Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA has been heralded by Esquire magazine as “perhaps the best I.P.A. in
America.” Without a doubt, it could very well be. While other IPAs are great all-around drinkable–Redhook Longhammer, Lagunitas, and Sierra Nevada come to mind–this is entirely different as it is indeed an Imperial IPA. Genius Sam Calagione devised a method of continuous hop addition, which produces a unique flavor experience. While many hopped beers have the bitter flavor and aroma in a rather bifurcated palate, this instead uses its continuous hop addition method for a full 90 minute boil to produce an incredibly smooth-yet-extremely hoppy flavor. Indeed, this is a big beer at 9% and 90 IBUs (see a trend yet with the number 9?). Yeah, everything about this makes it a slow-drinking, incredibly enjoyable IPA. It’s pricey at about $10 per four-pack, but consider it value with its strength: you can rarely drink but one without completely destroying your taste buds for an evening. The warming 9% produces a mild euphoria as your pancreas tries to figure out how in heck to handle all that sugar.

It could very well be that I decide to replace my Sunday scotch tasting with this beer, as it has yet to produce a hangover. Simply put, it is to me the best Imperial IPA in our great country (although garden-variety American IPAs, it really depends on what’s available, right?)

 Beer drinkers (let’s not euphemize it…we drink lots of tasty, tasty beer): I am proud to report that the once-thought-terrible IPA I made actually turned out pretty good. It’s clear, malty, bitter, and has an exceptionally thick, creamy head on it. Hallelujah.

Here’s the full scoop. Something indeed happens when IPAs bottle-condition; they must need at least four weeks fermentation as it was almost undrinkable two weeks ago (see previous post after two weeks of fermentation). I dutifully followed the instructions given by my friends in brewing and waited (OK, OK, I admit to trying a couple along the way in hopes of improvement and noticed that it was getting better). In other words, brewing IPA is an incredible test of patience, so after you brew one batch and conclude it’s good, start batch 2 soon in case you run out of batch 1. Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: No longer stricken with an iodine-like smell, the flavor has mellowed out and gained a hint of sharpness as you sip it. My only regret as I have noted before is that I should have left the Simcoe hops in there for the entire fermentation to result in a beautiful, pine-like aroma.

Mouthfeel and Texture: It’s malty and bitter. Much like traditional American IPAs found in Seattle and the surrounding area (thanks to some Cascade hops). She’s nowhere near the original hop calculation. I think that either the calculator was malfunctioning, or the AAU’s were off in the most crucial hops. This is actually a good think as 111 IBU’s is almost too much for most people. Another calculation determines it to be about 73 IBUs. And, of course, your-mileage-may-vary.

Finish: After weeks of pungent dryness, I have found out that there is indeed alcohol in the beer. You can taste the noticeable 6.7 % ABV at the finish.

Overall: It has shaped up to be a great IPA which I would be happy to show off to any brave man who isn’t afraid of a few IBU’s.

I am more than pleased to take this with me to Easter dinner for my dad, who participated in an annual act of Lenten observance by giving up alcohol for 40 days! That takes cojones.  Not like IPA goes well with leg of lamb, but who cares?

Happy Easter, Passover, and Equinox.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 The General has come out of retirement to brew…an IPA. I went to my parents’ house to grab my old brewing equipment, then headed to myLocalHomeBrewShop for supplies. The guys there were bend-over-backwards great in making sure I had everything I needed (and nothing I didn’t need, which surprised me). If in the NoVA area, I highly recommend a visit there…or across the street to the Dogfish Head restaurant. Or both.

The recipe I had called only for Columbus hops. The guys at the shop admonished me on its potency (what little I knew until I smelled them!). Instead of the 2 oz. Columbus, I went with 1 oz. and added in Centennial, Mt. Hood, and….Simcoe! I couldn’t resist. Maybe it was because I had a quick Dogfish head while waiting for a pizza last night, I dunno but Simcoe called out to me. Oh, and hops were not hard to get at all; they were just a little pricey. This whole batch ran about $40 in ingredients ($12 in hops, about $28 in liquid malt extract/grain).

