Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Milton, Delaware USA

One of my favorites that I’ve been meaning to review. Beautiful, dark, golden appearance, with a thin, white head. Aroma is pure hops. The first sip is always something of a system shock. It’s strong... but not. They do a good job of balancing it with barley. The mouthfeel is IPA, but the aftertaste is barley wine. Just a fantastic beer.

Bold, flavorful, strong IPA! Deep golden color. Aroma is floral and citrusy almost tickles your nose. Bold hoppy malted flavorwith fruity alcohol finish. Reminded me slightly of Pannetone (Italian holiday raisin bread/cake). Big beer. one of my favorites to date.

Color: Gold with orange tint Aroma: Caramel, moderate earthy and vegetal notes, rich, concentrated fruity malt Flavor: Caramel and dried fruit dominates at first and is followed by savoury/earthy roast grain and dried date/fig carries through on the finish. Comment: 2008 purchase; aged one year. Very smooth mouth feel, Moderately sweet but not cloying. Understated bittering supports the malt from start to finish. The flavor also evolves, creating a complex drink. A favorite and one of the best beers I’ve had this summer. 2008 tasting of a 90 minute purchased in 2007. Aroma: resin, spice, ripe orange, burnt coffee, rich malt Flavor: Rich malt, fruity, creamy sweetness with coffee notes Long 40sec+ finish--sweet malt caramel, some butterscotch spice Comment: Emphasis is on sweetness over bitterness; Very smooth, beautifully integrated, complex. Could be a 4.6+.

Great, but I’d rather have a Stone Ruination IPA if I want something big and bold. The two have a similar flavor and I look at the 90min as a "lesser than" Stone’s Ruination.

I have been putting off rating this one for a while. I needed many, many tastings of this one to properly form an opinion. It seems the more I drink of them, the better impression I get. This beer is a flat out East Coast DIPA. Heavier on the malts than the hops, this is a classic example of how an east coast DIPA differs from say a Ruination or a Hopslam. This is a Big beer. Great floral character in the nose, it is a slight let down when it gets in your mouth. The malt seems to dominate, which is a good thing if you are a fan of the East coast style. Good lacing, great drinkability, etc. Great beer. Not as hoppy as I would have imagined, but great nonetheless. A 4 pack will get you bombed for $10.

Bottle. Pours a reddish copper color with a small white head. Looks a touch viscous. Big malty aroma, roasted malts, caramel, raisins, and hops. More of the same in the flavor; tons of roasted malts, cocoa, caramel, sweet sugar cane/brown sugar, and hops. Very well-balanced beer, neither too sweet nor too bitter from the hopping. Thick and rich mouthfeel. I’m really enjoying this one; how come I haven’t had this before?

Bottle (in NZ). Got the big beautiful US hop aroma - full of fruit and pine. The palate is a lot creamier and sweeter than expected, with chocolate touces to the malt - but where are those hops? OK, there they are! As I swallow it hops bit strongly, increasing the sweetness while also drying my mouth out with orange and pine flavours. Probably not as good as some other US IIPA i’ve tasted lately - but they are setting a high standard.

Aroma is actually sort of light. Lemon and pepper. The flavour has so much more going on. Lots of sweetness. Lots of bitterness. Iced tea, barbecue sauce, grapes. Reminiscent of fine wine. Medium to heavy body, finishes dry.