Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - 120 Minute IPA

If you were a fan of the show "Brewmasters," you know a thing or two about Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA. In case you don't know about this beer, here's what you need to know:

First of all, what's with the "minute" thing? As you may already know, Dogfish currently makes and distributes 4 "minute" IPA beers: 60 Minute IPA, 75 Minute IPA (which was recently bottled for the first time and is much harder to find than the 60 Minute variety), 90 Minute IPA and 120 Minute IPA. The "minutes" in the names refer to the amount of time that the beers are continuously hopped for. As the minutes go up, so do the IBUs (International Bittering Units, used to measure the hoppy-ness of beers) and the ABV. So you can kind of think of 60 Minute as the baby of the bunch, 75 Minute as the quirky older cousin (because it's made with a slightly different process, including being barrel aged with maple syrup), 90 Minute as the big brother, and 120 Minute as the granddaddy of them all.

But 120 Minute IPA doesn't stop at just a two hour, continuous hop boil. After the boil and initial hop additions are done, the beer gets dry hopped every day for a month and then sits on whole leaf hops for another month. The end result is an monster of an IPA that clocks in at 18% ABV (18%!!!!) and 120 IBUs. Because bottles aren't distributed to California, the only way for us San Diegans to try it (besides trading for it) is on tap. It doesn't show up often and when it does, it tends to go very, very fast. I finally got the chance to try it this week.

120 Minute IPA pours a dark golden color with a thin cream colored head. Usually beers this high in alcohol don't carry much of a head, but this one seemed to show good signs of carbonation. After trying a few beers this strong (Brewdog's Tokio and Dogfish's World Wide Stout) that almost knocked me out of my seat when I smelled them, the smell of this beer was surprisingly pleasant. I don't know why this surprised me so much, but the first thing I thought when I smelled it was, "It smells like an IPA!" I picked up citrus and pine hop notes along with some cedar and oak and some big caramel and earthy malt notes in the background.

The taste was big and malty upfront with a firm and piny hop backbone. With the alcohol as high as it is, I was really impressed that the hops came through at all, but they definitely did. A bit of prickly carbonation does wonders for the mouthfeel of this one, as it really keeps the beer from feeling too syrupy. Yes, 120 Minute IPA is a big boy, but it's smooth as hell. The alcohol is certainly there, but this isn't the kind of beer that's going to leave you wincing after every sip, like some other beers with ABVs in this range.

Dogfish's founder, Sam Calagione, said in a video about this beer that he didn't want it to drink like a spirit like some other high alcohol beers do. After finally trying it, I can confirm that it definitely drinks like a beer. A really, really tasty one.

Final Grade: A

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 39

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Urkontinent

If you've read this blog before, you know that I'm a really, really big fan of Dogfish Head's beers. Over the past year and a half or so, I've been on a mission to try just about everything they have to offer. I thought I was getting close until I walked into Bottlecraft recently and saw...another new beer from Dogfish Head! I can't keep up with these guys. This one sounded absolutely amazing so I had to give it a try. Here's the story behind it, according to Dogfish Head.

"Urkontinent is a social collaboration of worldwide proportions.

The seed was planted when Dogfish Head asked beer-­‐loving tech types around the globe to suggest ingredients for a new off-­‐centered ale.

A small team from the brewery (and
a few of our beer-­‐loving tech friends) then narrowed the list to five: wattleseed from Australia, toasted amaranth from South America, rooibos tea from Africa, myrica gale from Europe and honey from the United States.

The name Urkontinent, a German word for the theory that all of the continents were once connected, is a shoutout to the worldly recipe and ideas that make up this beer. The careful combination of ingredients gives this Belgian dubbel complex coffee and chocolate-­covered cherry notes."

Sounds a tad like another beer they make, Pangaea, but this is still a really cool idea. And wattle seed? Myrica Gale? Where do they find these ingredients?

 Urkontinent pours a deep brown color with garnet highlights. A thin light brown head caps the beer and stuck around for the entire beer. I wish that I could have had the ingredients they used in this beer next to me, because I got a blast of crazy smells when I first smelled it and I had absolutely no idea what they were. Here were some smells I could pick out: powdery chocolate, roasted malt, toasted brown sugar, hazelnut and a touch of spicy rooibos. This beer smells absolutely amazing.

