[Cellar Review] Founders Devil Dancer Triple IPA (2012 Vintage vs 2013 Vintage)

Brewed By: Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan  
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 4-pack bought at Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2012 /// Single 12oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA/Strong Ale, 12.0%
Reported IBUs: 112

Tonight I'm checking in on a beer that I have aging away in my cellar...this post was inspired by BEEEINNNNY'S. I walked in to grab some Dragon's Milk so I could compare the 2011 Vintage to the 2013 Vintage, and I stumbled upon single bottles of the Devil Dancer. I don't understand this beer or its popularity. Binny's had a one-bottle (12oz) limit on this beer, and each bottle was selling for 6 or 7 dollars. That pushes a 4-pack of this into the $24-$28 dollar range. What the fuck is this, Bourbon County Stout? I'm sorry, I love you Founders, but I don't know if I love you THAT MUCH. But then again, we are about to give this beer two knock out punches. Maybe it does live up to the hype. A word on Founders: 

Founders is the holy grail of Michigan brewing. Based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders was founded in 1997 and produce some of the best beer in the world.

I did review this beer back in September of 2012. The Devil Dancer is described as being massively complex, with a huge malt character that balances out an insane amount of hops. Clocking in at 12% ABV, this beer packs an impressive 112 IBUs. On with the comparison.  

Appearance

The 2012 beer is on the left in the Half Acre snifter. 

2012 Vintage on the left, 2013 Vintage on the right

2012 Vintage - Surprisingly much more flaccid than the 2013, this beer struggled to form a caramel/red head, and instead opted to spin a ring of lacing on the side of the snifter. In low light this is a reddish/orange affair, and it already looks a bit more muddled/cloudy than the fresh vintage. It's the damnedest thing, actually. The fresh vintage is almost transparent, but this year-old vintage is murky like orange juice. In bright light this beer is all sorts of appealing, with blood orange and tangerine tones, shades of sunet, a whispy carbonation on the surface. There is carbonation, lacing, and alcohol legs. 

2013 Vintage - More heady than the 2012 Vintage, this beer pours into a mostly clear, maybe slightly hazy, red/orange body. This one kicked up a centimeter of off-white head. In bright light, this is a transparent, orange-colred beer, with carbonation, and a nice cauldron effect. Swirling the beer kicks up some carbonation, and there is lacing and legs. 

The tl;dr version is that the 2012 Vintage is already much different in apperance, with a hazy body and less head.

Aroma

And here's where things get cray-cray. 

2012 Vintage - This smells like a mother fucking Barleywine. There's immense pine, resin, maple syrup, pine sap, treacle sweetness, molasses, and some hints of brown sugar/spice. There's also some fat, sticky, resinous tangerine/orange.

2012 Devil Dancer

2013 Vintage - Hops. This smells like hops. This smells like an Imperial IPA, and smells NOTHING like the 2012 Vintage. I'm getting some catty hops, lemon, pine, caramel/toffee/cakey backing, big zesty orange peel/lemon/citrus, and some sweet tangerine/tropical fruit. 

It's pretty remarkable, the change that this beer has undergone, in just short of one year.

Taste

2012 Vintage - The mouthfeel starts out thick, but this is still hopped to high heaven and finishes with gripping bitterness and woody hop kick. The front is all Barleywine, with huge molasses, complex sugars, brown sugar, and malt sweetness. You get cake, pine sap, resin, and burnt sugar-coated citrus. Beneath that is some hint of lemon, tangerine, and enamel-punching citrus. The back end remains sticky and sweet like a Barleywine, but the 112 IBUs of hop bitterness show up to dry things out and lay on a wood smacking.

2013 Vintage - Assertive, NOT-complex sweetness coupled with enamel-punishing hoppiness is what drives this beer. This is hoppy with resinous pine, lemon, catty hops, urine, soap, cleaning products, and some underlying caramel sugars and tropical fruits/citrus/tangerine. This is dank and resinous, and as it warms up you get some resin/wood density towards the back. The 112 IBUs are punishingly woody and dry, and you'll be reaching for water and a toothbrush. 

Drinkability/Mouthfeel/Palate Depth/Complexity

At 12%, neither of these beers scream drinkability. In fact, these are probably LESS quaffable than the Dragon's Milk, which is all sorts of absurd. On the plus side, hooray for getting tipsy on a Monday night. My liver, your gain.

2012 Vintage - This is full-bodied, heavy, and sticky. At this point, the beer is drinking like a serious American Barleywine with some age. It has a lot of complexity, and the palate dept is good. The bitter finish also contributes to nice palate duration, with each sip occupying lots of mouth time. You get sweet sugars, caramel, cake, toffee, and complex sugars up front; that rolls into molasses and spice, and bit pine sap, maple syrup, treacle sugars, lemon, and sweet citrus; that grows into a bitter/woody finish that is dry and sticky.

2013 Devil Dancer

2013 Vintage - This is also full-bodied, but a bit less so than the 2012. This one also isn't as heavy or sticky, and the complex Barleywine-esque sugars don't weigh on you. Palate depth is good, and complexity is also pretty solid. This reminds me of Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, only less good. That gives me high hopes for cellaring the 120. This one features resinous/bready sweet citrus up front, with dank/resinous orange, some lemon, pine; that rolls into more lemon, cleaning products, soap, catty hops; The back end is aggressive bittering, wood, lingering resin/dank, and a dry sticky finish. 

Rating[s]/Final Thoughts

2012 Vintage - Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd) I'm feeling a Light Above-Average rating on this beer. I'm a little surprised at how well this beer is aging, turning into something resembling a very solid American Barleywine. There's a lot of complex sugars at work in this beer, and they are complemented with nice bitterness and faded hops. You could pair the 2012 Vintage with a cigar, dry cheeses (smoked cheeses; aged cheddar), smoked meats, or rich caramel desserts or creme brulee. Nice stuff. 

2013 Vintage - Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd) I'm feeling a Strong Average rating on this beer. I think I just downgraded this beer from last year's review. I don't know. I feel like this is flirting with that Above-Average rating. This reminds me of both the 120 Minute IPA, and of numerous beers brewed by Lagunitas. There's a lot of accompanying sugars that provide balance to the hops, and the end result is lots of sweet citrus, sugary lemon, and cake notes. It's a touch catty, for better or worse, and occasionally the booze crops up. I guess it delivers in some regards, but for whatever reason I find myself preferencing beers like the 120 Minute IPA (and that's even boozier...so yeah). I'm rambling. Food pairings: spicy wings, burgers, cheese dip, nachos...things that go well with an IPA. 

Random Thought: I think this beer ages favorably, and I also think this is a FUN BEER. So what do we make of the price? At 7 dollars a bottle, this shit is undoubtedly expensive. I snagged my 4-pack last year for about 25 bucks. I thought that was reasonable. If you do buy this beer, buy a couple of bottles, and throw two or three in the cellar. This should peak after 2 or 3 years, and will be fun to compare to a fresh bottle. Cheers.