Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Milton, Delaware USA

Earthy, heavily bitter compared to the 90 min. IPA, small malty sweetness up front but almost overwhelming biterness, closer to an ESB IMO if not for the slight malt backbone. Of the series though I do prefer this IPA, I would love to see what a mix of 90 min. and this comes out as though.

Pours golden orange with a small white head that leaves some lacing. Nose is quite woody which isn’t at all what I expected, also some overripe fruit. No real robust citrus/pine that I wouldve expected...makes me wonder how old this bottle is. Palate is much the same, some caramel toffee malt with subtle fruit & wood. Finishes quite short with very lttle hop bitterness or at least much less than I expected. Also a bit sticky. Not at all what I expected here & either was an old bottle or just my expectations were way off...Certainly not bad but not even close to exciting.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: one of the greatest small pleasures as a beer critic is knowing a beer is absolutely fantastic on the first swig alone. From the first sip to the last drop, I knew Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA was a beer I loved and I think most other drinkers out there would too. It’s just that good.

POUR, COLOR AND AROMA

This beer pours smoothly to a beautiful, clear shade of amber. There is some carbonation evident and it produces a perfectly-proportioned, white, foamy head which leaves gorgeous lacing on the glass. The aroma is equally impressive with a potent scent of grapefruit and a little pine. I could tell this was going to be a tasty and bitter beer just from the nose alone.

TASTE

I don’t have a checklist of things I look for in an IPA or even in a beer in general, but if I did I’d have to say Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA would meet all the requirements and then some. From the first taste I get a strong citrus taste with a bitter hop bite. It’s so good it makes me cluck my tongue just to savor it all.

Now, plenty of beers are strongly-flavored, but that doesn’t necessarily make them good. Thankfully, in the case of this beer it’s not only strongly-flavored but absolutely delicious as well. It’s a crisp, tart and refreshing as an ice-cold glass of freshly-squeeze lemonade on a hot summer’s day. But this is no seasonal, it’s a beer that really has a timeless, year-round value.

FINISH

Although this beer definitely has a bitter hop bite as it finishes, it is not a difficult beer to drink by any means. The mouthfeel is intense and the flavor is so tasty it’s one of the few instances that such a mouthfeel actually improves the beer. It finishes rather smooth and does leave a bitter aftertaste. However, since Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA is so tasty to begin with, it’s an aftertaste you can savor.

BODY

I’m not sure where I draw the line between light, medium and full-bodied beer. This beer is 6% ABV which may sound a little heavy but it definitely does drink like such. With a high drinkability and delectable palate, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA lends itself to drinking in large quantities. Lightweight drinkers might find it to be a bit more than they bargained for, but even a moderate craft beer drinker would have no problem handling a few bottles in succession.

FINAL THOUGHTS

When people ask me why I like India Pale Ales so much I would tell them just to try Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and they’ll be able to figure it out easily. You really don’t have to be a beer connoisseur or a hophead to love, let alone like, this beer. It’s luscious, easy to drink and has a real body – that’s what I call a perfect beer.

NOTE: Watch the video version of this review at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikustz-yJ0E