Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA Review

Name: Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 18% According to BeerAdvocate, 15-20% per Dogfish Head

Tonight I have a special treat for you guys. Just a couple of weeks ago, Dogfish Head became available in our area much to the delight of craft beer drinkers here. One of the most highly anticipated beers to arrive on the store shelf was their 120 Minute IPA, which is considered to be one of the most highly sought after Imperial IPAs in the country, ranking up it there with the likes of Heady Topper and Pliny the Elder.

Back when I lived in Chicago, Dogfish Head was fairly easy to find; Even the little convenience store which was right around the corner from me, a place that you would never guess even had craft beer, had it in stock. However the "Yeti" of the Dogfish Head beers was always the 120 Minute IPA, with rumored sightings of it at the various liquor stores around Chicago but it was nowhere to be seen when I went to look for myself. Somehow my co-worker always seemed to find it and loved to boast about it whenever he found it.

That is why I consider myself very fortunate and lucky to have finally found a bottle of this after 2 years of waiting. In fact, this beer was even listed on my beer bucket list that I made last year. Now the ABV of this beer is subject to speculation because BeerAdvocate lists it at 18% while Dogfish Head throws out a guesstimate of 15-20%. Either way that makes this the highest ABV beer that I have tried to date.

120 Minute IPA pours a very hazy dark orange color. The head is very thin in appearance and I'm not picking up on too much in terms of lacing. It's also too cloudy to see if there is any carbonation at all in here.

The aroma extremely strong, like you have a knee-jerk reaction to reel your head back from the sheer power of the nose. I'm picking up on some freshly peeled oranges, and candied caramel malts which borderlines on smelling like actual candy. Interestingly enough, I'm also not picking up on any booziness and if there is any in here, it's very well hidden. No matter how you look at it, the nose is very overwhelming and strong.

Upon taking my first sips, the flavor actually is very malt forward at first but then the hops and booziness rush in and proceed to just punch you right in the face. It starts out with some strong candied caramel malts and brown sugar but the hop profile opens up in a big way to some piney hops, grapefruits and robust citrus hops along with the said booziness. As for the aftertaste, it's got an extremely bitter hop flavor that lingers around. It's also worth noting, however, that as it warms up, the boozy kick that's present in the front of the flavor actually goes away. I'm not sure if it's the warmth or my palate getting used to the power of it but it becomes a lot more bearable the further in you go.

The palate is very heavy and quite thick but thankfully the carbonation is very light, which is a good thing because the flavor profile is already strong enough as is.

Despite the sheer power of this beer, it has a lot more balance to it than Evil Twin's Molotov Cocktail (the strongest Imperial IPA I've had up until now). The big difference here is that while it does taste boozy, it's masked by the other flavors which are equally as strong, if not, stronger. I think it goes without saying that this beer is definitely not for everyone and may be too intense for some; After all, the first time sipping this I was coughing! So would I say it's worth checking out? If you are a hop head that is looking for an absolute monster of a beer that will leave a lasting impression, then this beer is for you!

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA - 9.25/10

Top 10 Beers I would like to try out (Part 1)

Today was a pretty long day so I don't feel like doing any reviews tonight. Tonight it's just me, some Spotted Cow and Sinatra on Pandora. So instead of doing a review I would like to put together a list of the Top 10 beers I would currently like to get my hands on. Please note that one of these entries has not been released yet.

10) Murree's Classic Lager

"Huh?"

That's probably what you are thinking right now. Well there's a couple different reasons why I chose this. First of all, Murree Brewing is one of the oldest breweries in Asia, at least to my knowledge. It was formed in 1860 during the British Occupation of India to meet the needs of thirsty British Soliders stationed over in the Indian Subcontinent.

That is not the main reason why I'm eager to try it out. The main reason is because it was established in Rawalpindi, India back in 1860. Well, a little thing called the Partition happened in the Indian Subcontinent in 1947. Suddenly Rawalpindi was no longer in India, but was now in the newly formed country of Pakistan; Yes, THAT Pakistan!

Due to Islamic law, Muslims are not allowed to purchase alcohol in Pakistan...not legally anyways. It can only be purchased by Non-Muslims and is only available in Pakistan at this time; So the chances of getting my hands on this are pretty slim.

Yeah, I want to try this out is mainly because it's from Pakistan; Let's be fair, the first thing that pops into our heads when we think of Pakistan is terrorism and not beer. When I first heard about this brewery, I was curious about it's existence but now I'm interested not just their beer, but their Single Malt Whiskey, Gins, and Spirits, which I heard are excellent. Maybe one day Murree Brewing will be allowed to distribute internationally 

9) Surly Seviin

I've never had any of Surly Brewing's Anniversary beers before and would love to try at least one out. This year I will try getting my hands on Seviin, which will be a Belgian Strong Ale to commemorate their 7 years of being in business and is supposed to come out next week at the time of writing this so hopefully watch out from a review in the near future.

8) Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

One thing I miss about Chicago is Dogfish Head Brewing, you could find it in many liquor stores, grocery stores or even tucked away in a seedy little convenience store that you would never guess had a good craft beer selection. I had a wide variety of of their beers but one always seemed to elude me, and that was their 120 Minute IPA. I have had their 60 Minute IPA & 90 Minute IPA but never their 120 Minute IPA. Later this year, I hope to go back to Chicago to finally get my hands on this but until then I can only hope they start distributing to Minnesota.

7) Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout

And the award for most badass looking beer label goes to......

The other beer that reminds me of Chicago is.....well, not from Chicago but about 25 minutes away in Munster, IN; I'm of course talking about Three Floyds Brewing. I recently did a review of their Dreadnaught Imperial IPA and it was amazing! There's one release I've always wanted to get my hands on and that is their Dark Lord Imperial Stout. 

We here in Minnesota have our own Surly Darkness and I've heard Surly Darkness is better than Three Floyds Dark Lord while I've also heard the argument the other way around. Hell, they even have a Darkness Day for Surly and Dark Lord Day for Three Floyds. As long as it's good, I don't care who's is better. Likewise, availability is very limited and looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future.

6) The Alchemist Heady Topper

Whenever I see pictures of beer hauls, pictures of a beer someone is drinking or a beer trade on either Beer Advocate or the Beer-related Subreddits on Reddit, The Alchemist Heady Topper is one of the beers that somehow happens to be in EVERY other picture. 

I've come to the conclusion that either half the beer drinkers on the internet live in Vermont or they have good connections. Either way, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on this but I won't be going to Vermont anytime soon.

That's the end for Part 1, if you've made it this far and wish to continue, click here for Part 2!