The taste opens with a good amount of malty sweetness and a touch of nuttiness along with some Belgian yeast. A touch of cayenne in the middle leads to a finish of molasses, chocolate, dark fruit and some rye bread. I don't know how Dogfish did it, but they took another batch of extreme ingredients and made another fantastic beer. I can't wait for the next one!

Final Grade: A-

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 38

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Tweason'ale

By this point, I think I've pretty much talked up Dogfish Head about as much as one beer blogger can humanly talk up one brewery. In case you didn't know: I love Dogfish Head! Their newest beer, Tweason'ale, certainly continues their quest to keep trying new things. It's a gluten-free beer that uses sorghum instead of barley or wheat and is brewed with strawberries and buckwheat honey. I'd been wanting to try a gluten-free beer for a while, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Tweason'ale pours a clear pale golden color with a thin cream colored head that quickly recedes to a ring around the top of the glass. The smell has a touch of the strawberries, but it comes across as a tad artificial- almost like those strawberry hard candies with the wrappers that make them look like real strawberries. I also picked up a touch of musty grain, a bit of sweetness from the honey, a perfume like flowery aroma and a touch of sourness that reminded me of wine.

The taste opens with some tart strawberries and lemons along with a bit of pink grapefruit flesh. The beer was highly carbonated which (when coupled with the light, fruity flavors) made it almost taste more like a cider than a beer. Still, this was an extremely refreshing and pretty tasty beer that didn't seem to be lacking anything due to its gluten-less ingredients.

Final Grade: B+

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 34

Best/Worst Beers of 2011

2011 has been a huge year for me as far as trying new beers is concerned. I was able to tick off 33 of beeradvocate's Top 100 Beers, tried hundreds of great new beers (and some not so great ones), and discovered some fantastic new breweries. So for my look back on 2011, here are the 5 best and worst beers I tried in 2011. So that this entry isn't just a rehashing of the Top 100 Beers list, these beers will all be beers that are not found on the list.


Best Beers of 2011


5. Brasserie Cantillon - Cantillon Rosé De Gambrinus

I'd heard a ton of good things about Cantillon and finally got to try my first one this year. Their raspberry lambic, Rosé De Gambrinus, absolutely lived up to the hype. I can't imagine a fruit beer smelling better than this one. Huge aromas of raspberry and red currant with just the right amount of funk. An absolutely fantastic beer.


4. Avery Brewing Company - Rumpkin

When I heard about this beer, I was convinced that it was going to be a mess. After all, a nearly 16% pumpkin beer aged in rum barrels couldn't taste good, right? As it turns out, I was way wrong. I loved everything about Rumpkin. The rum turned out to be the perfect complement to the sweetness of the pumpkin and pumpkin pie flavors. The high alcohol was evident, but worked beautifully in the beer. This one was a keeper. I'm definitely hoping to get more next year.


3. Great Lakes Brewing Company - Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter

I'm usually not a huge fan of porters. There are a few great ones out there, but I thought that the style wasn't really my thing. That is, until I went to Cincinnati earlier this year and got the chance to try Great Lakes' Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Holy God, what a beer. I usually don't like smoke flavors in beer, but the smokiness in this beer was just fantastic. This remains my favorite porter ever and one I really want to try again soon.


2. Bell's Brewery, Inc. - Bell's Expedition Stout

I was able to get two 2008 bottles of Bell's Expedition Stout this year. Best...idea...ever. Apparently this beer isn't fantastic fresh, but holy crap is it good with three years under it. Smooth, full bodied and full of rich flavors, this beer has everything I could possibly hope for in a stout. I just wish I had more of it.


1. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

I reviewed this beer way at the beginning of the year, but it remains way up there on the list of beers I tried in 2011. Part Russian Imperial Stout, part Ethiopian honey beer, Bitches Brew was one incredible beer. Chocolate, coffee, earth and honey flavors coupled with a velvety-smooth mouthfeel to create a beer that is very tough to top.



Before I move on to the Worst of 2011 List, I want to note that the title may be a little misleading. I'm only including beers that I reviewed on this blog. I try to not buy/review crappy beer. Therefore, you won't find beers like Bud Light, Mickey's or Miller High Life on this list, even though I had them this past year and they were far worse than almost anything on this list. Most of these beers would not make the list if I included every beer I've tasted over the past year. Moving on...


