Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

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

It has been a while since I have found a five but this is it. Pours with a three-finger, bubbly cream head that fades slowly and leaves a nice lace. Cloudy amber color. Good carbonation. Nose is sweet, gingery, malty. Starts with a perfect mix of malt and hops and finishes smooth and sweet NOT a session beer . . . savor this beer . . . their site has this at 20% ABV. Medium bodied. This is the best IPA brewed in the States. Worth $7.99 for a 12oz bottle from Tully’s Beer and Wine Wells, Me

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.

Split the 12 oz with a friend. I’ve had this a number of times, but it’s always superb. Opened up with an aroma that was piney, but also had this interesting sour fruit quality. Taste is syrupy and malty, but also very tangy upfront. Unbelievably thick feeling, if the look of the foam didn’t give any indication. The hops come in a lot more as you swallow, but it’s really just the flavor of them. 120 IBUs here are hardly noticable cause the beer is so smooth. However, the hops have a strong flavor and the finish just tastes unbelievably great. It’s hard to think of any aspect of this beer that I don’t enjoy, I couldn’t believe the taste when I first tried it. If you like sweeter beers, you HAVE to try this. If 6 packs of this were made, and they were remotely affordable, I would always have this in my fridge.

What can I say? Not my favorite style, but I couldn’t imagine anyone doing it better. The hops aren’t even as intrusive as the regular arrogant bastard, but the flavor is incredible. Everything is beautifully balanced; its strength is masked by the wonderful choice of hops and the perfect amount of carbonation...

Hop"oh" lish us!!!!!! Need i say more? If you are a Hop freak like I am...This is your beer! Find it! Savor it! Love it! Be the Beer! ...the power of the RIFF compells me!

this is one of the best iipa’s in the world if your a hop head and you don’t like this brew something wrong with you and you need to get your head checked out this beer is great AND THATS THAT!

Bottle, bottled on 12-18-06, (notes from 2-16-07) First off, I had this one a couple of times just to confirm my opinion, but this is my favorite beer of all times. It pours a average creamy off white head. Looking through the glass it is hazy with tiny particles, this one has been bottle conditioned. It is amber in color. The aroma is of heavy caramel malt and citrus hops, imagine opening up a bag of hops and takeing a big smell. The taste confirms it, sweet caramel and citrusy, fruity hops. It is buttery smooth, and very citrusy and fruity. Orange, lemon, apple, peach pineapple and raspberry, like I said, very fruity. The initial drink is very very sweet with a moderate bitterness to it. Then the sweetness mellowes out a bit, but the bitterness is still there, and it sticks around for a while. The body is very full and like I said before it is very creamy, and the carbonation is soft. There is a slight alcohol finish, but what do you expect for a 21% beer.

If you like hops, then this is the beer for you. A damn perfect beer - wish there were a 180 minute IPA!!! Probably one of my top five beers of all time.