Dogfish Head, from Milton, Delaware, is a strange brewery (if you couldn’t tell by the name). They make some of the strongest and strangest of American craft brewing. They make forties of “Liquor de Malt” and have a beer called “Golden Shower”. They put strange ingredients in beer and make historic replica brews. They also have perhaps the most acclaimed series of India pale ales in the United States (East of the Rockies, at least), their 60- 90- and 120-Minute IPAs, so named because they are “continuously hopped” each minute for 60, 90, or 120 minutes.
The story goes that when Dogfish Head started making these so-called continuously hopped beers they rigged up a machine that would shake a coffee can with a hole in the bottom just enough to empty the can after an hour. Nowadays I imagine their system is fancier.
The 90-Minute Imperial IPA is a barely hazy amber with a thick straw head. The nose is strong but delicate. Initially sweet with toasty pale malt, it grows into a serious flowery aroma. Daffodil and lavender are followed by a light peach character.
The peach and toasty sweetness continue on to the first taste. A smooth bitterness tries its hardest to take over but the malt obstinately balances it out. Floral and herbal hop flavor dominate as it moves to the back of the tongue and into the aftertaste. The bitterness lingers a little longer, but a hint of mouth coating holds it just at bay.
A playful and delicate beer, remarkable for one at 9 percent alcohol.
Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA
4.1 (4-8-8-4-17)
Pours an opalescent rust with a luscious, creamy, long-lasting, wheat-colored head. It leaves a thick lacing on the glass and heavy rings. You can smell this beer from a mile away, with it’s thick aroma: a sharp spicy hops fade into citric and pear fruity hops. Thick and sweet, with a note of alcohol coming through. I could sit here and smell this all day.
Dogfish Head Burton Baton