Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

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

Pours to wildfirey orange. Inhaling too deeply makes the sinuses burn like they’ve been singed with liquor...aromas of tobacco, caramel apple, some floral notes, and..um, alcohol. Lordy! Quite a fine hoppy scotch this is. Some woods, apple and pineapple soaked in maple syrup, going down with the gentle force of a refined whiskey. Smooth like silk in the mouth, and sweeter than the Holy Grail for hopheads may be envisioned, because the glorious bitterness is hidden behind sugar and booze. Even so, the alcohol is obscure beneath many layers of bittersweet richness, making it deliciously and tragically drinkable. Allow me to bow out now and pass out in peace.

12 oz. bottle - pours amber and cloudy with a quickly fading white head; aromas are very sweet and the high ABV is obvious; very, very bitter and thick with malts, which overwhelms any of the hop flavors; got 5 more that will be aging for while :) 10/29/07: Update....7 months in the closet, 1 week in the fridge....still incredibly strong...needs more time

2006 batch. Pours an absolutely gorgeous orange color with a thin white head that basically disappears. Aroma has a lot of citrusy grapefruit like hops with hints of grass and alcohol. While the large hop presence is definitely apparent, it’s balanced out extremely well with tons of sweet maltiness and a good dose of alcohol. As the beer warms, apricot and pear notes start to be heard. This beer really is a monster and I could really feel the effects by the end of the bottle. Highly recommended.

Nice clear medium gold/amber color with barely any head. Yet, there is a constant fizzy surface which is just right. Light malty aroma with moderate flowery hops, a little wood, dark fruit. Very sweet taste which helps mask the alcohol, and a lot of hops. It basically tastes like sweet syrupy grapefruit alcohol, which is a little plain, but I still like it. ABV level isn’t bad in terms of taste, but you can really feel it in the back of the throat. A bit of a bite in the hops... tends to build up. Overall, I admit it was a bit much in terms of ABV and sweetness. They both seem to mask flaws and don’t provide any interesting complexities. However, I still enjoyed the beer. Same vintage (2003), 10/27/2006. Very little hops. Surprisingly little. Dusty copper, sparse bubbly head. Its a malty strong ale aroma. There are some hops, but very little in aroma. Alcohol presence in the sweet malt give it a dessert-wine feeling. Taste is again malty, a stale cookie thing too. Has a bitter-like thing.

Pours medium copper with no head. The nose is powerful pineapple and floral hops. The flavor goes overripe pineapple juice, honey and apricot. Viscous on the palate, and HOT!

Bottle. Jeez, 20.04%!?!? Ridiculous! What a dangerous beer, I DON'T taste that much alcohol at all. It's not an overhopped IPA either, it has a strong malty backbone to compliment the sweetness and citric flavors that dominate throughout the whole thing. An almost gueze-ish like finish, with a nectarine-like mouthwatering finish. Spectacular.

clear honey/amber color, thin white and non-lasting head. aroma is piney hops and and a nasal stinging sensation from the alcohol. there are a few slight caramelly notes in the aroma. flavor is very very sweet, but at the same time, there is a puckering effect from the hops. this beer is really really good, but different from what i expected. the high alcohol and the malts to me win the day and that isnt what i want from my IIPA.

This is some really great stuff. Strong as Malibu Rum yet tasty as a top-notch IPA. Dark orange color with a medium off-white head. Sweet, syrupy malt, and hoppy but not as ridiculously as you’d expect. Some may consider the sweetness cloying, but I say the more the better. Syrupy mouthfeel is excellent. One of the more dangerous brews out there as far as drunkenness power goes, as it definitely doesn’t feel like 21% ABV.