120 Minute IPA by Dogfish Head
Today is another milestone on my journey to drink 365 beers…beer #265. That means there are only 100 beers left to go…hooray for me! It is all downhill from this point on.
Beer #265 was 120 Minute IPA by Dogfish Head. I have wanted to try this beer for quite some time and I finally got around to trying it in none other than Delaware which is where this American Double IPA or Imperial IPA is brewed. I found it on draft at BBC Tavern & Grill in Greenville, Delaware. We had to kill some time waiting for my new bike to be built (at Garrison’s Cyclery)…so eating a delicious burger (cooked medium) and a beer seemed liked a great idea…and it was!
120 Minute IPA is very strong with a listed ABV of 15 to 20%. The waiter thought it may have been around 17.5%.
It came out in a glass quite a bit smaller than a typical pint glass (the other smaller glass in the photo was a sample of Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA) with a clear amber color and a small off-white head. The nose was very interesting…very herby on first whiff. I thought I smelled basil and I had my wife smell it and she got the same herby basil like aroma. I also got alcohol, honey, sweet caramel malts, grass, and an orange like scent. There was a lot going on here in the nose. I took a sip and the the alcohol hit me first. It then got sweet, fruity (oranges and even some apples) and syrupy. All throughout was that spicy herb presence that I could best equate to basil. It finished off with a nice alcohol warming sensation. It was very heavy, syrupy, sticky, and very smooth. The carbonation was really quite low. It was a sipping beer for sure and at times it felt more like I was drinking liquor. I think we sat at the restaurant for an hour and twenty minutes before I finished the glass. That wasn’t because I didn’t like it but I had to test ride a bike and drive home for two hours. If I would have drank that any quicker, I would have been useless for the rest of the day and my wife would have been pissed.
Overall I enjoyed this immensely but one in a session is more than enough. It had a nice range of flavors with the basil being quite unique and even with the high alcohol content, those flavors still shined through…to me it was quite delicious. I am glad I had the opportunity to try this as I hear it is in a very limited release. I even here there are places where this high ABV brew is not legal…interesting. If you have the chance, I say try it but be warned…it is expensive and is not for everyone.
Oh yeah…for the bike geeks out there…I picked up a 2011 Salsa El Mariachi. Cheers to Garrsion’s for being patient with me and being very helpful. I highly recommended this bike shop and in the home of no tax shopping to boot…it was a win-win situation! I can’t wait to get it on dirt and just ride…morning can’t come soon enough…
Rating: A+
