In the previous post I reviewed Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA, so today it is time for their 90 Minute IPA. The bottle I have isn’t super fresh, but it was bottled in the end of March 2014, so hopefully it will still be in good shape.
- Brewery: Dogfish Head Brewery
- Country: USA
- Style: Imperial IPA
- ABV: 9 %
- Size: 355 ml
- Bought from: Online
- Beer Advocate
- RateBeer
I wasn’t extremely impressed by the 60 minute IPA, so am not getting my expectations up too much, since the 60 minute IPA should be a ‘dumbed down’ version of the 90 minute, which was first released two years earlier in 2001. As the 60 minute IPA, this beer has also been hopped continuously (i.e. small additions of hops are added throughout the boil, instead of e.g. an addition at the beginning and end of the boil) throughout the 90 minute boil. The beer is 9.0% ABV and has a IBU level of 90. Again, I don’t have much ‘official’ information on the ingredients in the beer, but from what I’ve gathered from around the internet (homebrew forums), the malt bill consists of English pale ale and TF amber malt, the beer is hopped with a mixture of Warrior, Amarillo and Simcoe, and it is fermented with a Ringwood-related yeast strain. So, will the 90 minute IPA live up to the hype?
[easyreview title=”Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer pours crystal clear, and with a glowing golden-orange color. A huge fluffy white head is formed, despite the quite careful pour. The foam head collapses slowly, and leaves large patches of lacing along the glass. A really nice appearance (very similar to the 60 minute IPA)!” cat1rating=”4.5″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The aroma is a balance between crisp hop tones, with citrus, resin and floral hints, together with a caramelly and bready maltiness. Not much alcohol is detectable. The aroma could be slightly stronger, and I would personally prefer slightly more hoppiness, especially in an Imperial IPA.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The taste begins with a sweet maltiness, lending hints of caramel, honey and biscuits. The maltiness is not as toasty as the 60 minute IPA, despite this one also containing the relatively toasty flavoured Amber malt. The hop flavours are surprisingly muted, with only the slightest hints of tropical fruits (primarily pineapple), resin and citrus (grapefruit). The finish is also sweet and only mildly bitter. Am I really drinking an Imperial IPA? This tastes more like a(n Imperial) Red Ale. I like malty IPAs, but this was way too sweet and malt-dominated even for me.” cat3rating=”3″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The beer has a moderately full body and moderate carbonation level. The sweetness really pulls down on the drinkability, and this wouldn’t be my first choice for a thirst-quencher a warm day like this. The flavours stay in the mouth for a long while though.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”Again I was quite disappointed, as this was way too sweet and had way too little hop flavours and bitterness for my taste. I feel the beer would be more balanced if the bitterness level was cranked up slightly more. Maybe even 4 months is too long for a beer like this? Perhaps I would prefer Dogfish Head’s darker beers more?”]