Dogfish Head Brewing Co. - 120 Minute imperial IPA

Today's review is a rather special, rare beer that I admit I have not tried in years. That's because I haven't seen it in years. And it's not because I wasn't looking. I've sought out this beer over the past few years, only to discover that due to some supply issues, it wasn't brewed. That fact, coupled with a very limited production run, means this beer is very hard to find.

My review today is an imperial IPA that's hopped for two full hours. You may be asking yourself "what are hops?" Hops are one of the basic building blocks of beer. Hops are what gives beer a bitter, strong flavor - and all beers have a balance of hops, malt, and water. IPAs, a very common and popular kind of beer, use more hops than malts (usually) to obtain a certain taste and bitterness. Breweries like to play around with the mixture and sometimes come up with really crafty ways to deliver hops in beer.

Today's beer is made by Milton, DE-based Dogfish Head Brewery. Dogfish Head has a line of four IPAs, each hopped for a different amount of time, which affects the strength, gravity and taste of each beer. They have a 60-minute, which means the beer is hopped for a full hour. These are common, produced year-round in 6-packs, for around $11. They also release a 90-minute IPA, having been hopped for an hour and a half, and that's usually sold in 4-packs for around $11 as well. Those are readily available in the store, too. Also, you might find on draft or in bombers the 75-minute, but I think that might just be a mixture of the 60- and the 90-minute.

There's also the 120-minute. This beer, dry-hopped for a full two hours, and as a result, is extraordinarily strong. This beer is between 15% and 20% ABV, which means it's two to three times the normal strength of beer. It's also only released in individual bottles. The first time I had it, I grabbed a bottle on a whim at Whole Foods in Glastonbury, CT. Then, miraculously, they had it on cask  at Plan B Burger Bar (also in Glastonbury.) It was amazing! That was in 2010 and I haven't seen it since. Until now. 

Here it is! The awesome guys at Irving Wines and Spirits in Mount Pleasant have them. I was honestly amazed to see it. So, naturally, I grabbed three bottles. One to drink, two to save for later. It says it "ages well" on the bottle, so I expect to have these two bottles for years to come. There's just one issue about the beer - the cost.

This is expensive beer. Very limited-release, rare beers like this cost a pretty penny. Irving Wines and Spirits charges $10.99 for a single beer, or in this case, $36.99 for three. Want to grab a six-pack? Get ready to shell out $73.98. This isn't a beer to pick up for a night at a friend's - it's a specialty beer that you drink to save or taste. This isn't a session beer, at all - more than one of these and you'll be seeing stars.

So I popped one in the fridge and put the other two in my cellar, behind the wine rack. I waited for a nice day and decided to give this baby a spin. I also made sure I wasn't going anywhere or operating heavy machinery afterward. 

The beer has a deep amber color that's very pleasing. It's cloudy with lots of little bubbles and a thin, white head that dies down quickly.

The nose is very strong, with pungent hop smells and a peculiar smell of alcohol and caramel.

A fancy GIF for you, albeit shaky

After letting it breathe for a few minutes (and occasionally sticking my face in the glass to get that aroma) I eagerly brought the glass to my lips for a taste. Wow! Just as great as I remember. From the first sip, you're hit with a towering wall of warm, polished hops. There's really nothing like it. The flavor develops into a deep, woody taste reminiscent of a single-malt Scotch. The finish is warm and the flavors finish like a Scotch and soda, which is rather nice.

I really like this beer. It's got a Boulevard Smokestack-esque texture to it, thick and powerful, with lots of strong tasty flavors. It doesn't have any real bitterness or bite to it, but the hops flavors are carried well by the strong alcohol content of the beer. It's truly an experience - it's polished, deep, and definitely intoxicating.

A word of caution - while this is an amazing beer definitely worth trying, it's not for the beer novice. I do heartily recommend it for the beer aficionado who wants a unique experience. It's not a session ale, as noted above, and is only something you should consider if you're really into IPAs and really into high-gravity (and expensive) beers. I consider this brew to be the crown jewel of imperial IPAs, and it does not disappoint in power, taste, or alcohol content.