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22oz Bomber

Devil Dog is another Laughing Dog beer I received in a recent trade with JohnGalt1, thanks Toby! This big IIPA pours a surprisingly dark, somewhat hazy, ruby red that glows orange when backlit. A clean white head rises to a healthy finger's worth in height and fell rather quickly to a swirling skim coat and moderate collar that leaves small patchy lacing on its way down. Thin drink lines remain behind after each sip.

This beer smells like it will have a ton of robust flavors, from the hops, malt bill and alcohol. Brown sugar sweetened grapefruit is the first thing that jumps out. Loads of dripping caramel drenches this beer and while the hops take the lead the malts aren't far behind. A moderate tropical fruitiness pops up here and there with pineapple and mango being the two most noticeable. Mild alcohol wafts through the malt and tickles my nose. There's also a candy like sugar quality adding to the tropical fruitiness.

Although the aroma of this beer is good the flavor surpasses it. The brown sugar sweetened grapefruit is first out of the gate and the tropical fruitiness lays down layer after layer of citric goodness. The caramel maltiness is thick, rich and coating which makes for a solid backbone. The alcohol comes through just enough to cut through some of the sweetness. This is a big IIPA in all aspects. The malt bill works to balance the hop profile but falls short. I usually prefer the hop heavy IIPAs but this one hits the spot tonight.

The mouthfeel of this beer is about as rich and velvety smooth as you could expect from an IIPA. The body is heavy but leaning toward the lighter side of heavy, if that makes sense. There's a sugary stickiness that coats the tongue, as the velvety body glides through, but the rest of my mouth dries out quickly from the alcohol presence.

This is a big beer and although the abv rings in at over 10% it drinks incredibly easy. The mouthfeel is a big help to the great drinkability along with the drying aspect. I find myself drinking this beer faster then I should with a 10% beer.

This is a delicious IIPA that managed to grow on me the more I drank. Although it's more of a balanced IIPA the flavors come together nicely. I would recommend this to anyone to give a try. I'm glad Toby sent me two of these. Thanks again!

Reviewed: 9/24/08

Served In: Pint Glass