Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA - Is Smooth a Bad Thing?

Unless you're drinking hard liquor - which by virtue of its alcohol content shouldn't be as smooth I don't see how that is necessarily a bad thing.

I've pretty much had the opposite experience with the bad stuff, it wasn't smooth at all - it had an obnoxious alcoholic flavor, beer often has having an obnoxious (amount of) carbonation. I've also found myself liking the stronger beers that don't always "remind you" they're strong while drinking them more than those that do.

But hey, that might as well be a matter of preference so what do I know.

 

90 Minute is a well-known malt bomb of a DIPA.
I wouldn't call the hops "muted," unless you're drinking an old one, in which case, yes, it would basically become a very smooth barleywine.

When fresh, 90 Minute is still an excellent beer.

 

News Flash: Malt is permitted to be part of a beer's flavor profile.

90 minute is just a uniquely-styled DIPA. I haven't had one for awhile, but I've always enjoyed it.

 

I don't think smoothness is a bad thing - just something a bit different. I actually had this beer for the first time last night, and whilst it didn't have the average American IPAs big, sharp hop notes, I think it show-cased the hops in a different way - the flavours were much more evident than in the big IPAs whilst still being quite strong in flavour. Just my 2 cents.

 

It definitely is a fantastic hybrid of English and American IPAs, especially when fresh (or under two months old). Pretty good when not so fresh as well.

Smoothness is definitely not a bad thing; I glad that beer can have all sorts of shapes sizes and textures. The trick is matching the right one to your mood or craving at the time.

 

I'd go even smoother: Burton Baton.

 

And then, some aged Burton (around 6 months or so). Smooth and subtle, yet wonderful.

 

I go half DFH 90 with half DFH 60. Very smooth, bold, and unique.

 

It's the huge malt background that makes it so smooth

 

The only issue I see is that a beer that strong is a bit too easy to drink.

Four years ago I was drinking pints of it at a bar (amongst other beers), got obliterated and wound up puking my brains out. Although at the time I was suffering from vertigo so the symptoms were probably worsened by alcohol.

Also, recently a friend of mine told me he was pounding pints of it at that same bar and woke up in a neighbor's backyard.

 

As others have pointed out you may be talking about an aged bottle. Check the date printed on the bottle. They give it a year out from bottling but that’s because the beer is still drinkable that long even though the hop bitterness has mostly faded.

On the other hand it sounds like you may be dealing with a case of Lapulin Threshold Shift. That’s where drinking lots of strongly bitter beers over time basically causes your taste bud to lose their ability to detect certain hop flavors and lower levels of bitterness, making any beer without a high level of bitterness taste bland or as having muted flavors.

 

Generally don't like IPA's...but really love 90 Minute & Sucks. Guess I'm a malt freak!

 

I like 90 minute a lot. It is ,however, not a beer I can pound after a mountain bike ride. 90 minute is a great little sipper. I am so glad brewers make all kinds of ipa's and beers in general. I want different ones at different times.

 

90 minute is one of 2 beers that got 5 rating from me. Not saying I'm something special but I think it's pretty damn hard to rate a beer a 5.

On another note everyone has different preferences. 90 minute though is one that seems to be enjoyed by all.

 

So unique that they actually bottle it and draft it.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/64/15758/

Albeit with a little bit of maple syrup mixed in, still it's a fabulous beer, one of my DFH favorites.

 

But not at 15 bucks for 4

 

Nothing wrong with smooth in a DIPA or IPA. It's the brewery's interpretation of the style and they can do what they want. We get to choose what we want to drink.

It's nice that we can have different interpretations of DIPA to choose from on any given day. 90 minute is an awesome DIPA too. If you want a hop bomb then just choose one of the many out there which are made more to that end of the spectrum.

 

Draft 90 and bottle 90 are two different beers to me. I LOVE it on draft, much hoppier and also has the unfiltered hazy look.
Bottles on the other hand, are sweeter (more malt) and appear to the eye to have been filtered. Not bad, but I never pass up 90 minute on draft...

 

Sly Stone had it right: Different strokes for different folks. And I have it right: If you don't enjoy it, don't buy it again.

 

Yea, I am not sure why, but everywhere I have had 90 minute on tap, it is always served in a pint glass, when other beers with similar (or even lower) abv, are served in a 12 oz glass. At 9% abv, it should probably be served in a smaller glass (since 16 oz. of a 9% beer is the equivalent of 12% abv 12 oz pour).

 

^ This.

I love 90, but man Burton is such a perfect go-to drink, and in my opinion, highly underrated.

 

I have only recently come around to enjoying IPAs and DFH 90-minute was one of the primary beers that I credit with changing my mind. I enjoy it enough that I put a 1/6 barrel of it in my keggerator.

The higher alcohol maltier DIPAs tend to be my preference, but they have been a gateway into the hoppier and lighter IPAs for me as well.

 

Depends on how you like your IPAs. The 90 minute is one of the few IPAs I can drink, but I'm a dark beer fan.

 

If its overly sweet, its wrong.

 

I love 90-minute, I always tell people that I consider it a very well balanced DIPA, in case they're a little off-put my big, huge, hoppy IPAs and DIPAs

 

Highly underrated and highly priced. I love it too, but damn it's expensive.

 

Ok fine if it's not to your liking, but when you're comparing 90 Minute IPA to Miller Lite, you need to reasses....... something.

 

I've never heard anyone complain before that a beer is too smooth. I love the balance that 90 minute has and it's one of my favs. However, at 9% abv I never have more than one of them at a sitting. Additional beers will be limited to 6%, I don't like the aftereffects of over enjoying the enjoying.

 

Down with smooth beers!!!!

 

^^Yep

 

The first IPA I could ever tolerate was 90 minute IPA. Loved the first one I ever had. It was in a big bottle, and I never had one that good in a 12oz. bottle, but I'll still drink one every once in a while. I do wish they would bring Squall IPA back.

 

Such a great beer! One of my favorites from DFH

 

The DFH 90 minute is fantastic... It was the first IPA I loved, and it's on tap (most of the time) at the Treehouse Cafe on Bainbridge Island, which also houses the island's best pizza.

 

DFH 90 is a classic brew that helped kick off the IIPA craze...there has definitely been a shift toward hoppier beers in this style. Certainly closer to an English style , hops add aroma more than bitterness. Malts make it sneaky smooth as others have mentioned.

 

I went to a bar that served Piraat (10.5) in pints. Of course this wasn't a craft beer bar, it just had some good beer options. And hell yes I had meself pints of that stuff.

 

LOL

 

Yep it is overrated but smooth might not be a bad thing.

 

Good (big) beer can hide its booze, and the burn of it deceptively well. I'm leary of beers that hide their booze and go down like water cos I find them terribly easy to drink and make bad decisions with. Oh, you had three and then decided to post about how smooth it was. You know already.