Three Floyds Dreadnaught Imperial IPA

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

22 oz. Either I had a bad bottle, or this beer was a HUGE disappointment. Almost no aroma and completely lacking in the citrus element department...I am really surprised at the high rating. I’ve had plenty better IPA’s...I would probably rank this one down at the bottom of my list.

Bomber courtesy of CMR1517. I was going to hold on to this for a while, but eh, you only live once. Pours a hazy copper color with a minimal white head. Nice lacing. Nose is citrus hops, mostly grapefruit with some pine. Palate is nice – grapefruit, pine, mango and orange peels with a hoppy bitter aftertaste. Nice creamy mouth feel and a slight stickyness to it. Alchohol is well hidden at this ABV. It’s up there with my other favorite IIPAs for sure.

HUGE thanks to StFun for hooking me up with a fresh bottle, and thanks to yem25 also for sending me a bottle I shared at a tasting. Poured a thick, slightly hazy deep orange color with a moderate, fluffy off-white head that faded to a soapy film but still left great lacing. Aroma of soft citrus, light grapefruit, apricot, and mango, a some earthy hoppiness. Thick, lightly sweet maltiness leads into the good stuff, strong fruit presence of orange, grapefruit, light mango, with undertones of pine that lead into a nice, bitter hoppy finish. Great slick mouthfeel. Just a great beer. Thanks again for sending them guys.

This is a good beer! It is a lot like DFH 90 minute, but the finish is a bit harsher. This one starts off with an infinitesimal head (I thought it was flat), and it was bursting with hop flavor. Very piny with hints of red grapefruit and tangy citrus. I like it very much, but the finish was too much. I would LOVE to try this fresh at 3 Floyds.

Rerate: Fresh bomber.

Well, drewbeerme heard me bitching about this beer being overrated in some drunken forum post of mine, and he took it upon himself to set me straight. Try it fresh, he said, and a few weeks later - after the most recent release - a bottle arrived on my doorstep. I opened it the next day (had to give it one day to sit after its long journal) and dang if he wasn’t right. I’m not saying this is the best IIPA I’ve ever had and I’m not even saying it deserves its >4.2 rating, but it’s certainly a world-class IIPA that belongs right up there near the top at >4.0. Huge leafy aroma, peppermint, herb, resin - the right amount of malt to balance, maybe a slight vegetal off-taste detracting a notch, not too sweet, alcohol hidden away masterfully, light grapefruit and pineapple and just more of that leafy deliciousness. Very nice. I’ll let this new rating supersede the old one rather than averaging, as this is clearly the state in which the beer is intended to be sampled. Now I really want to try this one fresh on tap!

Original rating 3/5/08. Bottle courtesy of sprinkle -- thanks!

I’m actually a bit disappointed by this one, and some of that is my fault. I should have opened it the moment it arrived on my doorstep, and instead I waited a couple of months. I’d like to try fresh on tap some day. In the meantime, the following is all I can say:

Pours a clear orange with very little head. Perfumy hops on the nose, striking malt presence in the aroma is well. Powerful flavor dominated by soap-and-perfume hops, backed by substantive malts as well. The soap comes on pretty strong, maybe peach/mango flavored soap, but soap nonetheless. And unfortunately this one already showing some oxidization as well. That mars the flavor somewhat, and I’m left with a beer that is definitely burly and enjoyable in that it’s not a too-sweet IIPA -- but it’s a beer that I’m not blown away by. Mouthfeel, at least, is very good with the alcohol not at all apparent. 7% would be entirely believable.

Gotta try it fresh, I guess. 7/4/6/4/15=3.6

Overrated? Hard to tell. Transparent orange, amber color with a thin, creamy, white head. Aroma is more mild than I would have imagined, plenty of citrus, grapefruit, definitely some tropical fruits and peach. Although mild, the aroma was rather unique and no pine aromas that accompany other DIPAs. Flavor has plenty of sweet, subtle malt with toffee and butter flavors at first. Next the hop flavors overwhelm the tongue, grass, grapefruit, grapes, peach, basically any fruit you can think of you can find in the hop flavors - again, a distinct lack of pine and not very resiny. Finish is bitter, but not killer, and the beer has a very full, slightly thick, mouthfeel. Extremely well balanced from nose to finish. For my money though, I’ll take a HopSlam before I’d reach for this.

Not bad, but I tend to like my IPAs a little more toned down on the aftertaste. This is like Two Hearted Ale times 5. It is thicker, hoppier, but I can’t say better. It seems more fruity and floral than other IPA’s I have had and that is what stood out with me. Alcohol is not apparent so that is a big plus with me.

Simply one of the best IPAs around. Like other Three Floyds brews it’s perfectly balanced, with a good waft of pine and citrus, and peach in the nose. Strong, but not overly sweet malt backbone and a pleasing citrus and pine resin finsh.