7.4/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
The latest in the unofficial "Dude" series by Dok, now in its sixth year and consisting of variations on a sour IPA theme - in this case 'enriched' with grapefruit and blood orange, the first even already added during whirlpooling. Medium thick, off-white, shred-lacing, slowly breaking head on a misty yellow blonde robe with warmer apricot glow. Aroma of indeed very pronounced grapefruit but in a marmalade-ish way, grapefruit zest, less obvious blood orange but still clearly present if you know what to look for, sour milk, sweat, overripe onions forgotten somewhere at the back of the fridge, drying grass, lemon thyme, valerian, old socks, lemon soap, old cheese rind, dusty gravel. Spritzy, crisp onset, fruity-sour in a yoghurty way but sharply so, lemony, with the citric effect obviously amplified by the added grapefruit and blood orange, the first adding more bitterness than juiciness and the second the other way around, with side impressions of lime and guava fleetingly passing by; lively carb, minerally, with smooth body. Cereally core, indeed simple Pilsener malt with a touch of pale, pressed between drying, lactic sourness with sweaty-funky side effects on the one hand and bright, zesty citrusiness on the other hand, coming from the hops, but of course also from the actual citrus fruit. In the end, drying yet altogether quite moderate bitterness is interestingly established by a confluence of hops and grapefruit, while the blood orange maintains a long-stretched effect of crisp citric juiciness. Luckily more beery and less "brunch juice"-like than I was fearing, this is another satisfying Dude episode, with some funky elements just for fun while focusing on how juiciness can merge with bitterness by learning from nature's masters in that very combination: citrus fruit. Summery and quenching yet still intellectually entertaining, what is there not to like?
Tried
on 04 Oct 2025
at 20:55