Before I knew this wonderful month, which I had heretofore referred to as July, was in fact Michigan beer month, I passed a small liquor store in northern michigan which had a sign reading, “Crooked Tree Double IPA.”  The connoiseur that I am, I needed to have a peek inside.  What did I stumble upon, I wondered.  Much to my delight, this place was PACKED with great beer.  They had every beer I’ve ever loved.  Ever.  And there was much rejoicing.  I immediately made a B-line for the Founder’s Devil Dancer triple IPA, which inspired so much controversy on here not long ago.  I also came upon a new favorite (which is sadly not local to michigan), the Lagunitas Hop Stoopid.  Sure, i’d had it plenty of times before, but damn its fine.  So, back to my point, Devil Dancer and the impending war of Michigan Imperial IPAs.  What does Devil Dancer offer, you make ask yourself, that other IIPAs do not?  In one word, body.  This IIPA is thick as hell, and extremely hoppy, and extremely boozy.  Might it be too much for the average pallette, I do believe so.  But for my finely tuned skills as a master of libation sampling, it is pure glory.  This is certainly one of my favorite, and most desired beers of the year, and I was happy to come accross it.  On a scale of 1-10, i’m still satisfied giving it a 9.

First up, I tried Founders Devil Dancer. It’s useless to point out that this has always been a fantastic beer because theres hardly a flaw in either of the two I’m comparing, but I must say, this is so astonishingly well balanced in my opinion. Upon completion, I ate some peanuts, some cheese, and drank a glass of water. I immediately poured the Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree after that. Here is what I noticed between the two.

Pour: Devil Dancer pours a thick copper/tan with extremely little head. Double Crooked Tree pours with a frothy finger thick head, and a lighter copper than the Devil Dancer. Appears to be less body to the beer as well. My theory is that the Devil Dancer basically topped out around 13% and when they force carbonated it, they left it light. Whereas with Double Crooked Tree (which finally pours without yeast!) was force carbonated, after fermentation, possibly in excess. It was not an enormous head, like a belgian, but surprising for an IIPA with as much Oomph.

Aroma: Both aromas are similarly hoppy. Its likely they used the same varieties, as those high AA hops are just not very common. The difference I noticed was that while double crooked tree was all hop and no play, the Devil Dancer rose up with some sweetness, and some serious alcohol. The intriguing thing about this is that the Double Crooked Tree is actually 0.6% higher. It is possible that the sheer abundance of hop aroma in the Double Crooked Tree masked the aroma of the alcohol.

Taste: Heaven. Greatest experiment ever. The Devil Dancer was glorious. It was bitter as hell, really hoppy, a bit malty sweet, with some residual alcohol. The Double Crooked Tree was all hop. It was really good, but I felt and continue to feel that it lacks the complexity and balance of the Devil Dancer.

In conclusion, the Devil Dancer pulls it out for the win. While there were certain improvements over last years Double Crooked Tree, it just can’t hold up to the Devil Dancer. If devil dancer is a true 9.5, Double Crooked Tree is a 9.3. I can’t naysay either of these beers, I can merely say I’ve enjoyed Devil Dancer more. They are both excellent representations of my favorite style.

Its not as bad as I thought before.

The aroma is great. It has a ton of hops, and a hint of malt as it warms.

Speaking of which, now that I’m not sick any more, I can taste more malt than I could before.  This is a good thing.

I can’t taste as much of the alcohol as before, and this too is a good thing.

The aftertaste in your mouth is pleasantly malty. The sweetness plays against the bitterness it leaves as well.

That said, I’m still not as enthralled with this beer as Brian is. I agree with Brian that this beer is “Not incredibly well balanced”. And that’s why I say it doesn’t deserve anywhere near the 9/10 Brian gave it.

I’ll give it a higher rating than the 2/10 I gave it before, but I still don’t plan on buying again.

4/10

The real premise of this post, is to settle an old score, first perpetrated here. The great rift over Founders Devil Dancer.

First, lets look at Ian’s qualms with the beer.

1. No head
2. Too Hoppy
3. Too much booze

Now, let us analyze this. Number 3 directly correlates to number 1. If you hit 13% by volume, unless you’re rocking a champagne yeast strain in the secondary, you’re just not going to have head. Remember our Imperial Stout, Ian? I just can’t bring myself to have a qualm with 13% by volume. Especially here, the alcohol flavors are hardly noticeable. Then again, my current sickness may deceive me. Still, it is very difficult to hate a high AC beer in my book. They tend to be very well backed by the malt profile, and lend an interesting complexity to the beer.

Now, having taken care of 1, and 3, lets examine the issue of hoppiness. Ian, please remove the sand from your vagina. Sure, it is one of the hoppiest beers in existence at 112 IBU’s according to Founders site, but come on… you can handle it. I really enjoy all of the flavors it has. I have yet to find myself shunning a hoppy beer, except for possibly Stone’s Ruination, as that was just weird. I felt like that one left most of the all the hops in the last 10-15 minutes of the boil as it was all flavor with much less accompanying bitterness.

Anyway, I can’t not give this beer a fantastic rating. Either my beer bff is getting weak in his old age, or he was really too sick to tell how delicious it was.

I give this a 9/10

Its exactly what a triple IPA should be. Not incredibly well balanced, full of hops and booze, with a slight malty sweetness to reside upon. Its fantastic. I’d give it a higher rating, but i’m not sure yet what is deserving of something like that.

Anyway, I have a short list of beers I still need and want to try once my Lenten sacrifices are finished:

1. Mendocino Imperial IPA
2. Lienenkugel Big Eddy imperial stout
3. Erie Brewing Co Fallenbock
4. Boulder Brewing Co Obovoid imperial stout
5. Unibroue 17

Anything else people insist i must try, i will.  Unless, once again, it is Jolly Pumpkin’s bam bier (worst beer EVER) or Stone’s Oaked Arrogant Bastard (oak aged gym sock).  Also, please feel free to buy me any of the beers you insist I must try.  I’ll even let you take me to Crunchy’s and buy my a glass if you want.  Better yet, I’d let you take me to my former employer, Oade’s Big Ten, and buy me a mix six pack.

Seriously though, I really do welcome suggestions, it is my prerogative to do so, and report fairly, and honestly about each.

So I opened up the fridge, and it was between the Founder’s Devil Dancer and a Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout. I’ve had the Kalamazoo Stout plenty of times. As a matter of fact, it might be the best stout in the state of Michigan. An old standby to be sure. But that’s for another time.

I opened up the Devil Dancer and poured it into a pint glass. Immediately I was a little disappointed in the almost complete lack of head, but that hasn’t stopped me before.

I’m just going to cut straight to it. I’m going to have to say something that I don’t think I’ve ever said before. There is such a thing as too many hops.

Seriously. I love hops. They’re my favorite part of beer. But this triple IPA takes it too far.

This is more bitter than it needs to be. The aroma is nice, but it could use a little more maltiness. Maybe the 13% alcohol is hurting – if it wasn’t so boozy it might be a little easier on the palate, even with all the hops. All in all, I’m kind of disappointed. Their Breakfast Stout, Rubaeus, and Red’s Rye are all excellent; beers I really look forward to drinking.

Maybe I’m just getting old, but Devil Dancer seems only good for ruining my palate. Sometimes extreme beer is just too extreme. 2/10

Ian!