120 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Bottled in 2017, for an 8 year old IPA it’s really good. The stories are true, it did taste like a barley wine.
I will likely find a fresh version to finish the review, just put this here in case it helps anyone thinking about aging one or more.

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a brown color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mostly of pine. Taste is alcohol, pine, some dankness, a light touch of fruits. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall it's alright, but I was expecting more.

Pours a very dark hazy amber with a white head on top. Strong smell of piny hops and alcohol. Has a sweet licorice taste at first followed by a hoppy finish.

 

Found an old bottle from 2018 at a store. Had this once fresh, revisiting an aged bottle. Almost no head with bubbles that recede fast. Piney resin on the nose. Initial taste brings sweet, caramelized brown sugar. The age seemed to lower the fresh hop flavor but it still has a decent, lingering bitterness at the end. Has a bit of a syrupy feel but it is on the lighter side and does not coat the throat on the way down. A really nice sipper with flavors that balance each other well.

I have a bottle of this from @roguer in the cellar that I need to crack open for a much-needed revisitation!

In the meantime, here's my archived rating:

Enjoyed on tap at Belmont Station in Portland, OR
Poured into a small snifter

o- bold, sweet, smooth hoppy goodness; medium-bodied and fairly syrupy, but not in a bad way; well-balanced for the style and abv; alcohol is well-hidden

Consumption date: 11.12.09

(2026 variant) #TIPAThursday? QuadrupleThursday? At 15.5% I think it's QuintupelThursday! 1st time I can remember DH actually printing the alcohol % on the label instead of just saying, "It's between 15-21%, we don't know?" All that sed, see previous reviews of various vintages. I mean, Mmmm, fresh 120 Minute! No discernable bottle date, great palate heft; nice mouthcoating resiny/bitter/caramelly/hoppy/malty flavor & such a smooth fooler of a 15.5%er that sneaks up on you as it warms up & you along with it! Excelsior!

Mellow mid-amber pour from downtown Philly Barcade. You can definitely taste the dark fruits in this ‘25 brew. Listed as 15.5% ABV but it could pass for 13.8%. One of the very few tap offerings I can’t say no to when I pass by. Still an irresistible, massively tasty big boy brew. Thank you DFH/Sam C. for an absolute grail of a classic.

 

This beer pours a dark amber/brown color with a minimal head. The aroma is roasted malt, sweetness and alcohol with a hint of hops. Strong tasty beer, a style I really like. No ABV listed but tastes strong like 14% +. Smooth taste and easy sippin'. 8-year-old bottle or older.

 

Awesome brew! Slightly sweet, but wonderfully so. Heavy malt nicely balances the exceptional hops. I'm bummed that I'm now living in Georgia, where you can't get a beer over 14%.

 

RB transfer

 

On draught, a golden copper color, just off clarity, with a substantial head and light lacing.
Sweet and malty as expected for an imperial brew, not cloying, bit a little syrupy. The malt is nicely caramelized, with notes of toffee, vanilla, muddled fruit.
The 18% ABV is well masked, but the boozyness asserts itself with every sip, one way or another. ;^]

Pours a cloudy, dark, reddish amber coloration with a small, fizzy head. Smells intensely of caramel malt and stone fruit, tropical, slightly resinous hops, with notes of apricot, papaya and hints of pine and wild honey. Taste is an excellent balance of intense, sweet caramel malt, some berries and fruity, herbal and resinous hops, with stone fruit, tropical and lighter citrus notes of apricot, papaya, pineapple and orange marmalade, as well as strong pine and wildflower honey notes. Finishes with a strong sweetness and bitterness, as well as some caramel malt, apricot, orange marmalade, pine and honey lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a very rich body and light carbonation.

This makes for a truly unique and fascinating drinking experience that I enjoyed immensely even though I'm not usually a big fan of very sweet beers. That caramel, honey sweetness is balanced incredibly well with a good, resinous bitterness here though, while the malts and hops harmonize very nicely as well. I would love to try this with a few years on it, but am glad that I'm having it reasonably fresh the first time around, because I really enjoy that interplay of sweet and bitter, fruity and resinous notes here. There's a very full and rich body and moutheel to this as well, with a certain strength to it that never feels overly boozy though, making this a true sipper of an IPA that I can totally see turning into a Barleywine over time.

 

Well, nothing to add to my rating, besides: a conglomerate of hoppy, malty and fruity goodness in a bottle. Adequate carbonation, well hidden 15.5% in my case (no, it was a 4-pack for 34 bucks). Well invested!!!

Looks a cloudy dark orange with little head in my tulip glass. Smells of slightly out-of-date dates and maybe a bit of alcohol (this bottle says 16% ABV). Has a mouthfeel like fruit juice with moderate carbonation. Flavor starts with a shudder-inducing bitterness, then a date-like sweetness beneath a firm booziness. All the flavors blend together and finish smoothly, so outside the bitterness I can't tell where the malt, yeast and hop begin and end. I might describe this beer as "difficult" in the same sense as a "difficult" novel or movie. Confusing, but fascinating enough to keep sipping.

90 Minute tastes like Coors in comparison.