine prickle in the finish.

Overall I'd say this is better than good but not great. Good enough to buy it again however. I suggest you try it.
Jan 14, 2021
Photo of feloniousmonk
Reviewed by feloniousmonk from Minnesota

4.04/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Clear, bright golden color, slim white head.

In the nose: Popping with tropical notes and citrus, too. Clean and cool.

In the mouth: A flood of flavors, a blast of bitter and fruit. Starts fruity, ends dry. Crisp, smooth, with plenty of bitter. I went into this forgetting what I knew, with only the label art as my guide. Hops lurking inside a jolly German? Now, I sneak peek and I remember, it's the double IPA with kolsch yeast, right? Yeah, and it's working. Getting some stone fruit, some tropical, and plenty of bitterness.

I'm liking this a lot. Dogfish is at it again, and my cap is off to them for continuing to innovate.
Oct 17, 2020
 
Rated: 3.9 by buzzy from Pennsylvania

Sep 20, 2020
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I got a bottle of this beer off the single shelf from a beer store in LaCrosse, WI. It poured a clear golden with white head that is leaving a nice ring lace. The scent had tropical fruit notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with tropical fruit peel presence. The mouthfeel was medium in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a solid beer.
Sep 18, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by Velivolus1 from Vermont

Aug 01, 2020
 
Rated: 3.73 by Bwag from New York

Jul 19, 2020
 
Rated: 4 by alexsergio from New York

Jul 05, 2020
Photo of vette2006c5r
Reviewed by vette2006c5r from Minnesota

3.34/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
The Pefrect Disguise pours a bright hazy color, not much head. Overrly sweet aroma, lots and lots of peach notes. Flavor is very sweet, lots of citrus, lots of peach. Good body and feel. Overall, very sweet, lots and lots of fruit mixing.
Jun 26, 2020
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.9/5  rDev -28%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Initial reaction to a 12 fl oz brown glass bottle:

Has a nice hop profile but the crispness of its mouthfeel - while indeed more true to a Kölsch - isn't what I want in an IIPA. Peach-forward with peach's cousin - apricot - taking 2nd place in the mix. Subsidiary hop flavours include floral hop flavour, citrus, and some acidic but vague fruit (particularly in the aftertaste).

A bit warmer booze-wise than I'd like...it's noticeable and makes it more a sipper than an easy drinker even in Summer heat.

I want it creamier and softer with less carbonation and crispness. Some minerality is present that I don't dig.

Malt backbone is odd...not your usual 2-row/pale malt and not the new school wheat/oat approach. It's not sweet necessarily but nevertheless tastes kind of honeyed or almost cereally - but without the graininess that descriptor would suggest. Honeycomb cereal comes to mind, which isn't really the malt backbone I want in a peach-forward (I)IPA.

Weirdly aggressive with a bit of a lopsided hop profile...structurally speaking, most of the oomph of its hop flavour is towards the back end of the beer (in the 3rd act and aftertaste).

Scintillae of vanillin. Papaya. A hint of lemony twang. Ample rind and concomitant bitterness.

They bill this as tasting like gooseberries. Am I the only one willing to admit I don't know what the dickens a gooseberry tastes like?

Not as drinkable as it should be. Any German Kölsch is more drinkable, and most of the better widely distributed IIPAs (e.g. Lagunitas Sucks) are as well despite being higher in ABV. I think the malts they chose don't shield the booze from the palate as well as conventional malts tend to, so there's a tradeoff to their choices.

The Kölsch/IIPA hybrid they're going for feels more like a marketing angle than a viable and/or inspired decision, but then this is Dogfish Head we're talking about...they probably put more effort into their appealing and colorful labels than they do their recipes.

Ultimately, its booziness is just tough to get past for me especially given the wealth of equal and higher ABV IIPAs that handle that facet a hell of a lot better. The disguise in The Perfect Disguise is for its yeast - not its alcohol content - and that isn't a good thing. But hey, they got Kölsch yeast to shit out enough ethanol to make this 8% which is impressive on a purely academic level.

C / AVERAGE
Jun 25, 2020
 
Rated: 4.42 by buzzedup from Pennsylvania

Jun 14, 2020
Photo of themoviebrewer
Reviewed by themoviebrewer from Massachusetts

3.86/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A strange brew that’s hard to pinpoint, The Perfect Disguise by Dogfishhead Brewing smells and tastes like one would expect a Kölsch to smell and taste. It’s subtle and malt forward, leaving a nice feel in your mouth after a long sip. Easy to drink. So much so that you’ll need to remind yourself of it’s 8% ABV.
Jun 11, 2020
Photo of dacrza1
Reviewed by dacrza1 from New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
DATE: May 31, 2020... OCCASION: having had a nice time with Uncle Joe, Aunt Karen, Sasha and Jordan as they finished their goodbye tour, I warm up on a cold night with a beer I bought as much for the label (a DFH beer, yes, but why the cuckoo clock?) as for its content... GLASSWARE: Corsendonk stem... pours a vigorous, hazy, golden orange body whose upswept bubbles create a staunch two-fingered perfection of snow white mesa--frothy and impenetrably thick... its first waft is resinous, with noble hops suggesting something clean and drinkable (the "disguise?")... grapefruit, tangy lemon, and pine also enter in, but this has a subdued approach overall--definitely subtle for an 8% ABV... the first sip surprises with a clean, medium-bodied palate, plucking at the teeth, enlivening the mouth, yet leaving the throat with a fraction of its weight; where did it go? a dry finish that still shakes with its 70 IBUs... the flavor profile is a balance of sour and sweet: resin, grapefruit, berry and lemon clash with cracker and sweet malts, which makes the impact strong but withdrawing at the same time... each sip is like the crash and ebb of a hop wave, unique and shifty... this checks off the DIPA boxes but also refreshes... a worthwhile offering...
Jun 01, 2020
The Perfect Disguise from Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 302 ratings