Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

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

From hearing mixed reviews on this one I didn’t know what to expect. Well, I was extremely pleasantly surprised by what I consumed. Pours bright copper with a nice soapy tan head. The aroma was a hop f***ing bomb - tropical fruits, grapefruit, orange and more. There was a lot of malt backing it up - simply wonderful. Medium / thick body that is lush smooth and velvety wtih some soft carbonation on the finish. The flavor starts with sweet clean malts and tropical hops - mainly pineapple and grapefruit. The finish has some spice added along with pine. There is a syrupy sweetness that reminds me of nectar from core fruits. For being 21% the alcohol was kept well in check. While I was only sipping there was no burn at all. Wonderful - BIG thumbs up imperial IPA. Kind of sick, but it cost me $7.99 and I’m going to pick up another bottle or two.

Hoppy aroma, deep amber, small white head. Absolutely hoppy flavour, but so tasty with the malt infusion. Tangy orange crispness. Well balanced, not easy at this strength. Hats off to Sam Calagione again! Thank You jgb9348!

My 1200th rating, so maybe I should drink 10 of these? Have to thank Tom for bringing some back from KY for Rockinout and myself. Aroma was awesome - floral, hops and sweet malts - only the alcohol could keep it from being perfect. Appearance was glowing golden and mostly clear - no head, and lacing was nice, but as expected, clear like jellyfish. Palate is unbelievably thick - almost syrupy like a liquer, but eventually reminded me more of brandy. Taste was pine and grapefruit hops, but actually the sweet sticky malts took precedence with the hop/alcohol combination providing bee stings of pleasure along the sides of the tongue. After the swallow, it was all alcohol breath, as if I just did a shot of "hop schnapps". As it warmed it gained a very woody flavor and aftertaste. It was tempting to drink this too fast, but in the end, this is a 2 hour 12oz bottle, complex and enjoyable from start to finish. Will aging it change it? we'll see, I've got some set aside.

Aroma a lot less hoppy than I would have thought. Floral hops but a strong whiff of alcohol cuts the hops. Huge, off-white, fine bubble head. Cloudy orange in appearance. Head is lasting with excellent lace. First sip features a hit-you-over-the-head alcohol mouthfeel. In fact, similar to that in the aroma, the hops is drowned out by alcohol. But, this is still a very nice brew despite being a little over the top alcohol-wise, which I see now is 20?!? It really is too much alcohol to truly enjoy, however.

The color on the pour a lightly hazed deep copper with a rather smallish head that is spumescent in texture and the color a light tan as the lace forms it creates a thick and sticky sheet to smother the glass. Whoa Nellie! Nose big time hop floral, sweet malt, fusel alcohol, just from the nose you know this is going to be one bad assed beer. Start is devastatingly sweet with a thick malt profile and the top all rich and full in its feel to the palate. Finish is lenient in its acidity, the hops robust and delightful in their bite, but the alcohol rules the day, aftertaste somewhat alcohol bitter, vinous and desert dry with the hops, sweetness and alcohol all lingering on to the very end, what a “Hoot”, I thank my good buddy , The_Tsunami for this bottle.

RateBeer Summer 2003: Huge hops mixed with brandy sweetness in the aroma, slightly cloudy orange color with a very small white head. Oily syrupy alcohol mouthfeel, although not bad for 20%. Crisp, sweet and bitter. This is the future of beer.

Bright amber color, head is very small and mostly diminishing. Citrus, pine cones, maple syrup, mint, and chocolate (?) in aroma, with perhaps a slight hint of alcohol. Very sweet raisin and green grape flavor, bordering on syrupy, which almost entirely covers up the citric hops -- they're in there, but it is a bit of a struggle to find them. Pine resin finish. Massively thick stuff. Don't expect an IPA; this stuff is most definitely in a category all its own. This is my 500th rating, on my birthday to boot!

Bottle. Hazy orange amber, creamy golden head. Extremely floral orange candy aroma. Orange oil candy treat. Oily mouthfeel. Wow......