Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

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

Bottle, at HogTown Harry tasting, September 2007. This stuff is crazy. And I’m not sure I mena that in a good way. Perhaps insane would be a better descriptor. Huge amounts of fat malt, with caramel character. Then there’s the vinous character. Also huge - oloroso sherry. Chewy sticky fruit. Guess what - that’s huge as well. Oh and thene there;s the hops. Thing is, everything else is so supercharged that the hops do’t scream out at you. And I’m not entirely certain whether that’s a good or bad thing. What is certain is that it is very sweet and alcoholic - a combination that I’m not too find of. No doubt SilkTork would describe it as crude, impossible even. Finesse is certainly not high on its list of attributes but I think I’d probably think of it as flamboyant rather than crude. But I can’t get away from the feeling that there’s more gimmick than guile here. Let’s just say it is an experience. I’m still undecided whether it is one I’d want to repeat. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Bottle. Poured a copper color with large frothy off-white head that lasted with excellent lacing. Heavy complex citrus hoppy aroma with a sweet tone. Full body with a slick texture. Heavy bitter flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of long duration. This is a standout beer and very good double IPA.

Bottle. Pours a clear amber colour with almost no head. Sweet malty aroma with hints of alcohol and some fruitiness. Only weak hints of hops. Very sweet malty flavor with hints of caramel and alchol. Has a thick mouthfeel and the finish is sweet malty.

A big thanks to JPDIPSO for this. I’ve been seeking out this beer for a long time. It pours orangish/dark straw with a medium white head. Aroma of malt, hops, strong Caribbean fruit, some honey, and alcohol. Tastes very rich, dense, sweet, with some finishing tropical fruit, spirits, sweetness, and slight astringency. This one is huge, but the alcohol is fairly well hidden. I wouldn’t seek this out at the current price, but I respect what they have done here. This beer is very good, and very unique. Surprisingly, I’ve had many hoppier beers but very few with a level of syrupy sweetness as high as this.

Cloudy amber with a lasting off-white head. Intense hops and alcohol aroma. Peaches, grass and orange are the most prominent hoppy aromas, and the alcohol is rich barleywine-like prunes and sherry, along with a strong note of gin. It’s very sweet with hot alcohol, but an intense orange and grapefruit American hop flavour and bitterness balances very well. It has a little gin in the flavour as well, and a lasting aftertaste that’s surprisingly malty. It’s not an everyday drinker, obviously, but it’s a lot of fun. And impressive that such a brew can be made at all and still be undeniably beer.

Bottle. Head is initially small, fizzy, off-white, fully diminishing. Body is hazy light amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (cookie), moderately hoppy (resin, grapefruit, apricot), with notes of alcohol and tomato juice. Flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, syrupy texture, lively carbonation, heavily alcoholic. Surprisingly simple, uninspiring, and harsh.

12 oz bottle, at the Map Room, Chicago, December 2003. I really do not get the high ratings on this one, not at all. Honey light, no head, syrupy-looking. Hints of citrusy hops, mostly honey in the nose, kind of weak. Flavor/palate is all honey and Karo syrup, with just a tiny touch of rather chemical bitterness to finish. At first I thought, as the WWS is the port wine of beers, this is kind of like a nutty liqueur; but the amaretto hints I found didn't stick, and at the end I'd have to say, "this is the mead-flavored cotton candy of beers." That is not a compliment. I would never have this again, it gets most of its points for creativity, but crazy hop-throwing and high alcohol alone do not a great beer make.

Sweet hop nose - orange, biscuity pine, slightly scorched smelling. It’s hoppy, what would you expect? but it is very well-balanced. Clear orange with white head that diminishes to ring. Alcohol is apparent as is plenty of hop flavour and bitterness. Fantastic supporting maltiness. Very well-balanced although it is perhaps overly sweet. Mouthfeel is somewhat still. Medium-full body. Bottle. Enjoyed with MartinT and Rastacouere.