Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Im a hop head, but the sweetness of this beer kills the hops for me. There are enough to come across, but the rich sweetness is almost cloying to me. I bought a case and will comtinue to try 2 or 3 a year like i do with old foghorn and bigfoot. Sam says it ages well, but i can only imagine it becoming more sweet when the hop aroma goes away,

Not impressed. Don’t get me wrong, I like hoppy beers - in fact, Dogfish Head’s 90-Minute IPA is one of my favorites that I’ve tried - but this is overkill to say the least. For one thing, it doesn’t even really taste hoppy. First thing that hits you is the sweet malty flavor, then immediately followed by ALCOHOL. Tastes almost like drinking a mild liquor (essentially, it is - it’s about half the alcohol content of most spirits). Then, you get an aftertaste of both sweetness and alcohol tang, but really there is not much of that bitter hop flavor to be found. On the other hand, I did enjoy this beer. I mean let’s face it, I’m half-drunk just from finishing one of the god damn things, so how can I refuse? This would be good for certain occasions, I guess, but there are a lot of other beers I’d rather be drinking.

2007 Vintage. Appearance: Pours a clear, amber body with a tight inch of off-white foam. Impressive that it can even form and sustain a head with all that booze in there. Smell: Whoo! Even upon opening you get a whiff of alcohol-soaked hops. Very apricoty, maybe a few golden raisins. Leafy and tremendously resiny hop character and, of course, an excessive, though exciting amount of fusel alcohol. Taste: Whoo-boy!! Ultra sweet, incredibly juicy apricot taste. Searing alchol presence upon that first sip, but give it some time, friends, that’ll pass. Sharp flavors of ruby red grapefruit citrus oils and pine resin. Still, though, I get alot of apricot. All of the high levels of malt, hops, and alcohol push and shove each other around without letting one quality sit on the tongue for too long. The grapefruit and apricot come together, become morphed, and start tasting of mango and passion fruit. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-low carbonation. Sticky yet also pretty warming. Drinkability: A sipper, for sure, but a good one. Really holds itself together fairly well for being packed to the gills with malt, hops, and booze. Like it or not, it’s hard not to be having a good time when you finish the bottle.

This beer is the King of hop beers. The aroma, appearance and flavor was the best I’ve ever experienced, in the hop catagory. The only reason I gave the Palate a 4 is because my palate was obviously completely overwhelmed, which is to be expected, never the less, I love this great strong ale.

The beer poured light amber, beautiful color, intense aroma, overwhelming for the senses. Rough around the edges, a "shiny toy" of a beer, a pleasure to try, but not to drink. Syrupy and strong alcohol taste. Obvious intense hop aroma and taste. Sweet to the smell, and dry to the taste. 2008 Vintage.

The beer poured a copper amber color with a thin white head that hung around but only on the outside edges of the glass, the lacing was thin but run the length of the glass. The nose was sweet but not a sickly sugar sweetness, mixed with malt and very flowery hops. The taste is a very sweet mix of alcohol, hops, malt, caramel, and what remained me of an ’85 port I had recently. The finish goes on for days, the beer left my mouth with heavy tannin notes and a very dry feeling which I thought was surprising because the mouth feel itself is almost oily.

Pours a nice golden color with a white head. Smells very hoppy with some fruit. A very good tasting beer.

12 oz bottle. Pours a hazy dark golden orange with a creamy white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is surprisingly subdued - caramel malts, fruits, spicy hops and a little alcohol.

The flavor is strong sweet sugary malts, some fruits (melon and fig) and some alcohol and a touch of hops in the finish. The alcohol is noticeable but I’d never guess this was 20%. It is warming in the tummy though and does become a bit harsh as it warms. The mouthfeel is medium to full and with smooth carbonation.

Overall, an interesting beer. The alcohol is surprisingly not dominating, but it is cloyingly sweet and the hops are not that noticeable. The alcohol gets balanced well by the sweetness of the beer.