- Brewed in Milton, DE, USA
- Served: 355ml bottles poured into various US pint shakers
- http://www.dogfish.com
60 Minute IPA
- ABV: 6%, Style: American IPA
- Bottled on 1 August 2012
Look: All three beers look pretty much the same, dense orange, 90 (in the middle) seems a little clearer, 120 (to the right) looks a little denser.
60 Minute IPA is an copper, orange coloured beer with a little hazing. The head is white and the lacing is minimal. The head doesn’t stay around for long.
Aroma: Coffee aroma with citrus and orange peel.
Taste: Quite sweet with hints of coffee bitterness coming through. Lots of citrus, a little herbal. Finish is present, but not deeply bitter.
Mouthfeel: Light carbonation, quite smooth to drink.
Overall: Decent IPA, not sure I’m really amazingly sold on it, but I’d happily drink it if I saw it in a bar. 4/5
90 Minute Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9%, Style: Double IPA
- Bottled on 13 September 2013
Look: There is a hint more red in the orange colour of this beer. White head with dense bubbles.
Aroma: More malty than the 60 minute IPA but again, lots of herbal hops and the same strange coffee overtone. A little more boozy.
Taste: It starts quite heavily, like a barley wine, lots of rich, sweet malt with roasty hints, then citrus bitterness builds. Not a really intense finish, but enough to indicate there’s a lot of hops happening.
Mouthfeel: Similar light carbonation, to the 60. It is quite refreshing considering the ABV.
Overall: Considering this is held up as an example of a top quality double IPA I’m pretty disappointed by this beer. It’s perfectly nice, but I don’t think it’s very special. I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink it, in the same way that I would with Pliny the Elder or Double Jack.
Overall, is it a better beer than the 60? I’m not sure. It is more intense, but also sweeter and maltier. I’m not sure that I really want so much toffee coming through in my IPA. Good but not amazing. 4/5
120 Minute IPA
- ABV: Around 18%, Style: Triple IPA
- Bottled in 2012
Look: Deeper orange colour beer than the previous 2 IPAs. The head is half a finger off white and there’s a little lacing. Surprisingly there is not as much in the way of legs on the side of the glass.
Aroma: We are firmly in barleywine territory here, very boozy and sweet, spicy and fruity. Smells of dried dark fruit, apricots, raisins. There is also molasses and a hint of grapefruit.
Taste: Wow, there so much toffee in the taste. It totally obliterates any noticeable hoppiness. There’s a bitter aftertaste, but it comes with a really cloying sweetness that’s hard to ignore.
Mouthfeel: More carbonation than I’d expect for the ABV, but still very sticky and drying at the end.
Overall: Tastes like a barleywine because it has so much toffee and sweetness. In the same way that Sink The Bismark becomes more palatable when you move beyond considering it an IPA, this is a fine sipping barleywine.
Even if the methods of creation are the same as the shorter boil versions, calling it an IPA is a bit of a stretch. The bottle claims 120 IBU (international bittering units) but I don’t feel that at all. The 90 feels more bitter to me.
I’m glad I’ve tried this beer, but I don’t think I’d ever feel the need to try it again. I’m afraid to say that I can’t really recommend it either. Even as a barley wine. Please Dogfish Head, save the hops for a nicer IPA! 2.5/5
UPDATE for Stever: I got them in Philadelphia, I think the 120 was $12, but I’m not sure. God knows what it would cost if you got it over in the UK. I just saw another big American classic, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout in a reasonably priced bottle shop going at £8.11 for 355ml.
- 5th February 2013, Sustainable Alcoholic
