Craft Beer Review #8 - Dry & Bitter Brewing Company: Double Dippy Doo
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| Figure 1: Dry & Bitter: Double Dippy Doo in can. |
The Brewery
Dry & Bitter Brewing Company[1] are a brewery from Gørløse[2], Denmark. They opened their doors in early 2015, and their "ambition was always to brew super fresh IPAs". Not to be earmarked as one-trick ponies, they've also embarked on sour barrel-ageing "adventure" of fifty barrels of different beers, which will be blended, bottle conditioned and released.
Don't be fooled by their self-proclaimed description of being "IPA brewers" into thinking that they can't brew anything else though. After taking a quick look at their beer history on Untappd, you'll find that aside from having brewed a lot of IPAs, there are also a lot of sours, and some stouts, Pilsners, Kellerbiers and darks. They have an average rating of 3.85/5 on Untappd, which is really high[3], and it's easy to see why once you start trying their beers.
To date, I've had eleven beers from Dry & Bitter[4], with my favourites so far being Guavalanche and Interacting Galaxies, which are a sour and a NEIPA respectively. I like this brewery because they seem to be excited about what they're doing, and they do their core styles really well. Admittedly, I've only had pale ales, IPAs and sours[5], but I desperately want to try their darks and stouts. I always find that brewers that understand how to make really good sours, usually know how to make excellent dark beers[6].
I'm also extremely excited to try Double Dippy Doo because it was sent to me by a friend who lives in Denmark. We don't usually send each other beer, but he rated it so highly, that I simply had to try it. We have similar tastes in beer, and a soft spot for excellent art design on our labels too. That's one of the things that really sets Dry & Bitter apart; their beautiful cans[7]. Many of them look like they're inspired by 70's rock album covers[8] or old science fiction book covers.
I'm also extremely excited to try Double Dippy Doo because it was sent to me by a friend who lives in Denmark. We don't usually send each other beer, but he rated it so highly, that I simply had to try it. We have similar tastes in beer, and a soft spot for excellent art design on our labels too. That's one of the things that really sets Dry & Bitter apart; their beautiful cans[7]. Many of them look like they're inspired by 70's rock album covers[8] or old science fiction book covers.
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| Figure 2: Any one of these classic science fiction novel covers could be a Dry & Bitter label. |
First Impressions
The artwork on the label is stunning. In soft pastel colours are what look like a series of three mountains, with the sun slowly rising behind them[[9]. But since it's art, you can probably see something different in it every time you look at it[10]. On the back of the can is a short artistic description of the beer, with the charming line "The combination of a velvety mouthfeel and tropical zing might just make you want to double dippy doo it all over again"[11].
The beer poured a deep, hazy apricot juice orange colour, with a small white head which was quickly gone. The nose is initially mango, orange and grapefruit juice. But a second, third and fourth sniff yield a hint of grass, and maybe sweet apricot nectar.
The beer poured a deep, hazy apricot juice orange colour, with a small white head which was quickly gone. The nose is initially mango, orange and grapefruit juice. But a second, third and fourth sniff yield a hint of grass, and maybe sweet apricot nectar.
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| Figure 3: My poured can of Double Dippy Doo. |
The Tasting
The first thing you notice is the flavour of tropical fruit. Specifically, there's mango, guava and mandarin, with a sweet pineapple, apricot and vanilla finish. This sounds like it could be too sweet, but the bitterness from the hops come through in the middle, and persists until the end, balancing out the tropical sweetness and leaving a dry finish on the palate[12]. The lingering finish is a wonderful mix of breakfast fruit juice and vegetal hop notes.
The mouthfeel is silky and velvety, owing to the inclusion of oats in the malt bill. I want to say that it has a "luxurious" mouthfeel, but maybe saying it has a "thicker, nectar-like" mouthfeel might make me sound less dramatic. The lower carbonation also helps to accentuate the perceived thickness of the beer, though it is by no means "flat".
It occurred to me after a few mouthfuls, that this is an imperial[13] NEIPA. It's 7.5% ABV, but I couldn't tell at all. I think that if I had bought a six pack of Double Dippy Doo, I'd probably accidentally session them, wake up in (best case scenario) the same country I started in. This is a dangerously crushable beer.
