Dankful IPA Review: Delivers on Its Dank, Hoppy Flavor

Dankful IPA is a fruity and hoppy American IPA that delivers on the promise in the name, as the beer is pleasantly dank, hoppy, and balanced. Brewed by Sierra Nevada, it has the familiar mouthfeel and quality that beer fans expect from the brewery.

The enjoyable IPA is the ideal beer for pairing with your spiciest dishes, watching the game with friends, or accompanying you whenever you need a fantastic beer. Our complete review covers all you need to know about this ale below. 

Dankful IPA Stats

Country	United States
Brand	Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style	American IPA
Taste	Citrus, pine
Body	Medium Body
ABV	7.4 percent
Flavors & Aromas	Citrus, fruits, pine, biscuit malts, hoppy
Serving Temperature	45 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit

Tasting Notes

Dankful IPA Review 

• Appearance: 8/10
• Aroma: 7.5/10
• Mouthfeel: 8/10
• Flavor: 9/10

Sierra Nevada Dankful IPA is an American IPA made in the United States. The beer features an impressive and well-masked alcohol content of 7.4 percent, with a taste of citrus and pine as the hops take the front seat. Despite being a solid IPA, it is a bit more bitter than what you’d expect but still offers a drinkable and flavorful experience.

The craft beer has a cloudy apricot color and a medium to full mouthfeel. It hits all the flavor and aroma notes expected from an American IPA, including citrus, biscuit malts, hops, sweet fruits, and pine, and the dank hops shine through every note.

The ideal serving temperature for the IPA is from 45 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It should be served in a pint glass to hold the fluffy foam head and show off the golden color. You can also garnish it with a citrus wedge-like lemon or orange to complement the fruity notes of the beer. 

– Appearance 

On the pour, the Dankful beer features a dark amber to light copper color that looks like an apricot or peach in your glass. The beer has a bit of haze which makes it appear cloudy in your glass, but there aren’t unfiltered particles.

Atop the beer is a fluffy and foamy off-white head up to two fingers high. The frothy white head will dissipate slowly and leave a resilient white cap and sticky lacing. 

– Aroma 

The aroma of the IPA is well-balanced and pleasant and does not overshadow the taste of the beer. It is slightly muted but not boring either. You get a sweet balance of citrus fruits and light piney hops on the nose, and you might notice the mild biscuit malts in the backbone.

The aroma is slightly muddled as the pine, fruit, and malts come together. It is also danky, as promised in the name, but not too much, so you can enjoy the balance. 

– Mouthfeel 

The IPA features a medium to full mouthfeel, as the beer fills up your mouth pleasantly. The carbonation makes the full body feel more like medium too, and keeps the malts and ABV from affecting the feel. 

This results in a pleasant body that does not have a cloying finish like most IPAs end up with. The mouthfeel ranges from syrupy to crisp and goes down easy despite the slight alcohol warming. It is dry on the finish. 

– Flavor 

In terms of flavor, the Dankful beer has more flavor than the aroma, so you can expect a fruity, pleasant, and hoppy taste. There’s more dankness in the flavor than the aroma, but it is not unpleasant and balances out the other flavor notes. The first thing that you taste is the piney hops that offer a bit of bitterness.

Next are the sweet citrus fruits of orange, lemon, and grapefruit. Towards the middle of the palate, the biscuit malts become more evident and offer a solid base until the finish. In the finish, there’s a lot of resin bitterness and the craft beer is dry. It also has a pleasant IPA aftertaste of citrusy fruits. 

– Food Pairings

With the classic and clean flavor of the Dankful beer, there’s no limit to what you can pair with the bitter and hoppy notes. The bitterness of the IPA cools off spicy food and also acts as a palate cleanser, so try out spicier dishes like a burger or tacos with barbecue sauce, Indian curry, Mexican food, spicy noodles, and hot Italian dishes.

You should also pair the high ABV and bitterness of the IPA with fatty cheese and thick sauces. Try out ribs, chicken, and pork chops that are grilled, smoked, barbecued, or fried. Also, you can add crisp and bright produce like English peas, artichokes, carrots, and spring onions to the side of your dish to bring out the bittering hops.

If you’re in the mood for some dessert, you can have the IPA with fruity desserts like a citrus cheesecake, blood orange sorbet, vanilla ice cream, or strawberries and cream. Setting up a cheeseboard is also a good idea, or you can have the beer with sharp cheddar. 

Ingredients 

The Dankful beer is made with malts, hops, and yeast, which are the basic ingredients for making beer. The malts include caramelized malts, Rye, and two-row pale malts, which give it a solid base of biscuit malts from start to finish.

The hops used to brew the beer are Columbus, Ekuanot, Mosaic, Zappa, Chinook, Idaho 7, and Nelson Sauvin. These offer a fruity, hoppy, and citrusy flavor in the beer. As for the yeast, it is ale yeast. The final ingredient is water. 

Nutrition Facts 

The Dankful ale features 7.4 percent alcohol content, which is a pretty decent level. The alcohol content is evident in the flavor, especially when it warms up. The bitterness units are 55, which is a pretty moderate level and offers a lot of piney bitterness. 

In every 12 ounces, the beer has 220 calories, so those on a diet need to consider this before taking their first sip. The IPA also has 17 grams of carbs, making it unsuitable for those on a keto diet. It features 2.4 grams of protein. 

History 

The Dankful IPA was released in 2020 by Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. It is a hoppy West Coast style and was released in cans nationwide in September 2020. The ale is also available on tap in August. The sales of the beer are given to community nonprofits, as the brewery was able to raise $1 million.

The brewery was established in 1979 by Paul Camusi and Ken Grossman and is based in Chico, California. It is known for its hand-built brewhouse, which began in California. Other popular beers from the brewery include the Pale Ale and Porter. 

Conclusion

If you’re curious about how dank the IPA, there’s never a bad time to give it a try.

Here’s a rundown of our beer review:

• Dankful is an American IPA with a 7.4 percent alcohol content.
• The brew has flavors and aromas of citrus, sweet fruits, pine, biscuit malts, and hops.
• It is made with caramelized malts, two-pale malts, rye malts, seven different kinds of hops, and ale yeast.
• The beer is best when served in a pint glass at 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Pair it with spicy dishes, fatty cheese, ribs, chicken and pork chops with thick sauce, crisp and bright produce, fruity desserts, and cheddar.

You can check out this delicious ale at the brewery and get it right on tap. The beer is also available in a wide range of stores too.