Brewed By: Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware
Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at ??? in IL; 2013 (bottled on date: 02/??/13)
Style/ABV: Imperial IPA/American Strong Ale, 15.0% ~ 20.0%
Reported IBUs: 120
It's been a little over exactly one year since I reviewed the 2013 batch of 120 Minute IPA. It seems like we are due for an update. About Dogfish Head:
This is still an epic sipper, probably a Light Divine Brew. There is nothing else quite like this beer...and it really deserves your attention over an hour or so. It's a sipper, and it's also a great Winter Warmer. It's in that realm of Scotch or Port Wine. This is aging wonderfully, and has a long way to go. Right now I feel like this could easily age for two or three more years. I'll probably pull a bottle in two or three, and then again in five. I also have a bottle of Fort going, which I hope to dig out for a very special occasion.
Random Thought: I've been seeing the 120 on shelves a lot more these days. Given that fact, definitely think about picking up a few bottles. Try this one fresh, and let it age. It's a fun one, and one of DFH's more interesting releases.
Reported IBUs: 120
It's been a little over exactly one year since I reviewed the 2013 batch of 120 Minute IPA. It seems like we are due for an update. About Dogfish Head:
Dogfish Head is a craft brewery based out of Milton, Delaware. The brewery was founded by Sam Calagione back in 1995. 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. You can also check out the brewery's Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, or Google Page.
I'm not going to introduce the 120...if you care that much, check out my original review. I'm not sure if the bottle I'm opening tonight came from West Lakeview Liquors where I bought the bottle I reviewed back in 2013. This may be from a batch brewed slightly later, possibly purchased from Binny's. The bottled on date is smudged, but what is visible is: "Bottled On: 02/??/13." With that said, let's get this beer into a glass and see what's going on.
The appearance is already starting to lighten up a bit, with the beer pouring into a semi-hazy dark orange body. The body has some nice gold tones, with some amber as well. The beer kicks up a finger's worth of amber-tinted head, and the head leaves webs of lacing, followed by glossy alcohol legs. Bright light really reveals the beautiful golden-orange body, but you can see the suspended yeast mucking up the beer in bright light as well. There's nice carbonation and some head retention as well.
As far as the aroma goes, this has already begun the march towards becoming a full blown Barleywine. Gone are the intense plums and candi sugars. Gone is the boozy apricot and tangerine. I'm getting big pine, toffee, pine sap, maple syrup, marzipan, dark sugars, brown sugar, molasses, and underlying hops. There's still some boozy pine, orange, and lemon on the nose...but this beer is closer to a Barleywine at this point in time than it is a boozy Imperial IPA. It's incredible what one year of aging can do to a beer.
The taste has held up better than the aroma. While the front end is loaded with pine, pine sap, maple syrup, marzipan, and huge brown sugars, the mids hit you with boozy apricot and guava, orange and tangerine sweetness, sugary Pine-Sol, and boozy raspberries that are inherent to DFH's high gravity lineup. I'm getting a lot of dense, boozy sweetness, with huge raspberries, candied citrus, fruity plums, and big fruity alcohol. The beer has cakey malt sweetness, and there's still some enamel-crushing hop kick. This tastes like it could easily mellow out for another year or two. The finish also cleans up relatively dry, all things considered.
After a year, this is still full-bodied, dense, and over-the-top. This beer is insanely sweet, and it's boozy. At around 15%-20%, you'd expect that. The beer has a good mouthfeel with lots of carbonation, hop kick, booze, sugar, and a surprisingly dry and slightly bitter finish. The 120 IBUs are hardly noticeable on the huge malty backdrop, but you do pick up some alcohol. Palate depth and duration are outstanding, and complexity is very high as well. While the aroma of this vintage has turned into a Barleywine, the beer still tastes like a mix of an American Barleywine and a super high gravity, overly hoppy IPA. Up front: cakey malts, pine sap, maple syrup, brown sugar, marzipan, big sweetness; the mids roll into huge guava, tangerine, boozy sugars, fusel alcohol, fruity sweetness, Pine-Sol, plums, and boozy raspberries; the back end features trailing raspberries, alcohol, hops, and fade to sticky/dry.
Rating: Divine Brew
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| [Cellar Review] Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (Vintage 2013) |
As far as the aroma goes, this has already begun the march towards becoming a full blown Barleywine. Gone are the intense plums and candi sugars. Gone is the boozy apricot and tangerine. I'm getting big pine, toffee, pine sap, maple syrup, marzipan, dark sugars, brown sugar, molasses, and underlying hops. There's still some boozy pine, orange, and lemon on the nose...but this beer is closer to a Barleywine at this point in time than it is a boozy Imperial IPA. It's incredible what one year of aging can do to a beer.
The taste has held up better than the aroma. While the front end is loaded with pine, pine sap, maple syrup, marzipan, and huge brown sugars, the mids hit you with boozy apricot and guava, orange and tangerine sweetness, sugary Pine-Sol, and boozy raspberries that are inherent to DFH's high gravity lineup. I'm getting a lot of dense, boozy sweetness, with huge raspberries, candied citrus, fruity plums, and big fruity alcohol. The beer has cakey malt sweetness, and there's still some enamel-crushing hop kick. This tastes like it could easily mellow out for another year or two. The finish also cleans up relatively dry, all things considered.
After a year, this is still full-bodied, dense, and over-the-top. This beer is insanely sweet, and it's boozy. At around 15%-20%, you'd expect that. The beer has a good mouthfeel with lots of carbonation, hop kick, booze, sugar, and a surprisingly dry and slightly bitter finish. The 120 IBUs are hardly noticeable on the huge malty backdrop, but you do pick up some alcohol. Palate depth and duration are outstanding, and complexity is very high as well. While the aroma of this vintage has turned into a Barleywine, the beer still tastes like a mix of an American Barleywine and a super high gravity, overly hoppy IPA. Up front: cakey malts, pine sap, maple syrup, brown sugar, marzipan, big sweetness; the mids roll into huge guava, tangerine, boozy sugars, fusel alcohol, fruity sweetness, Pine-Sol, plums, and boozy raspberries; the back end features trailing raspberries, alcohol, hops, and fade to sticky/dry.
Rating: Divine Brew
This is still an epic sipper, probably a Light Divine Brew. There is nothing else quite like this beer...and it really deserves your attention over an hour or so. It's a sipper, and it's also a great Winter Warmer. It's in that realm of Scotch or Port Wine. This is aging wonderfully, and has a long way to go. Right now I feel like this could easily age for two or three more years. I'll probably pull a bottle in two or three, and then again in five. I also have a bottle of Fort going, which I hope to dig out for a very special occasion.
Random Thought: I've been seeing the 120 on shelves a lot more these days. Given that fact, definitely think about picking up a few bottles. Try this one fresh, and let it age. It's a fun one, and one of DFH's more interesting releases.
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