Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA

Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware

Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from Binny's in Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: Imperial/Double IPA, 9.0% 

Dogfish Head are one of the 'tour de forces' within the craft beer industry. Before I could even tolerate craft beer, I knew about Dogfish Head. Their 60 Minute IPA makes frequent appearances at non-craft beer stores like Jewel-Osco and Trader Joes, and they are often one of the first craft breweries mentioned to newbie beer drinkers.

Dogfish Head Brewery

In case you are late to the party, Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995. Actually, Dogfish Head has super humble roots. The brewery began as a brewpub (the first in Delaware) called Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats and was originally located in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The initial brewing setup included three kegs and propane burners. They brewed 12-gallon batches of beer three times a day, five days a week. In 1996 the brewery began bottling their beer, and by 1999 they had distribution to around a dozen different states. In 2002 the company outgrew their Rehoboth location, and moved to Milton, Delaware. More info can be found here.

Dogfish Head has been featured in numerous beer documentaries including Beer Wars and American Beer, and they also were a big part of the Discovery Channel's series Brew Masters. They are probabaly most recently famous for their 120 Minute IPA: an extreme beer with limited distribution and availability.

Dogfish Head brews three IPA-style beers that all fall under the "X Minute" title. They brew a 60 Minute IPA, a 90 Minute IPA, and a 120 Minute IPA. The names are slightly deceiving: the 60 Minute is an IPA, the 90 Minute is an Imperial IPA, and the 120 Minute is also an Imperial IPA or an American Strong Ale depending on how you want to characterize it.

What's the difference between the three beers? The 60 Minute IPA is continuously hopped for 60 minutes during the boil. The 90 Minute IPA is hopped for 90 minutes during the boil, and the 120 is hopped for 120 minutes. The other big difference between the 60 Minute IPA and the other two beers is that the 60 Minute IPA is not dry hopped. 

What the hell is dry hopping? Usually hops are added to the beer during the boil. Dry hopping is a process in which additional hops are added to the fermenter or keg after fermentation. Hops can soak into the beer for several days to several weeks. For the 120 Minute IPA, Dogfish Head dry-hops the beer daily in their fermenter for a month, and THEN they age it again for another month on whole-leaf hops. It's a crazy, extreme, and time-consuming process. Hence the high demand for the beer, and the short supply.

The 90 Minute IPA is an Imperial IPA. It is Dogfish Head's first continually hopped beer. There is a really cool video about the beer here: 90 Minute IPA video. And you can read more about the 90 Minute IPA on Dogfish Head's website here. I cannot for the life of me remember if I have had this beer before, or if I have just had the 60 Minute IPA. Either way, this should be interesting...so bottoms up.

Look at all that carbonation!

The pour reveals a very interesting Imperial IPA. For starters, this beer has a nice 2-finger, thick, foamy head. The head is off-white with some slight copper or eggshell hues. There is a lot of carbonation rising from the bottom of my glass: we are talking Belgian ale type carbonation. I'm also amazed at the durability of the head, there is still a pinky's worth of thick head several minutes after the pour. The body on this beer is a nice copper-rust-orange color. There is nice uniform color clarity, and the beer looks to be filtered as it is transparent. This is really a gorgeous looking beer, and totally different than some of the West Coast Imperial IPAs. I'm also getting some seriously epic lacing on my snifter glass. This snifter glass does not hold lacing very well, but lots of residue is sticking to the side of my glass. It's a very very nice looking beer.

Dogfish Head's 90 Minute Imperial IPA

This beer clocks in at 9% ABV and packs 90 IBUs...but how does it smell? There are citrus notes on the nose including orange, there are big brandy notes, cake notes, and a really interesting candy note. I'm really pulling out a big cake-brandy note though. This beer is not about big pungent citrus hops like a West Coast IIPA. Many of Dogfish Head's brews have hard liquor overtones, and this is one of those beers.

Dry hopping does not add bitterness, as far as I understand the process. While this beer is quite bitter at 90 IBUs, it really is more heavy and velvety in the mouthfeel. I'm tasting giant cake notes right off the front: big brandy cake, dark fruit cake, and even birthday cake. There are bright citrus notes that cut through the beer, including orange and maybe tangerine. I'm also pulling out some dark fruits like figs and raisins. This is a really unique beer, and it really is quite huge and heavy without the typical citrus-hop overload. As the beer warms up a bit some malt is opening up: I'm getting some caramel as well as some woody/earthy notes. I'm also pulling out a bit of perfume and pine.

This is a full-bodied beer. At 9% ABV, with such a thick mouthfeel, I would recommend you sip this. I'm just going to throw this out there: this beer would make a great dessert beer. This beer isn't cloying or anything like that, but it really is dense. I've heard some people call it oily. I'm not sure I would say that the bottle I am drinking today is oily. The body certainly has some similarities to a stout however. This has moderate complexity but huge depth. 

You get some carbonation, pine, and brandy on the front of the palate. The middle is citrus-brandy-cake. The back end is slightly boozy and drying. Lots of brandy notes and cake notes in this. As this beer continues to warm up, I'm getting a little more oil. I'm actually getting a kind of "pine-sol" citrus note. I guess I can redact my non-oily comment from the previous paragraph. I'm definitely feeling the 9% ABV at this point. 

Rating: Above-Average  

Score: 84%

This isn't my favorite Imperial IPA. And I want to touch on that. But I really want to throw a disclaimer out: this is not a friendly beer for new beer drinkers. This beer has a really dense and challenging complexion, and the subtle brandy and cake notes are really abstract and different compared to the "in-your-face" citrus notes you often get from an Imperial IPA. 

Bubble porn.

To me, this is a beer that really screams "sipper." Many Imperial IPAs are quite drinkable, and I find that I often have finished the bottle way before my liver has had a chance to catch its breath. This beer right here is a dessert beer. This is a beer you can eat with a piece of cake, or drink while smoking a cigar. This is a beer you want to put into your snifter, swirl around, and appreciate. It's a dense and heavy beer, but it also is really good at bringing the cake-brandy flavors home.

I also want to take a moment to call shenanigans on the BJCP. They list this as a notable example of an Imperial IPA. I'm not sure I agree. If we go by the strict guidelines, this may actually push qualification. That really goes to show you how open to interpretation style guidelines are.  I bring it up because the BJCP isn't beer dogma...so it's something to keep in mind.

Anyway, back to me. This is a really good beer that I would like to enjoy on occasion. I will get this beer again. As far as Double IPAs go, I kind of like the West Coast thing. Especially in the warmer months. I just want to be open about that fact. I am rating this beer against other Imperial IPAs, but I want to air out my own preferences. 

At the end of the day, this is obviously a high-quality beer. It's a good dessert beer and a good craft beer. It's a really fun Imperial IPA with some offbeat notes including brandy, cake, and even some dark fruits. It's quite dense and it does take on a slightly oily characteristic as it warms up. Nevertheless, this is very drinkable but preferably as a sipper. I warmly recommend this beer, and look forward to having it again in the future.