90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head Brewery

Pahn

New York

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle into Duvel tulip. Bottled on 12/02/09 (so around 2 months old).

Appearance: Decently strong pour yields a 1 inch frothy head that quickly dissipates. Semi-translucent orange with bubbles rising in the middle. Continents of lacing stick around for awhile, then fade.

Smell: Floral, grassy, herbal, and citrus hops. Sweet, with lots of fruit, and some bread and alcohol notes. Deep nose that's hard to pin down, but very nice. Develops as the beer warms; starts hoppy and fruity, now it's very hot alcohol, now it's savory like Korean BBQ (!), now it's grassy and bready. I'm a sucker for beers that give me a great aroma at first, then proceed to show off entirely different but equally beautiful aromas as the night goes on.

Taste: First sip: big and bitter hit of grassy hops with sweet and varied esters popping up right away and a smooth but not very lasting malty finish. As I get deeper into the beer, a pleasant alcohol warmth builds in the chest and the malt profile displays large notes of caramel and toast. Myriad fruity esters are present in every sip, which are, like the smell, difficult (for me) to pin down and identify. The heavy IBU is balanced by the depth and variety of fruit and malt flavors. Finish gradually gets rather bitter, but after the flavor assault that is the majority of each sip, I don't mind not getting the nice long bready aftertaste of some other great IPAs.

It's easy to drink this beer without thinking too much, and simply enjoy the big, obvious hops, pleasant fruitiness, and caramel/toasted rye bread malt. If that's all there was to taste, 90min would still be a great beer. However, if you sit down and savor each sip, there's just an endless depth to the flavor. Various fruits, ranging from sweet and bright to dark and musty, different bready notes, different consistencies (creamy/oily/juicy/sharp and bitter/smooth, warm bread/harsh, warm alohol), some phenolic bites, herbal and floral notes, all emerge and interact with the constantly developing aroma. I've been drinking this beer for a few years now, and I still don't feel like I ever exhaust the depth of its flavor.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and full-bodied, with rather heavy carbonation. Good vehicle for the deep taste, but more difficult to like after you've had Squall IPA (at least for me).

Drinkability: Disappears quickly, with a very sneaky ABV. 1 is enough, but you'll want more.

Like Stone's Arrogant Bastard, DFH 90min IPA is as good as you'd expect the flagship beer of a premier American craft brewery to be (ie excellent). It's a bit... brash, at least in comparison to Squall IPA, which is my only real criticism (a somewhat half-hearted criticism to be honest). The flavors and aroma are bold and exquisite. A classic beer that should be tried by everyone who even remotely likes beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2010 04:49:02 | More by Pahn

Sixbolt

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%

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California

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

05-18-2013 14:30:47 | More by drgonzo2k2

megamass

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -6.8%

05-18-2013 03:58:24 | More by megamass

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Tennessee

4.75/5  rDev +10.7%

05-18-2013 03:49:56 | More by Billington

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North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%

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Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%

05-18-2013 03:19:49 | More by Netdogca

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Ohio

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

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Virginia

4/5  rDev -6.8%

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SebD

Ontario (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: It has a nice deep hazy orange color to it. It has a nice thick off-white head that dies down slowly and leaves nice lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitely give out hints of piney resins, mild citrus, floral hops, sweet toasty malts and some caramel.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a beautiful balance of hops and malts. Piney resins, floral and citrus balanced by sweet bready/toasty malts and caramel.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with a very nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a very smooth drinkable beer accompanied with great flavors and aromas.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 00:52:39 | More by SebD

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Virginia

4/5  rDev -6.8%

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Maine

4/5  rDev -6.8%

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California

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

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West Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%

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California

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

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Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%

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Wisconsin

4.75/5  rDev +10.7%

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Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +10.7%

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chossboss

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

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Fcolle2

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

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Blashawright

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%

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Florida

5/5  rDev +16.6%

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District of Columbia

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%

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Ohio

4.25/5  rDev -0.9%

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Texas

4.75/5  rDev +10.7%

05-16-2013 20:29:57 | More by ElizabethEleanor