Dank Williams

Cellarmaker Brewing Company — Oakland, CA

23 Aug 2021 · Stephen

Double IPA Cellarmaker Brewing Company

8.2% ABV

Dark golden Color

Contributing Factors

Presentation ✓

Character ✓

Experience ✓

Return ✓

4 / 4 I'd order another

Tasting Notes

Appearance Deep golden to light amber, likely with a touch of hop haze from the double dry hop additions. Thick white head. The five-hop combination at this quantity gives the beer a warm, resinous glow that signals what's coming before the first sniff.

Aroma The Southern Hemisphere hops announce themselves first — Nelson's white grape and tropical character, Motueka's lime and citrus brightness — layered over Mosaic's mango and berry depth. The Centennial floral note ties everything together with a clean American hop quality that keeps the whole aroma from going purely exotic. The Simcoe and Mosaic boil additions give the nose a sticky, resinous dankness underneath the fruit — the hop oil stickiness Cellarmaker describes is identifiable before you even take a sip. Big, bright, and complex.

Palate Stone fruit and pine focused as promised — the Nelson and Motueka tropical character upfront, transitioning into a Mosaic berry and mango mid-palate, with the Simcoe and Centennial resin and pine building behind it. At 8.2% ABV this has real body and presence, but Cellarmaker's double dry hop technique keeps the bitterness smooth and integrated rather than harsh. The dankness is authentic and pervasive — this beer earns its name at every point in the sip.

Finish Long, resinous, and dank — the Simcoe pine and Mosaic tropical dankness linger well after the sip alongside the Nelson white grape quality fading slowly behind them. 8.2% ABV warmth is present on the back palate but clean, woven into the hop character rather than sitting separately as heat. The finish is the payoff for the name. Praise these hops — Cellarmaker's words, and after a pint of Dank Williams, you understand the devotion.

The Verdict

Cellarmaker's double IPA hymn to five hop varieties and the art of the double dry hop. Mosaic, Simcoe, Nelson, Motueka, and Centennial at 8.2% ABV — dank, fruity, piney, and resinous in exactly the right proportions. I saw the dank. It's real.

— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 23 Aug 2021