Dreadnaught
3 Floyds Brewing Co.

 

Imagine growing up in a part of the world where you heard so much about a delicious beer which you had no access to try. Lust and desire can engineer you to plan vacations around tasting beer, which you create the opportunity to visit Café In de Vrede to taste the Westvleteren portfolio, or to march towards Dieu du Ciel! for a fresh pour of Péché Mortel. I have done both and plenty more. Then my desire for talked about brands diminished, and I became indifferent towards long voyages for beer hunting. To my luck, I relocated and found myself able to find Three Floyd's for sale. Dreadnaught has a high score which still hold to this day. Let's see if I can find.....4 pack of pints at $14.99 at a nearby liquor shop. On to the beer:

This isn't just orange but sunset orange with toasted accents. Above is crested with an inch of creamy head which leaves a show of bone white lacing around my Affligem chalice. My expections come back to earth with a good not great nose of grapefruit rind with a touch of resin. However things begin to change.

Taste hits the "A" Tier. It's something to talk about; a strong hoppy presence which doesn't go bitter, is "balanced" per style, and give grapefruit, lychee, and candied citrus, all while the alcohol is undetected. Okay, so the Stone Ruination's I indulged in a past life weren't far off, and Pliny the Elder is more distinct, what's the hype about? I think I have found the reason; look at that mouthfeel score I gave! It's full bodied, thick with tiny bubbles gently popping onto the palate to uplift my appetite. It doesn't stick to your palate. It's also very easy to drink despite an alcohol content over 9% ABV. You will want to keep drinking, and 4-pack pints at home are a great way to continue going. However today, I finished my last can; I'll just get some more later.

 

 

 

 

My original review is just too dated to keep around, especially now that these new (and awesome) cans have dropped, so it's time for a fresh one!

Appearance is glowingly clear amber with a tall and puffy khaki foam head.

I remember this blasting my palate to all hell as a younger beer geek, but damn is the nose tropical as all hell, it's almost like a passion fruit margarita.

Taste is certainly potent as fuck--fiery, resinous, and threatening intense bitterness--but relents to hop flavors that again reach into tropical but also citrus realms, all backed by a mild presence of toasty, grahamy malt. White pepper emerges with time.

It's obvious why the old bombers would've scared me away from IPA back in the day, as this is an absolute powerhouse, both in regards to hop AND booze potency. But at the same time, it's not unforgiving like some of the old Green Flash and Stone products were. What a god damn time warp of a beer either way, and I'm sure glad someone is doing it, because this is enjoyable as hell!

From Untappd 2021

 

I dig it but a little too bitter. And I’m a little too bitter.

I remember, once upon a time, when this was the highest rated double IPA on beeradvocate and I could not get it in my area. Much time has passed and I am really grateful I can now get this beer where I live.
16 ounce can, 3/17/2023 born on date; I imagine this would be even more impressive when sampled closer to the born on date but it's still a pretty fresh sample.
Fruit flavors are pineapple and peach. Alcohol is very well concealed. This is a sweet and juicy sample of the style. I prefer crisper versions but if I see this on tap I'm going for it.

Best ipa I've had yet...

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium to dark coppery amber with a three finger white head with great retention and solid lacing, looks nice. Aroma of biscuit malt, citrus hops, lemon, orange, grapefruit and some dankness. Flavor is biscuit and light dry caramel malt, citrus and piney hops, grapefruit, orange, pine, mild mixed tropical fruit, a little rye; resinous pine and citrus rind finish with great alpha oil bitterness. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. Glad to finally try something from this venerable brewery and I'm glad I started with this. Getting an IPA from the Midwest that has substantial bitterness is a joy in this hazy age and this is one solid IPA. The malt is somewhat old fashioned with good biscuit notes, but the hops are classic NW IPA, which is my favorite profile. Lots going on here and quite enjoyable. This IPA has been off my radar, I'm going to try to snag a Gumball Head next, one of my favorite ale names. Looks, smells and tastes great.

Pours out of the can a gently hazy deep copper with a nice two finger white head and great retention. Laaaazy bubbles up the side of the glass. Smells piney, resinous, and like ripe citrus. Tastes leans heavier on the pine and resin and hits you a bit with the alcohol. I think on the third sip I was starting to find the malt notes that are advertised on the can. If I'm honest, it's really well done, but the alcohol is a tad bit distracting from the overall flavor, but not enough to bring its score down too bad. It's a robust mouthfeel and is carbonated expertly. Glad I got to try this old school imperial that I've heard was a game changer years ago.

 

From a tap, delivered inside a clear pint glass it came. It's beautifully and brightly copper-amber with a very modest off-white head. The aroma, although not pronounced, brings IPA hops and malt. There's a little too much alcohol to taste to keep it from excellence, but the ABV is 9.4, for goodness sake. The malt body is rich and up to carrying the hops and most of the alcohol. As it should be the hops, both citrusy and earthy, dominate the outstanding taste.