Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

So Dogfish Head is officially around town, and if you were lucky enough to get out early on Tuesday you may have picked up their 120 Minute IPA. You may ask, why is it called 120 Minute. Should I drink it in 120 minutes? Should I age it for no more than 120 Minutes? Is it best when warmed for 120 minuets???

None of those guesses are even close to right. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA is boiled for 120 minutes. Most beers are boiled for about an hour. Bigger beers are boiled longer to concentrate the sugars and malts and set it up for a bigger abv. This bad boy does in fact have a bigger abv. The beer comes in at a whopping 18% abv... that's the same amount of booze as a bottle of Kahlua. Now they just call it a 120 minute IPA. Some sites call it an imperial or double IPA, but with such a high abv it almost seems unfair. This really is one of those rare beers that defies category.

As you might assume with a such a high abv this beer may not even drink like a beer. It pours out a nice rich copper color with about a finger of head. The head looks a bit more like what you expect from a stout or barleywine. It smells like hops, big rich resiny hops with a wonderful citrus backbone. The flavor is out of this world. Like you expect from such a high abv beer it almost seems like a liquor. The brew is thick and sweet up front. Rich toffee and caramel flavors with hints of light summer fruits. This all combines well with citrus and tropical fruit hop flavors. Its rich and heavy and completely intoxicating. It finishes with a spike of big resiny bitterness and a hit of boozy heat.

For such a crazy extreme beer its incredibly well rounded. All the flavors are intense, but its like Dogfish Head is taking you on a roller coaster ride. There is a definitive start and finish and the whole ride is completely mapped out. Each flavor plays off the last beautifully. This may be one of the most complex beers I've had, but its definitely the most complex IPA I've had.

I give this a resounding 4.5 its one of the most exciting IPA experiences I've had in a while.