With this being the first time I brewed beer with a side-burner on a gas grill, my brewing status went right back to virgin again. The 15,000 BTU burner worked well, but waiting for the water to boil with such a large kettle, in 40-degree weather, was about as desirable as having getting shot in the taint with a paintball gun. And I should know. Where was I going with this? Oh, right, the beer. The boil went great, and my devoted wife held a sanitized steel colander over the Ale Pail while I poured. The schmeggy stuff at the bottom (from 2 lbs of grain and 4 oz. of mighty hops) beared the resemblance of baby-poo after junior tries his first plate of refried beans. By the look on my spouse’s face (which the steamy odors wafted directly into), I was convinced that my once-clean kitchen had instantaneously become a Superfund site.

OG was 1.061, which means ABV could be about 7% so long as the yeast attenuation kicks in. I will let you all know what happens when I move to the secondary in a few days. Candidly, I can tell you that my ABV has yielded higher than estimated (my 2006 IPA was 7.2%; my 2007 Altbier was 7.4%!). That’s what hops are for. Stay warm, peeps. Only a few more weeks of winter left.

I know what you’re thinking…

This guy’s still alive? Yes folks, I am in fact alive, and occasionally kicking to boot. As I sit here, watching Hitler’s Greatest Blunders, I felt compelled to give you an update. Specifically, one of my favorite beers out there, Red Hook’s IPA, Long Hammer. To begin with, the name and the labeling are pretty awesome. Next, it’s a damn fine IPA. More after the bump.

Long Hammer is brought to you by one of those many fine Northwestern breweries, Red Hook. It is based in Woodinville, Washington, and boasts a fine array of beers. They’ve brewed Long Hammer since 1984, and packs a more-than-respectable 6.5% ABV. It boasts a lovely, if not incredibly strong (by IPA-standards; only 38.5 IBU) bitterness (enhanced though by the fact that they dry-hop their beer with quality local Willamette and Cascade hops) but retains a smooth finish. While it may not compare with standouts from Stone and Lagunitas (two of my personal favorites) it, as the case suggests, “is built to stand the test of time.” I’ve been coming back to Long Hammer, after many diversions to other brands and genres, for several years now. It has a great price-to-quality ratio. Highly recommended.

Good morning, beer readers. The damndest thing happened over the weekend. I had a slight cold—just stuffed up… no cough, no real headaches—but my sense of taste and smell vanished. VANISHED I TELL YOU!!! Now, normally I’m a sensible sort of person. I would never fly off the handle over not even being able to taste a spoonful of paprika and oregano. But when I ate just that (yes, really, exactly that) as a test, I couldn’t taste a thing… and we had just bought a mixed case of Widmer Brothers beers. See that’s why I was all hot n bothered. 4 types of beer… 6 each… can’t even taste oreganprika.

Anyway, the next day my taste was back so Mrs. Beer and I cracked open some braus and went a-tastin’. Today, we’ll discuss the Broken Halo IPA… (it’s the one on the left. That’s why there’s the big red arrow. We’ll get to the one on the right, and a couple other Widmer’s, soon enough, beervolk.)

I’ll be honest… Widmer’s flagship beer? Their Heffeweizen? For some reason I remembered not much liking it and I was biased… holding a grudge… not sure why. I had one last night and it was pretty damn good. But that’s for another day. Just clearing the airwaves. Their IPA? Good IPA. Lovely light amber, honeyish color, as you can see above. The head was small bubbles that diminished rather after a few minutes and sips. The aroma? A bouquet of hoppiness, I sez! They use 3 types of hops in their brew and it is indeed a hop fiesta.

This beer isn’t anything crazy, like, say, Stone’s Ruination IPA, which I had over the weekend and which rendered me a blubbering, sweaty pile of Captain lying in a corner. Rather it’s a very solid example of an IPA with some chops of its own. There’s a more pronounced citrus flavor to this beer than many India Pale Ales boast. A nice maltiness balances out the hops in the taste, though hops remain the dominant flavor in the sip and the finish. A good beer, and a good portent of what’s to come from my fridge from this brewery.