Worst Beers of 2011


5. Steinhaus Brewing Co. - Jumping Cow Amber Ale

I'll admit it, Jumping Cow is far from being the worst beer out there. It's been a staple in the Trader Joes' beer section for longer than I've been with the company. My beef with this beer (no pun intended) is more that it's taking up space that should be taken by much better beer. The flavors are inoffensive, they're just so faint that it's tough to pick anything up. It's the quintessential "meh" beer: Not awful, not good, not...much of anything.


4. Stone Brewing Co. - Stone Belgo Anise Imperial Russian Stout

Ok, so I didn't do a full review on this one, but I mentioned it when I was reviewing it's much tastier cousin and I just have to include it here. I'm all for a brewery coming up with new variations on a good beer, but sometimes they're going to backfire, and this experiment did just that. The anise was literally all I could taste in this beer. It was gross. But not as gross as the next three beers, which would have made the "Worst Beers of 2011" list even if I had included beers like Mickey's and Bud Light.


The Bottom of the Barrel


3. Federal Jack's Brewpub - Kennebunkport Winter Ale

So many good winter ales out there, and I had to decide to try this one. Kennebunkport Winter Ale looked harmless enough after I poured it, but it got really, really ugly from there. I've never thrown together descriptions like "buttered popcorn," "metal" and "cardboard" when talking about one beer. The best part of this beer was when it was over. But it still wasn't as bad as the next two beers.



2. Pizza Beer Company - Mamma Mia! Pizza Beer

I tried this with my friend Beau a few months back and we both had similar reactions to it. Pizza Beer is, without a doubt, one of the worst beers in existence. It smells and tastes like week old pizza (and pizza box) that's been fermenting in Bud Light. I can't imagine finishing a bottle of this unless it was part of a dare with the prospect of a very, very big reward.


1. Federal Jack's Brewpub - Kennebunkport IPA

This may be a touch predictable based on how much I badmouth this beer, but it remains the worst beer I've had this year. Not only does Kennebunkport IPA not taste like an IPA, it tastes like a mixture of goat piss and rusty nails. I don't really know what else to say about it that I didn't already say in my review. Somehow I doubt that this is truly the worst beer out there, so I'm making it a goal in 2012 to find a beer that is worse than this.

Have a safe and happy New Years and get ready for some big reviews to open up 2012.

Cheers!

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 33

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - World Wide Stout

Beer review time! As you probably know if you've been reading this blog for a while (I'm talking to you, Grandma!), I'm a big fan of Delaware's Dogfish Head Brewery. They have a reputation for being one of the more innovative breweries in the business and always seem to be looking to push the boundaries of beermaking. One area they seem to exceed in is making beers that are high in alcohol. To my knowledge, they make 4 beers that are 15% ABV or higher: Fort, 120 Minute IPA, Olde School Barleywine and World Wide Stout. These beers aren't easy to find around here but I was able to get a 2009 bottle of World Wide Stout a few months ago and decided to open it for a tasting this past weekend.

Clocking in at 18% ABV, World Wide Stout is the strongest beer I've ever tried. It pours a motor oil black color and doesn't produce much of a head, so you're left with what looks like a glass of tar. Just the way I like it!

I thought that after two years of aging, this beer would have mellowed out a lot, but the smell suggested otherwise. I got some big notes of jerky, soy sauce, wet earth, dark chocolate covered raisins, prunes and black licorice. Something about the smell told me that I'm glad I decided to share the bottle instead of taking it down alone.

The taste was really sweet and really syrupy. I read a few reviews that compared it to drinking cough syrup and I can't say I'd disagree. The taste started with a harsh note that tasted a bit like soy sauce and then moved on to a flavor I can only compare to the darkest rye bread ever baked. Lots of molasses, prune and raisin skins came in on the finish along with a good deal of warmness. What a beast!

Overall, I'd be lying if I said I "liked" this beer, but I'm definitely glad I got to try it. Another crazy beer from Dogfish Head.

Final Grade: B

Top 100 Beers Tasted: 34

P.S. If you are able to find this beer, do not underestimate it. It's an absolute beast. A big thanks to my friends Ryan, Luke, Grace, Renee and Jen for helping me put this bad boy down.