Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

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

Bottle. Poured an orange/amber with a surprising small white head and slight carbonation! Aroma of pine, acetone (aka nail polish remover), and slight grapefruit. Initial taste of super sweet malt, followed by slight bitter hops. A slow sipper for sure! The highest %abv brew that I’ve actually enjoyed somewhat! Still, it was a difficult beer to drink. An experience every beer geek should have, but I’m not sure I’d buy this one again.

Re-rate 6/09: Bottle sample. Thanks Shachar! Amber -brown with a beige head. Aroma of honey, caramel, biscuits and lots of floral hops and alcohol. Very sweet malty flavor with lots of caramel, some alcohol and a bitter hoppy finish with citrus hints. Full-bodied. 8/3/7/4/15=3.7

Bottle. Bottled 5/10/07. Dark amber color with a big bubbly beige head. Hoppy aroma with pine, citrus, malt and a bit of alcohol. Flavor is very sweet and malty (almost barley-wine-like) with caramel, nuts and hints of cookies, and finishes with very bitter hops, some citrus and an inevitable light alcohol burn (although very mild for 21% ABV). Medium to full body and a rather oily-syrupy mouthfeel. I have to admit I was a bit intimidated by the ABV percentage of this beer (I really dislike alcohol taste in beer), but I was pleasantly surprised to find out the alcohol is actually quite well-concealed and is balanced very finely. A very tasty brew! 7/4/8/4/16=3.9

Bottle, thanks to freind Kevin. Pours a deep cloudy orangy, amber color with off-white head. Aroma of lots of malt and alot of hops....also alcohol. Flavor was not what I was expecting, I was actually a little scared at first but the flavor was amazingly balanced. Very sweet malt, very dtrong hop flavor, alcohol is present....has alot of fruity notes as well, orange and mango. Palate was full bodied, low-medium carbonation....nice balanced bitterness.....good stuff!......My brother cringed and could not finish this himself.

2007 bottle. Pours a very clear copper color with a 1-cm thick soapy head. The carboantion slowly pushes through thr thick brew. Sweet peppery and resinous hop aroma mixes with alcohol. Hop aroma not really as strong as I thought it would be. Taste is sweet and floral with a strong, lasting hop finish. Super-thick palate. Really doesn’t taste like 21%.

Beatiful clear amber with an off-white head. Nose is surprisingly more malty than hoppy with sweet fruits. Tastes like an IPA-inspired barleywine; has notes of grapefruit/citrus and obviously plenty of hops. Sticky, syrupy sweet. I found the flavor to be stronger on the side of the toasty malt, dark fruit and caramel. Has a very warming alcohol presence but the alcohol is not overpowering. Actually, I can’t believe this is 20% alcohol. Bitter, toasty aftertaste but not nearly as bitter as you would expect given the amount of hops used to make this brew. Very full, round and smooth on the palate with subtle carbonation. This one is a sipper for sure. Overall, nice brew.

[Bottled on 10/10/07] Pours a glowing clear pinkish orange with a very small fine white head that is popping like bubbling lava. Funky rubbing-alcohol aroma, sweet caramel, fermented apples, stings the nose. First taste is super sweet and sugary, rich sherry, followed by a nice big hop bite that doesn’t last for more than a second as the finish is overpoweringly sweet. This is not for people who don’t like cloying beers. Lots of fermented fruits, apples, grapes, some grapefruit. Very much like a port or sherry. Not what I was expecting... I wish I could put the cap back on and keep it for atleast 3-5 years... then maybe there would be something much more interesting and smooth in there... not that it isn’t now, but some age would do wonders. Super sugary. Very sugary body, thick, be sure to use your fluoride rinse in advance.

I love this beer. Have had many times. Last year had a 2001 thanks to EDA and @ the original Tiger also had and 01 and 02 on draft at the Dogfish night. All are amazing. Love the newer ones, the hops are way more pronounced. The aged versions are very strong and sweet, rich in body. Nice warming beer new or old. Nice sipping beer for the couch. On tap recently and I just need to lower the score a bit. So sticky sweet and cloying and seems to have changes for me. Not so good.

Nice IPA aroma. Hops, honey, a touch of bitterness. The flavor was not as much alcohol as I expected, but still overwhelming. Maybe if it had time to age it would improve.