120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head Brewery

kevanb

Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got a glass of this on tap at 38 Degrees Ale House in Alhambra.

A: Nice amber color, fairly clear complexion. Head is like sea foam in texture and manilla or butter in color. Spotted lacing with decent head retention.

S: Booze. Liquor. Right off the bat its very boozy. Faint grains, but it smells sweet, sugary with minimal hop aromas. It also has a creamy presence.

T: Booze is right at the door but it has a nice sweet finish. Subtle hops at the finish. Honestly, it tastes great. Very much like a cream soda or something. It is not really like an IPA at all. That being said, the flavors that are there, are really really good. I would almost see this more as a session ale as it definitely got better the longer I drank it and the flavors were a bit more pronounced and balanced.

M: Almost no carbonation, very strong but very smooth. I was shocked at how smooth it was considering how boozy it was. Very thick and creamy, massive body, but its really great.

O: Very good beer. I can't rate it too highly as an IPA or Double IPA or anything as it was really something unique. Certainly worth the adventure to get it. Highly recommend everyone check this out as it really is something else.

Serving type: on-tap

07-31-2011 23:31:53 | More by kevanb

NormLobstah

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

05-25-2013 03:48:50 | More by NormLobstah

mulliwater

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -13.2%

05-25-2013 03:45:14 | More by mulliwater

DRTBrewster

Arizona

4.75/5  rDev +17.9%

05-24-2013 21:32:01 | More by DRTBrewster

brodericksloth

Oregon

4.26/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

what you would expect from a continuously hopped boil for two hours. Dry hopped for one month. Intense everything: nose, taste and mouthfeel. 18% abv nice copper color.

Definitely a swirler, sipper. Take about ten-thirty minutes to get through a 12 ozer. Share with a friend if possible. Is this beer or port like beverage? Beyond barleywine.

Not much carbonation, head, legs, etc....it doesn't need it. Improves as warms; opens up the apricot, peach citrusy taste. 120 IBU's

Someone said relaxing; I agree

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 19:14:11 | More by brodericksloth

Dirksen

California

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

05-24-2013 18:19:52 | More by Dirksen

Beer_Drinker

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

05-24-2013 16:39:52 | More by Beer_Drinker

twizzbeatz

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

05-24-2013 16:13:09 | More by twizzbeatz

StoutHunter

Michigan

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I picked up a bottle of Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA a couple weeks ago for $8.89 at The Lager Mill. Well it looks like this will be my 600th review, I always like to get something that I wouldn't normally buy for these milestones. This is the first time I have seen this beer around so I thought I should take a chance on it, I have heard that this is a really intense and potent beer and since it's something that doesn't show up around here often I thought it would make for an interesting 600th review, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date, 2013 Vintage, it's pretty fresh. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a snifter.

A- The The label looks nice, it's simple, but it's got a clean and classy look to it, I like it and the special bottle cap is a nice change. It poured a very hazy and nice orange color that took on some darker amber hues when held to the light with almost two fingers worth of off white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some nice lacing behind. This is a pretty good looking beer, I really like the color and the head and lacing were much better then I thought it would be for such a high alcohol beer, I like it.

S- The aroma starts off with a very high amount of sweetness followed by lots of hops that impart a huge citrus fruit aroma with some tropical fruits in the background with some papaya, mango and pineapple like aromas sticking out the most. Up next I get some malt aromas that were a little grainy and pretty biscuit like followed by lots of sweet malt aromas. Towards the end I get slight cannabis and herbal like aroma that blend nicely with other aromas and is followed by some strong alcohol aromas that let you know this beer means business. This beer had a very good aroma, it was pretty complex and very intense lots of strong alcohol and hop aromas.

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma, it starts off with a very high amount of sweetness that instantly coats the mouth and is followed by tons of citrus hop flavors with some tropical fruits in the background and all the nice fruits that I picked up in the aroma show up nicely in the taste and it really dominates the taste buds. Up next comes some biscuit like and very sweet malts followed by a medium amount of high bitterness with some herbal flavors showing up towards the end with a hoppy, citrus and warming alcohol aftertaste. This beer tasted very good, the alcohol was pretty warming but not overly harsh and it wasn't overly bitter either with some nice citrus hop flavors and lots of sweets malts, It's a complex sipper.

M- Not the smoothest, but smoother than I thought it would be, syrupy, sticky, on the medium side of being full bodied with a slightly lower amount of medium carbonation that worked well with this beer. The mouthfeel was was pretty good and it worked well with this beer, I thought it had just the right amount of carbonation.

All in all I thought this was a good beer and a very good and extreme example of the style, once you get past the intensity there some nice layers of flavors and aromas that make it a pretty complex beer that's nice to sip on. It didn't have the best drinkability, it's going to take me quite awhile to make it through the whole bottle and I really don't see a way that I could drink another one unless I wanted to get completely wasted, one is the perfect size and it would also be nice to split with someone. What I like the most about this beer was how complex it was, it seems like every time I smelled or sipped it I picked up a new aspect that I didn't get before. What I liked the least about this beer was the high amount of sweetness, I know beers this strong are always pretty sweet but this one was bordering on syrupy sweet. I would buy this beer again, If I see it again I would like to get a couple bottle for the cellar, I have no doubt that this will age well and hopefully it will get a little smoother with age, I would recommend this to anyone who likes strong and intense beers, just because you like a couple IPA's doesn't mean your ready to take on the hop and alcohol onslaught which is 120 Minute IPA. All in all I was pretty impressed with this beer, it wasn't as harsh as I was expected but it was still a very intense beer that isn't for the faint of heart. Dogfish Head did a great job with this beer, I know when a brewing a beer that is this strong it can get to be pretty difficult and it shows how confident Dogfish Head is to regularly make a beer that's this intense and so difficult to brew, it takes balls to do something like that and you have to be a little crazy, but it all comes together as one hell of experience that everyone should have least once. So far this is the strongest beer I have ever had, I think it's about 18%. Good job Dogfish Head, it's nice to have a brewery like you guys that makes special beers like these that are great to have on special occasions, here's to 600 more reviews.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 04:05:40 | More by StoutHunter

tzieser

Arizona

4/5  rDev -0.7%

05-23-2013 23:40:47 | More by tzieser

Absolut

California

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

05-23-2013 19:28:07 | More by Absolut

tattoopunk031

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.7%

05-23-2013 14:03:13 | More by tattoopunk031

Perducci

Arizona

3/5  rDev -25.6%

05-23-2013 02:19:56 | More by Perducci

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -6.9%

05-23-2013 01:43:05 | More by mikeincharleston

Abrengle

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

05-23-2013 01:26:00 | More by Abrengle

BradStokley

Maryland

3/5  rDev -25.6%

05-23-2013 01:24:15 | More by BradStokley

KVNBGRY

Florida

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

05-22-2013 16:35:44 | More by KVNBGRY

Bigtwin

Michigan

4/5  rDev -0.7%

05-22-2013 16:27:54 | More by Bigtwin

rph97

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +11.7%

05-22-2013 15:17:05 | More by rph97

scottyu27

Virginia

4/5  rDev -0.7%

05-22-2013 13:04:01 | More by scottyu27

SmellsofMahagony

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

05-22-2013 03:17:44 | More by SmellsofMahagony

n2pux

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

05-22-2013 00:24:39 | More by n2pux

scoot64

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -19.4%

05-21-2013 21:48:21 | More by scoot64

jl28r1

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +5.5%

05-21-2013 20:32:24 | More by jl28r1

bmurray10

Texas

4/5  rDev -0.7%

05-21-2013 20:03:50 | More by bmurray10