Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

120 Minute IPA is a big beer. I have read it described as a triple IPA. Dogfish Head reports that IBU = 120 and abv = 18%. Wow!

Brewer's notes: "Clocking in at 15-20% ABV, 120 Minute IPA is continually hopped with a copious amount of high-alpha American hops throughout the boil and whirlpool, and then dry-hopped with a boatload of hops. Unfiltered and abundantly hoppy, it's the Holy Grail for hopheads!"

BeerAdvocate: "Too extreme to be called beer? 120 Minute IPA is brewed to a colossal 45-degree plato, boiled for a full two hours while being continuously hopped with high-alpha American hops, then dry-hopped daily in the fermenter for a month and aged for another month on whole-leaf hops!"

Tasting Notes

2312: I drank the first of a six-pack dated 2017, making the beer 3.3-years old. I enjoyed it while Lisa and I enjoyed a fire and put up our new artificial Christmas tree. Perhaps 120 Minute IPA will become a Christmas tradition. The taste has mellowed some but still resembled a BIG and rough IPA. Lots of hops and plenty of malt for balance. I might not have picked 6 glasses for the rating but enjoyed it enough to leave the rating unchanged.

Rating = 6 glasses

2006: I drank a second bottle dated 1908 last night with a sweet dessert and the pairing was fantastic. 120 Minute bursts with hop flavor with big malt for balance (and alcohol) - much more a HUGE IPA than a barleywine. The bottle-date means that the beer is about 1-year old.

Rating = 6 glasses

2002: I drank the first of a six-pack bottle dated 1908. It tastes like a BIG English Barleywine. BeerAdvocate calls it an American Imperial IPA and says abv varies from 15-20% and IBU = 120. Bottle says abv = 18%. Bitter hops fight to emerge from a sweet raisin mash, followed by big alcohol blast. It is a 2+ hr. sipper. A 12 oz. bottle usually goes for $9 or $10 dollars. I just picked up two four-packs from Costco for $24.99 each. I plan to drink them over the next six years.

Rating = 6 glasses.