120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head Brewery

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Ok, it's Repeal Day Observed, in our southern neighbours, and my Yankee ancestry is encouraging me to try something special from south of the 49th. Tonight that can only mean one thing - a slightly chilled bottle of this sweet elixir to share with my own sweetie. I procured it on a recent trip to impressively beer-rich Austin, Texas. I actually got to try this a few months ago, in the BeerBistro bar in downtown Toronto. A special order from the LCBO, I got past the $30/bottle cost (hey it was dinner, thank you Accounts Payable), and proceeded to kick off that Saturday night in amenable style.

Now, this 'beer' pours a dense cloudy apricot-brown, and looks like fresh-squeezed fruit juice. There is no appreciable head, just a minor reminder of effervescence, and no lacing to speak of. The smell is very strong, crisp, and hot, like fermenting grape must - it actually twinges my nose - and evokes raisins and molasses, and pine hops. The malt only seems omnipotent at first - there is an underlying citrus hoppiness that seems to struggle to make itself known. The flavour starts with grapefruit hops becoming more prevalent, holding the huge raisin malt body at bay only for a bit, until, buoyed by the alcohol, it washes over and envelops your palate. A number of warming spices also appear, difficult to discern amongst it all. The mouthfeel is thick and syrupy, and a tiny carbonated finish delivers a warming to my system that I had previously associated with port or sherry. Accordingly so, this is a slow sipper, lovely for a quaff with the pine scent of the newly-erected Christmas tree nearby.

My hat is off to those sensible folks 75 years ago who reinstated the law and the mindset that paved the way for a brewery like Dogfish Head to create such a sexy beast as this offering.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2008 08:47:47 | More by biboergosum

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