Now, this is where I try and see how my tasting notes compare to other online reviews. It seems that we all agree on mango, citrus and pineapple. Most reviewers a noticed slight hopburn or vegetal notes too. However, I'm not sure I agree with the gentleman that noticed a "smoky" flavour, or the bloke who tasted "plastic"[14].
The mouthfeel is silky and velvety, owing to the inclusion of oats in the malt bill. I want to say that it has a "luxurious" mouthfeel, but maybe saying it has a "thicker, nectar-like" mouthfeel might make me sound less dramatic. The lower carbonation also helps to accentuate the perceived thickness of the beer, though it is by no means "flat".
It occurred to me after a few mouthfuls, that this is an imperial[13] NEIPA. It's 7.5% ABV, but I couldn't tell at all. I think that if I had bought a six pack of Double Dippy Doo, I'd probably accidentally session them, wake up in (best case scenario) the same country I started in. This is a dangerously crushable beer.
Now, this is where I try and see how my tasting notes compare to other online reviews. It seems that we all agree on mango, citrus and pineapple. Most reviewers a noticed slight hopburn or vegetal notes too. However, I'm not sure I agree with the gentleman that noticed a "smoky" flavour, or the bloke who tasted "plastic"[14].
Final Thoughts
I'm trying very hard to not like this beer more for the fact that my friend sent it to me, and he has been pumping it up for quite some time. I was worried that this might be overhyped, and one of those "don't meet your hero"[15] moments, but it isn't.
This is one of the best hazy NEIPAs I've had in a long time, and it's because it ticks every single box that a NEIPA has to tick. One: it is a tropical fruit bomb. In fact, it was more complex than I expected, with the usual mango, pineapple and citrus notes, but also stone fruit and guava. Two: the bitterness is noticeable, but not dominant, and balances the sweetness that could otherwise be overbearing and cloying. Three: it's got a truckload of booze, enough that I feel like I've just discovered that I actually can dance after all, but not so much that I need to wear a panic alert bracelet.
So who would I recommend this beer to? Well, anyone really. I don't have anything bad to say about it. I mean, I think that maybe it might get a little too sweet after several pints, and I literally can't buy it from where I live and that makes me sad, but that's just nitpicking at this stage. It isn't too bitter, it isn't too sweet and it isn't too heavy. Anyone could like this.
I'm not saying I love this beer more than everything else in my life, but I think that if it proposed to me, I'd have to say "I double dippy doo".
If you like what you read, feel free to check out my Instagram page here. I post short reviews almost daily, and while they're not funny, informative or groundbreaking, they definitely are a collection of pictures with words.
This is one of the best hazy NEIPAs I've had in a long time, and it's because it ticks every single box that a NEIPA has to tick. One: it is a tropical fruit bomb. In fact, it was more complex than I expected, with the usual mango, pineapple and citrus notes, but also stone fruit and guava. Two: the bitterness is noticeable, but not dominant, and balances the sweetness that could otherwise be overbearing and cloying. Three: it's got a truckload of booze, enough that I feel like I've just discovered that I actually can dance after all, but not so much that I need to wear a panic alert bracelet.
So who would I recommend this beer to? Well, anyone really. I don't have anything bad to say about it. I mean, I think that maybe it might get a little too sweet after several pints, and I literally can't buy it from where I live and that makes me sad, but that's just nitpicking at this stage. It isn't too bitter, it isn't too sweet and it isn't too heavy. Anyone could like this.
I'm not saying I love this beer more than everything else in my life, but I think that if it proposed to me, I'd have to say "I double dippy doo".
If you like what you read, feel free to check out my Instagram page here. I post short reviews almost daily, and while they're not funny, informative or groundbreaking, they definitely are a collection of pictures with words.
| Brewery | Dry & Bitter Brewing Company |
|---|---|
| Beer | Double Dippy Doo |
| Style | Imperial New England IPA |
| Alcohol | 7.5% |
| IBU | No IBU |
| Price | 6.69€ |
| Untappd Global Score | 4.14 |
| My Untappd Score | 4.7 |
Footnotes
[1] I actually reviewed one of their beers in only my second review, which you can find here. Since I've talked about Dry & Bitter before, I'll use a lot of the same description of the brewery's history, but I'm updating it a little.
[2] I didn't know how to pronounce Gørløse before, I still don't now, but at least I say it wrong with far more confidence than ever before.
