Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA

Brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Munster, Indiana USA

Bottle. A lightly hazy medium amber beer with a medium sized, quite lasting and lacing white head. The aroma has a quite good maltiness and a immense hoppiness with notes of grapefruit, oranges, tropical fruit, caramel and alcohol. The flavour is highly sweet with more malt presence than other beers in this style and very fruity, sugary, and finally balanced, enough complex and very light stickiness. Medium to full body, lively carbonation, quite long finish with medium bitterness and not much more, so less than in a normal IIPA. First experience with this brewery is very good, I want more, much more.

22 oz. bomber from Archer Liquors. Snifter. Outstanding - well worth the price. Pours orange. Thick head. Good lacing. Aromas are strong and inviting. Citrus. Peach. More Citrus. Alcohol. Flavors are extremely well-balanced. This beer disables your palate in a more subtle fashion than Ruination or Pliny/Younger. Pleased that I still have five more to enjoy!

Pours a orange, golden color and is topped with a thick off white head with quite a bit of staying power. Aroma is a nice mixture of orange citrus with a bit more of mango and then some pretty bitter floral and spruce notes mixed in. Flavor starts off somewhat sweet with some citrus flavors in there as well but the overall floral and spruce bitterness carries through the hole tasting and takes hold as the main contributor to the flavor on the last half of the tasting along with the light caramel malt flavors. Body of the beer is nice and holds the flavors perfectly while all the while masking the alcohol presence very well. Overall this beer presents a sound aromatic and a highly flavorful beer well worth a try, albeit a bit pricey.

Pours a hazy, mostly orange copper with a frothy white head that leaves some nice lacing. The aroma is chock full of pine needles, pineapple, grapefruit, and mango. The flavor is sweet and malty at first, a little fruity, then incredibly bitter and full of alpha acids. Nice long finish and a chewy palate. awesome. The king of hop bombs.

Bottle compliments of TearsForBeers. Pours a hazy orange color with a sold white head and a gorgeous lace. The aroma is strong and piney at first followed by orange and sweet melon with some mild floral notes. The flavor is wonderfully complex, very bitter and hoppy. Instantly fruity with notes of melon and mango with some good citrus and pine notes. This is wildly balanced with a big malty sweetness that in no way detracts from the big hop flavor but seems to work as a backdrop really allowing the hops to showcase their flavor all the while providing a pleasant balance for their bitterness. The mouth feel is big with a nice sharpness mid palate. Try this beer by any means necessary.

Bomber from Archer Liquors. Finally, I get to try the highly-rated Dreadnaught. I’ve been wanting to try this not only because of it’s reputation but because I love the style. This pours an orange-amber color with a thin off-white head. Just a little head retention and not much lacing to speak of. The aroma is strong citrusy grapefruit hops along with some alcohol fumes. Big, thick malty backbone here to support the massive onslaught of hops, grapefruit, pine, tropical fruit, big hop variety, and a long-lasting bitter dry finish. There is a bit of an alcohol sting in the flavor. This is a terrific beer, no doubt about that, but it wasn’t a mind-blowing experience and there’s still probably two or three IIPA’s I’d put ahead of this, if for no other reason due to drinkability. This seemed just a little sticky at times and Pliny the Elder, for example, just glides from start to finish. So glad to finally try this and I’m sure I’ll be re-visiting again down the road. Would love to do a taste test some day with other top notch IIPA’s.

2008 Bottle - Thanks motortoddhead! - Pours a hazy orange with a large crere colored head...cascading bubbles in the glass put on a great show...aroma is a sweet bitterness, pine resin, pineapple malt...flavour does not disappoint, biting bitterness that is tempered with a tropical fruit malt balance...the malt dissipated in the mouth and you are left with a residual bitterness...I know I should have drank this fresh, but a year in the bottle and this is still fantastic...

I shared a 22oz. bottle with a friend at Rich O’s Publick House in New Albany, IN. Pours a golden amber with a rich off white head. The aroma is very fruity. It tastes very malty with caramel, toffee and tropical fruit. Strong hop bitterness in the end in keeping with the style, but the maltiness stands out in this one. Balance isn’t a priority usually with these IIPA’s, but this beer was amazing.