Dogfish Head - 90 minute IPA
The first one from the USA. One of the many things that I want to do whilst I am in the US is to discover the real beers that are here; there are plenty of really terrible beers, but even after just being here for a few weeks I am finding there is a huge market for craft beers, for micro and macro breweries and a whole range of beers that make you ask the question why do people even bother with lite beers – in fact I posed this question to a barmaid who replied that she believed too many Americans can’t get on with just enjoying themselves, drinking lite beers (those with lower calories) makes them look ‘cool’ and they get this feeling they are enjoying themselves without having lots of calories; the basic problem is they don’t know good beers and just end up drinking piss-water. Whatever. Today’s beer is from Dogfish Head Brewery, Delaware.
The Beer: 9% ABV, 90 Minute Imperial IPA; Darker shade of brown, clear traces of gas rising; Very nutty, malted brown bread aroma; strong blast of deep, bitterness fills the mouth (almost overpowering), has that deep roasted nuttiness (not sure which type of nut) in the flavour; Rich bitterness in the aftertaste and the back of the throat starts peeling off.
It is certainly strong; you know you are drinking something that has the potential to strip away rust from cars, in that it announces its presence with a jolt, (in a good way). For the first ‘official’ tasting in the USA this is a good start; drinking something as full bodied as this makes me wonder why people even bother with tasteless piss-water, maybe they are simply victims of powerful advertising. I am going to have to get more IPA since I am not fully familiar with this type or even what would be considered a good bench mark; this is more like a Doppelbock, at least in the sense that I am more familiar with Doppelbock type than I am with IPA. The 90-minute part comes from the brewing process; they state that the brewing process includes a single, constant 90 hop addition – which I would understand to be the fact that they introduce the hops over a 90-minute period rather than add it all in one go (unless anyone can enlighten me further). Worth trying if you find it.
Website: Dogfish Head
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