The Everest of Hopheads: Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

The Imperial India Pale Ale

12 oz. capped bottle

Aged: One year

20 percent ABV

Sampled: Jan. 11, 2009

Finally, 120 Minute IPA's lazy Sunday arrived.

As a self-professed non-hophead, I had no idea what to expect - a stifling, overdone hop bouquet that people drink just to say they drank it? I like my beer balanced - too many imperial IPAs fall victim to hop overdoses.

But I should have stuck with what I know about Dogfish Head and its high quality experimental beers. Aside from Immort Ale, I've never encountered a bad bottle from them, especially their high-octane IPA series. The 60-Minute is quite drinkable, the 90-Minute an acquired taste best drank as a nightcap.

The nose on the 120 Minute doesn’t emanate anything close to an IPA – it’s more single-malt Scotch and port wine than overhopped ale. As with those spirits, you can smell this over-the-top sucker across the room. There’s a lot of red fruits and a little peaty earthiness in the mix, punctuated by a stiff pepperiness.

Upon first taste, though, it’s unquestionably a beer, if not immediately identifiable as an IPA. The thin lace and effervescence also make its origins clear.

With a pretty bitter upswing at the tail end, the month of dry-hopping becomes evident. The stifling hop bouquets of many double IPAs or Imperial IPAs never comes to bear in the 120 Minute. The copper-amber body is actually much lighter than the 90-minute IPA, even though it sports double the alcohol strength.

Interestingly, the 120 Minute veers close in taste to Samichlaus or a well-aged Chimay Grand Reserve and St. Bernardus Abt 12. All high-alcohol ale should present itself so pleasantly.

It’s a surprisingly smooth affairs; the pepper bouquet never becomes obtrusive. That’s major hurdle for ales of this alcohol content, which Dogfish Head easily crosses.

Once again,Dogfish Head impressively pushes against beer’s limits, and in small doses, the 120 Minute is quite drinkable despite its heft. Those whiskey traces are a nice complement to the IPA characteristics this monster still sports.

But it comes with many caveats, the first of which is don’t dare touch it without a full stomach.

Rating: 9/10