Dogfish Head "The Perfect Disguise" Double IPA

I'm not particularly worried about this beer. Dogfish Head is one of those few breweries that manages to do some miraculous things with beer, and the result is almost always pleasant. This particular beer is a double IPA, and my recent fascination with double IPAs indicates that this should really go well. I'm not sure if the name of the beer is post indicate that they're trying to disguise the hops, but I'm a fan of hops and hope that I'm gonna get to taste them.

The beer pours a very cloudy brass with a reasonably sized head that boils away but leaves lots of lacing along the sides of the glass as it goes down. The aroma is fairly muted, but I can smell some pine and citrus fruits. I'm now starting to wonder if the name is in reference to just how muted these hops are gonna be. That will be quite unfortunate.

First sip is very, very good. It does have quite a bit of malt coming forward that is of the caramel variety. It's sweet on the front end, and it trails off with bitterness, but neither of those two tastes is particularly overwhelming. They seem to meet in the middle in a very smooth and harmonious way. I wouldn't have a problem sipping this all night, but that's not what you people are expecting, is it?

Tip-in is mild carbonation burn with caramel and sweetness being added to a pine and tropical fruit medley. The middle spills into a deliciously smooth concoction where a second bread comes up to meet the fruits and pine with the caramel becoming a glaze on the outside of the bread (an incidental surge of citrus happens in the background). The finish is a feeding of those flavors as a bitterness rises to swell and then dives down quickly for the trail off.

Bottom Line: Like most Dogfish Head beers, this is definitely a keeper.

4.0/5