[3] For comparison with Dry & Bitter's 3.75/5, here are some score from some highly regarded craft breweries: Mikkeller 3.73/5, Northern Monk 3.87/5 and Lervig 3.76/5. And just for a laugh, Anheiser-Busch 2.57/5 and Miller Brewing Company 2.47/5.
[4] They have a total of 84 different beers that I've been able to find evidence for. That's a lot for a five year old brewery with a core range.
[5] It's really difficult to find craft beer in the small, central German village I live in, so I'm at the mercy of what online craft beer stores are willing to stock, and where I choose to holiday. I wonder if Dry & Bitter, Mikkeller or Duckpond Brewing might let me sleep in their breweries? Probably.
[6] My theory is: sour beers are inherently unpalatable, which is why nobody is walking around drinking fresh lemon juice too often. Hence, you really have to think about your flavour combinations and the overall blended profile to make sours pleasnt. This sort of thinking and attention to detail can produce some amazing dark brews.
[7] That sounded dirtier than I'd planned.
[8] Which at least for some of them, they are inspired by album covers as was explained to me on my Instagram post for Mangorine Dream by Dry & Bitter themselves.
[9] The label suggests that these might be "rolling hills of oats and wheat" paired with "mountains of citra and simcoe", and that's a reasonable thing that someone might say without the use of drugs. Whatever they are though, they look cool.
[10] For example, when I looked at it after several more beers, it looked a little like sounds waves made from ice cream shielding us from a tactical nuclear piece of candy corn.
[11] I'm never saying "do" without "double dippy" in front of it ever again. My girlfriend does not sound happy about this, but there's nothing I can double dippy doo about it now.
[12] I always feel awkward describing a liquid drink as "dry". It's like describing a painting as "wonderfully hard to see", or Tori Spelling as "an actress".
[13] This means that it is higher in alcohol by volume than the average NEIPA. The same goes for an imperial stout, and an imperial sour. Imperial Japan however was not more alcoholic than modern Japan. The more you know.
[14] I'm not here to judge, but one can only assume these guys shared a lit orange-scented candle, instead of a can of Double Dippy Doo.
[15] I haven't met Nikola Sarcevic yet, but I would happily step over the bodies of my family to share a beer with him. And I actually love my family.
[3] For comparison with Dry & Bitter's 3.75/5, here are some score from some highly regarded craft breweries: Mikkeller 3.73/5, Northern Monk 3.87/5 and Lervig 3.76/5. And just for a laugh, Anheiser-Busch 2.57/5 and Miller Brewing Company 2.47/5.
[4] They have a total of 84 different beers that I've been able to find evidence for. That's a lot for a five year old brewery with a core range.
[5] It's really difficult to find craft beer in the small, central German village I live in, so I'm at the mercy of what online craft beer stores are willing to stock, and where I choose to holiday. I wonder if Dry & Bitter, Mikkeller or Duckpond Brewing might let me sleep in their breweries? Probably.
[6] My theory is: sour beers are inherently unpalatable, which is why nobody is walking around drinking fresh lemon juice too often. Hence, you really have to think about your flavour combinations and the overall blended profile to make sours pleasnt. This sort of thinking and attention to detail can produce some amazing dark brews.
[7] That sounded dirtier than I'd planned.
[8] Which at least for some of them, they are inspired by album covers as was explained to me on my Instagram post for Mangorine Dream by Dry & Bitter themselves.
[9] The label suggests that these might be "rolling hills of oats and wheat" paired with "mountains of citra and simcoe", and that's a reasonable thing that someone might say without the use of drugs. Whatever they are though, they look cool.
[10] For example, when I looked at it after several more beers, it looked a little like sounds waves made from ice cream shielding us from a tactical nuclear piece of candy corn.
[11] I'm never saying "do" without "double dippy" in front of it ever again. My girlfriend does not sound happy about this, but there's nothing I can double dippy doo about it now.
[12] I always feel awkward describing a liquid drink as "dry". It's like describing a painting as "wonderfully hard to see", or Tori Spelling as "an actress".
[13] This means that it is higher in alcohol by volume than the average NEIPA. The same goes for an imperial stout, and an imperial sour. Imperial Japan however was not more alcoholic than modern Japan. The more you know.
[14] I'm not here to judge, but one can only assume these guys shared a lit orange-scented candle, instead of a can of Double Dippy Doo.
[15] I haven't met Nikola Sarcevic yet, but I would happily step over the bodies of my family to share a beer with him. And I actually love my family.
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