Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Milton, Delaware USA

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   update pic

This beer wants to grap your tastebuds by the scruff of the neck, shake ’em up, then take ’em out back and fight them. This one will get your attention. Very rich mouthfeel that stand up to all those hops. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but some about this beer seems like the work of a skilled homebrewer as opposed to a commercial brewer.

UPDATED: JUN 10, 2007 12/7/02: good amount of head when initially poured. hopy smelling. very light amber in colour. some lacing. very hopy to the taste. good stuff.
6/9/07: The Enamel Animal (draught) at Columbus Ale Fest ’07.
...adding to rating... nice lace - light orange-brown body. hoppy and de-lish.

UPDATED: JUL 28, 2003 750 ml bottle
What a beer to try to put into a category!
A copper body with a thin, tan head.
You can smell the malt with hops, lots of hops. Reminds me of the nose of a good barleywine.
I knew what I was getting into when I poured this beer...90 IBU's. Wish more of the malt stood out in the flavor.
Very smooth on the palate.
No way you can detect the alcohol here with all the hops going on in your mouth.
I've now enjoyed 100% (2) beers that I've tasted from Dogfish. Midas is next from these guys.

Deep orange color, medium head. Aroma is floral and herbal, touch of grapefruit. A big bold malty and hoppy IPA. Very smooth taste. The over malting is balanced by the extreme over hopping. At 9% alcohol and 90 IBU, you would expect this beer to be much harsher and stronger tasting. It is surprising in it mellowness and subtly. Malts have a touch of fruitiness and sweetness to them. Hops are dominant and are floral and slightly spicy. Complex flavors. Thick taste, thick I will be picking hops otta my teeth for a couple of days. Grapefruit flavor intensifies as it warms. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. It took forever, several tools and a corkscrew to get the cork out, but it was worth it.

This is a great IPA! It is smoother than Victory Hop Devil, even though I love that one too. The aroma is bright and flowery, as is the flavor. I will buy it often.

UPDATED: MAR 21, 2007 [yea...she ain’t so good anymore] Wow! This has the most well-masked 9% ABV I’ve ever tasted. Pours with a nice white head that shrinks to a pretty lacing. Fruit and hop aroma, with a buttery sweetness in the flavor, along with hints of caramel, and a decent helping of maltiness. This ranks up there with Victory Hop Devil as the best IPA’s I’ve ever had.

UPDATED: JAN 17, 2003 My first US Double IPA/Imperial IPA/American Strong Ale, or whatever you want to call it. Very nice, very bitter and hoppy, really gently sticky, but not unpleasantly so at all. Citric grapfruity bitterness. I really dug this stuff.

Bottle conditioned. Copper orange with an excellent rocky head and plenty of lace. Good level of condition from a seemingly tiny amount of yeast in the bottle. Enticing aromas of malt, chocolate and big blast of hops. Complex blend of grapefruit, malt and orange balanced perfectly with immense hop flavour that becomes bitter in the finish without ever becoming obtrusive. Supremely well balanced and drinkable despite the strength, which is only apparent when you decide to stand up and you head starts spinning a little. The embodiment of Umami.

750 ml bottle, about a year old I believe. Great golden color, almost no head; no "pop" on opening either which surprised me. Aroma is initially just super hoppy/fruity, with orange being dominant to my senses, but as you dig deeper you get some nice caramel and pine also. Flavor is initially closer to a barley wine than an IPA, very sweet and malty, thick and smooth, with apricots and grapefruit and oranges swirling in your mouth; gradually a piney hoppiness sets in and burns up the back end, but on leaving the tongue for the throat a pleasant warming sensation replaces the burn. I for one loved it, not as hoppy as I might have thought, or maybe its just the supreme balance. I’d put it just a notch below 3Fs Dreadnaught, but its in the same league. Bravo for the American Strong Ales!

Dogfish does another fine job on this IPA. The taste reminded me of grapefruit’s tanginess. Even the aftertaste has it also. Still an excellent brew with a great color and nice head. ;)