Mike's Beer of the Week

Beer Information

Brewery: Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Beer Name: 120 Minute

Beer Style: Imperial IPA

Abv.: 18%

Serving Glassware: Tulip, Pint, Snifter

Serving Temp.: 50-55 deg. F. (BeerAdvocate.com)

Local Availability: N/A

Pairings: Dessert (Angel Cake, Blueberry Pie)

2.bp.blogspot.com

Mike's Ratings (1-5)

Overall Grade/Rate: A/4.5

Appearance:4.5

Aroma: 4.5

Taste: 4.5

Mouthfeel: 4.5

Drinkability: 4.5

BeerAdvocate Avg. Rate: B+/3.86

Mike's Description

2011 Poured into a Chimay Chalice

Appearance - Burnt orange/slightly brownish/amber earthy tones. About a half inch of head that fades very fast leaving slight lace on the chalice. Nice caution sign logo on the cap.

Aroma - Smells strongly of hops, alcohol, and honey primarily. A lot of malt is there and some fruits are present as well such as raisins and honeydew.

Taste - The hops are definitely there...I mean "continually hopped over a 120 minute boil" and "dry-hopped everyday for a month"...you're going to taste hops. Surprisingly, I had much hoppier beers...I don't want to say the hops are weak, but there are many other things I taste in the forefront aside from hops such as ALCOHOL and honey. At 18% abv., no amount of hops will defeat the alcohol. Some other minute flavors as well such as the aforementioned fruits.

Mouthfeel - Again, surprisingly for what I would consider a triple ipa (even though it says double), there are pretty much no hops in the aftertaste...they barely linger whatsoever. The honey and fruit sweetness, however, are what tarry in the mouth. The alcohol lasts as well.

Drinkability - This is a fantastic beer. Well worth the price and the wait. As far as what everyone says..."it does not at all resemble 60 or 90 minute"...pretty true. Surprisingly this beer is much less hop-forward than even the 60 minute, never mind the 90 minute, and it is also much sweeter and has way more of a noticeable alcohol character. I have also heard about as many positive reviews as I have negative. I have a feeling that many of the negative reviews are due to the fact that most expect it to be a hop-bomb that completely blows away 90 minute ipa...this is far from the case, but it is definitely a great beer that it worthy of the hype...I just wish it was easier to access. If I had to compare this to another beer in terms of similarities...none really come to mind, but this beer is more similar to a Belgian Tripel or even a Barleywine (sweeter styles)...definitely not comparable to any other DIPAs. This beer is closer to mead than a DIPA in my opinion.