REVIEW: Dogfish Head - Robert Johnson's Hellhound On My Ale

I am a massive fan of Dogfish Head. They are on my short list of favorite breweries in the world. So when I went into Jungle Jim's the other day and saw a beer of theirs on the shelf that I had never seen before I grabbed it immediately. I was first struck by the awesome label but when i saw that it was a big imperial IPA brewed with lemons I was pretty pumped. To the beer!

From the Label:

2011 marks the 100th birthday of Mississippi Delta bluesman Robert Johnson who, according to legend, sold his soul down at the crossroads in a midnight bargain and changed music forever. Dogfish Head pays tribute to this blues legend by gettin' the hellhounds off his trail and into this finely-crafted ale. Hellhound is a super-hoppy ale that hits 100 IBUs in the brewhouse, Alc. 10.0% by Vol., 10.0 SRM in color, and dry-hopped with 100% centennial hops at a rate of 100 kilos per 100 barrel brew-length. To accentuate and magnify the citrusy notes of the centennial hops (and as a shout out to Robert Johnson's mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson) we add dried lemon peel and flesh to the whirlpool. to read more about Robert Johnson go to www.robertjohnsonhellhoundale.com

This beer pours a slightly hazy copper color with a thick creamy bright white head and a bit of lacing but not really that much. (A bit on lacing. I never quite know when a lack of lacing is just inherent to the beer or my fault from not having cleaned the glass well enough.) All in all a very pretty beer

The aroma is of big citric hops up front. The Bit of lemon scent you get mingles very nicely with the natural citric aroma that you get from the centennial hops. Also some slight grassy notes.

This would make a pretty outstanding summer beer. It begins very clean and refreshing with a really nice medium body. The lemon, big hop flavor and alcohol warming come in at the end for a very dry lingering bitter finish. A little bit more of the subtle fruity flavors came through on the second glass. I think this beer could use a bit more of a malt presence. It isn't the most balanced IPA I've ever had and a bit more malt would probably tame a some of those IBUs.

Like I said earlier, this beer as clean and refreshing as it is along with the addition of the lemon would probably make for a great thirst quencher during the hot summer months.

HD