Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Milton, Delaware USA

I had managed to have this one only once before and that was before I started rating. Luckily I had kept a second bottle aside -as price and availability problems keep me from having much of this one around. This rating was for the 2003 batch. Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this fine brew poured a light orange color with only a trace of a small yellow-tan head. The aroma is sweet fruit, flowery hops, grapefruit, apple and pear. The mouthfeel is very thick. The beer is remarkably sweet. The flavor is strong with fruity elements and has a sharp hoppy finish. Considering the whopping 20% alcohol in this one I found the alcohol taste to be surprisingly muted. Or maybe I have just been drinking too many high alcohol beers in the last year to notice. Sadly, now my stock is empty and I must endeavor to acquire again...Update 10/27/09 - I have just managed to have this on draft and must say that it is IPA perfection in every way. Sweeter and fruitier on draft and with less alcohol showing through. The score above has been updated to reflect the draft’s perfection.

A slightly hazed orange pour with a hint of lace but not head. An aroma that crys malt but never screamed hops as I expected though a nose of citrus comes through. Little or no abv on the nose. A rich creamy maltiness that is almost slick. Not as much bitter as expected either although it is there. The abv comes through well as the beer warms. This is a beer that was in my upstair refrigerator instead of the 55* cellar frige. The palate is full and creamy as mentioned. I wish I could make all my beers have this level of carbonation "excellent". Never drink this beer too cold you cheat yourself out of flavors that are just not there until it warms a tad. Then the abv is just very warm but not hot.

Orange/copper in colour. Aroma of alcohol, pepper, pine and citrus. Flavour of alcohol, quite sweet, hoppy but not as much as I expected. Full bodied and seemed somewhat unbalanced. A few years in the cellar would definitely do this beer some good. Finishes with a huge alcohol bitterness. Thanks for the beer Clark.

Orange colored with a lathering whitish head...subtly spicy hop aromas..flavors of alcohol, sweet orange ribbon candy, spicy pine needles...This is a BIG spicy alcoholic beer that i had absolutely no clue of the abv when i drank..interesting..however, i think the sugary sweetness and alcohol masks the hop flavors a little too much...but now knowing that its 20%, im not sure its ok to complain anymore.

Draft @ the AZ Strong Beer Fest - This was my first, and probably only time I will try this beer. This beer had a year of aging on it. Pours a clear deep copper color with a thin off white head. Aroma is sweet malt and floral hops. Flavor is SWEET malt. What was the most suprising thing about this beer is how well the alcohol is hidden. Palate is kinda thick. I would almost consider this a novelty beer. I just wished I hadn’t stood in line for 25 minutes with a bunch of drunk assholes to try it. Still, I’m glad I tried it.

vintage 2003 aquired in a trade w/ Mike. a nice cloudy orange color w/ a fairly small white head laces pretty well. The aging seems to have mellowed the hops down as it’s a nice pretty sweet malty smell w/ a great citrus blend, hints of carmel, and sweet apricots. Palate is big and creamy and thick coats really well warms after swallow. The aging has really mellowed this beer it is got a huge sweet flavor big carmel and apricots and almost like an overripe pear w/ a big citrus hop finish and a nice subtle kick of alcohol in the swallow. Overall this is just great and should always be aged a couple years as it mellows out incredibly well and tastes much better.

Good amber color,medium sized head that managed to stay around for a decent time leaving a nice lace behind.Sweet aroma with a fairly strong alcohol and hops presence.The taste was kind of harsh IMO,sweet for sure,syrupy and highly alcoholic and the hops seem a bit subdued from all the alcohol,but there are points in the tasting that it seems to some what come together.But over all it doesn't do much for me except give a major buzz.Whether ageing will help this brew i don't know,Maybe.But for now as young and strong as it is i have to pass on having a lot of these around.Just way to much of a good thing.

12oz bottle from Liquid solutions. Holy $!%#!! What a beer!! This monster poured a slightly hazed burnt orange, with a small off white head. Great lacing left on the glass. As I’m enjoying this beer, so many things are running through my head. Its like putting the produce section of a grocery store in a blender, putting it in a glass and calling 120 min IPA! Big nose of hops, candied fruits and sweet malt. On the pallet this beer was much more malty then I was expecting. I cant wait to try this beer once it ages for a bit.