90 Minute IPA (second time around)

90 Minute IPAYes, this is the second time I’ve reviewed this beer (first review); since Dogfish was (awesome) kind enough to send me a bottle of this in response to my inquiries into pumpkin beers (for my Pumpkin Beer Week)—since they were out of Punkin Ale—the least I could do was write up another review.

Plus, it’s interesting to compare notes on the same beer at different times.

Recap: 90 Minute IPA is an “extreme beer”: an Imperial IPA at 9% alcohol that is hopped continuously during it’s 90-minute boil. That is, hops are added continuously at short intervals for 90 minutes… which leads to an enormous hop bill with a complex interplay of flavors.

Appearance: Beautiful clear honey-orange color with fluffy, solid tan-white head.

Smell: Sweet and hoppy—woody, floral hops, earthy. Sweetness is syrupy sweet, very pleasant toasted biscuit. Reminds me of a barleywine.

Taste: Concentrated hop syrup is the impression—sweet and thick in malts and sugars and infused with smooth, floral and twiggy hops. A bit spicy there, like a Noble hop. Hops are strong, but so smooth and blended you don’t notice. And it’s very sweet, very pleasant—you don’t notice the 9% alcohol strength at all.

Mouthfeel: Pleasantly full-bodied yet very, very smooth and a bit warming. Like a syrup.

Overall: I used “pleasant” three times. It’s an impressive beer.

On BeerAdvocate, it earns a letter grade of A- (excellent). On RateBeer, it scores 4.06/5, and is in their 99th percentile.