John S: This imperial IPA by Founders of Grand Rapids pours a golden orange with not much head at all and oh, does it smell delicious! It’s like the blue-scented marker in kindergarten that you just can’t stop smelling and before you know it your nose is all blue. The nose is dominated by citrus with only a small hint of alcohol. For being 9.4% alcohol it is surprisingly smooth, has a great mix of sweet and bitter with the hops. You have to be careful, I drank this on an empty stomach and after only one I was definitely feeling it!

Founders claims this beer has “Pungent aromatics up front paired with a malt balanced backbone and a smooth bitter finish” and it lives up to everything it claims. I loved every last sip. Grade: A

Michael: Season beer releases have become a bit of an obsession this year. I’m constantly looking for the next, newest and rarest release. So, when I was told that Founders impressive imperial IPA was set to release in a few days, I made sure I had a four-pack reserved. I have recently come to enjoy Founders’ beers more and more. I have yet to run into a brew they’ve created that isn’t solid in its form and tasteful to my palate. While I’m not the ultimate hophead, I definitely like a good solid double every now and again and it seems that a good time for one is, well, now.

The first thing of note when grabbing this beer off the shelf is the creative and slightly creepy label.  Both a man with a large mustache and an old, saggy-faced woman, it’s like the duck that’s a rabbit that’s a duck that’s a…well, you understand. In order to remain sane, I decided to look away from the label and towards this beautiful brew. A deep golden color, it was still, but for a few stray bubbles juggling around in the center of my glass. The head was a sticky off white, leaving a one finger rim around my glass, like a hoppy milk-mustache. The aroma was pure hops. A burst of citrusy, grapefruit goodness, clean and pure. As straight forward was the scent, it was misleading to the taste. While anticipating that huge, forward citrus bite, I was instead introduced to my sip with a much more earthy, bitter taste. The grapefruit was there, indeed, but not nearly in the quantity I expected. There was a grassy, floral burst that eased into the dry, bitter finish and an earthy quality, perhaps a bit of pine. As for mouthfeel, it was nice and smooth, with but a faint sting of carbonation and alcohol.

A big double, surely favored by all hop-loving beer fans. For my palate, I like complexity and hops and this was a bit more hops and a bit less complex. Grade: B+

Tom: A light pale or hazy pilsner color brew emits a bold explosion of grapefruit, hints of guava, pine, spearmint, mango, and faint cat piss. It differs from Hopslam in that the smell is all hops (since it lacks the addition of honey). The malt adds straw-like pilsner backdrop for the hops to act out their play. It is crisp, biting, and carries multiple layers of hops (i.e., herbal, grassy, citrus, pine, resinous, pungent, floral). The abv is hidden well by the intense hopping which I later found to smell similar to the tangerines or clementines that my roommate had eaten the day before. The elegant, yet very pungent. With a shockingly light mouthfeel for a double/imperial IPA, this beer is super clean and has drying effect on the palate. Spicy hops overpower your tongue as they leave a pine coating on your enamel and gums. Although possessing a little more alcohol strength, I’d liken this beer to Half Acre’s Freedom of ’78 Guava IPA. Dubs Trubs is tropical in nature. This is my kind of IPA: light malt and blasted with hops. The finish and aftertaste punish your taste buds, but do manage to leave a lingering peach flavor. Grade: A+