Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA
Should I preface this post that Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute Imperial IPA is my favourite beer ever? Does it bias the rest of the “review”?
Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA is easily one of my favourite beers ever. And unfortunately I have to wait for trips to the good ol’ US of A to drink it.
It pours with a beautiful hazy orange with a nice little consistent head, about an inch thick. It has a fruity citrus, almost orange, aroma. When it hits the tongue, the first thing you will notice is how rich this beer is. The texture is smooth and thick. With a sweet malty citrus and herb middle. The end is not too bitter either. It goes down smoothly with a beautifully subdued hoppy aftertaste. It might have to do with the way this craft beer is brewed. The 90 Minute IPA is continually-hopped to provide a “pungent, but not crushing hop flavour”. Which means the wort is boiled for 90 minutes while the hops are continuously added over that time.
Surprisingly, for a 9% alcohol by volume beer, the alcohol is masked quite well. I’ve had a few beers in that range that just tasted like rubbing alcohol. This is not one of them. The 90 Minute is a sneaky beer that goes down easily but packs a punch. Although I would never waste a bottle by downing it. This beer needs to be poured in a snifter and enjoyed slowly alone or with a nice slab of meat.
If I were to rate the beer on a scale of dogfish heads, I would give it a 5 out of 5. It tastes great from start to finish. Compared to the 60 Minute IPA (which I find much more bitter) this is the Dogfish Head beer to drink.
