Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

I recently found myself in a position to buy the 120 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head.  I kind of wished I had picked up more than one bottle, because I would like to do a taste test among the 60, 90, and 120, and the 120 is above the NC legal limit for beer, 15%.  However, for now, a straight taste of the 120 is more than enough to make me happy. 

A little background on the beer: Originally 20% ABV, they scaled it back to 18% for balance, so imagine something stronger than just about any wine on the market, and in a 12 ounce bottle, to boot.  Though a lot, I appreciate that it comes only in 12 ounces instead of 16.9 or higher like many high gravity beer.

The beer itself is amber and actually translucent – not in a wheat/cloudy way, but in a really interesting, what have I gotten myself into way.  As it came from a bottle, I poured it into a glass and with a decent side glass pour, still managed to get over 1/2 inch of head.  Shockingly, hops is the primary flavor.  It has some citrus tones indicating US hops, though not overwhelming.  It also has a little malt in the nose, which might mean that they upped the malt to balance the hops.  We’ll see . . .

On the palate, it is like the 90 minute but beyond.  It has the strong citrus notes indicative of the hops, but also a borderline sweetness.  To me, this is what I am identifying as additional malts.  I am listening to an explanation of the beer in which they recommend to split the 12 ounce between two people, so I am a little in trouble.  They are recommending red wine temps (52-56 degrees, depending on your taste).  They did explain my sweetness taste – apparently the stronger the beer, the more unfermentable sugars.  Very interesting.   Without spoiling the entire video, I recommend you check out the website www.dogfish.com to listen to more details.  It is a pretty interesting discussion.

Obviously, I am a hophead, I am Dogfish Head obsessed, and I really cannot insult a Dogfish Head IPA unless they really messed it up one year.  Initially, the beer gets a 10 for flavor, uniqueness, balance, creativity, etc.  Frankly, it is a little overly sweet for me, but I would be interested in trying it blended with maybe the 60 minute.  I would like a little more bitter with it, and I think the 60 would add that bitterness more than the 90.  Still, fabulous beer making is fabulous beer making.  However, since I am drinking the entire 12 ounces, the sweetness begins to overwhelm.  The perfume aspects are less than that of the 90 minute.  I think the perfume I tend to taste in the 90 minute is a mix of the citrus with the semi-sweetness. With additional sweetness, the perfume aspect disappears.  I think I would give it 10 out of 10 for the sheer brilliance, but 8 out of 10 in terms of what I would actually prefer to drink.  I guess that means a 9.

Frustratingly, NC does not allow beer over 15%.  Thus, I should have taken advantage of my run across the border and picked up more than one bottle.  So, I invite those of you who know me to pick me up a 120 next time you cross a border.  I will pick up the others and share the taste test.  Otherwise, next time I hit DC or another area with a Dogfish Head restaurant, I will go in for a tasting (assuming I have transportation out – I have a feeling that I will need a wheel chair).

I will continue to provide thoughts until I can no longer communicate (and probably a little after that) so feel free to enjoy the rest of this blog:

• Surprisingly, I do not get the “alcohol” taste I often get with beers with lower ABVs brewed in bourbon or other whiskey barrels.  Still, I just took a typical beer swig and did a mini-version of the face you make when taking a shot.
• The sweetness profile really concentrates on the back of the tongue, which seems opposite because that is where the bitter should be (and why a lot of beer taste is concentrated back there).  I let the beer float around my taste buds a little more, and I did detect more bitter on the back of the tongue.  Still, the aftertaste is mostly sweet with a jammy quality (see next point).
• As I drink more, the Dogfish Head tasting note of “marmalade” really starts to be apparent.  It is coating the tongue, and combined with the citrus, does create the impression of orange marmalade.
• I am starting to crave popcorn.
• The perfumy-ness that the 90 minute has is not as strong.
• Done with it.  A little fuzzy when I stand up, but otherwise, doing ok.  As long as it is the only beer one has in an evening, I think it is an acceptable risk.  Still, I do not recommend driving or additional drinking.  Remember, by drinking 12 ounces of an 18% ABV product, and a beer which we tend to drink faster than other high alcohol products, this drink poses a risk.  For a woman like me, one of these beers is about the equivalent of 2-3 strong glasses of wine and should not be enjoyed in less than a two-hour period if future driving is involved.

So, enjoy the beer, it is definitely worth it.  Look forward to a future taste comparison (could be in the next month, could be in 6 months given that the beer is not regularly released).  But don’t drink it and expect to drive within an hour.  See graphic representation of quality below:

Beer 132 and 133

As stated in my Rules, I cannot be responsible for beers that are my third.  In this blog, I list my notes about two beer threes.  I think I will taste these again when I am trying to get my second plate.

Kona Longboard Lager – Traditional lager, somewhat light, wheat but not wheat, becomes sweeter, wheat increases.  Thin, not very long on the finish.  Very light in flavor.  Very thin. 

 Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA -  I feel like I have had this beer before.  In a bottle, so color is difficult to tell.  Amber.

Beer 131 ?

Ommegang Hennepin - In the interest of trying new styles, I did go to the Belgians today.  With the help of the always friendly and knowledgeable staff, I ordered the Ommegang Hennepin as a safer Belgian.  It definitely had characteristic Belgian attributes – cloudy in color, close to honey.  Served in the traditional snifter-style glass.  The sweet minty traditional flavor was very apparent on the nose.

Overall, the flavor was not offputting.  While not the taste I prefer, it is good.  It is very difficult to rate and discuss with my lack of experience in this type of beer, but oh well.  I will try it anyway.  As I said, I often get a minty, almost toothpaste taste with some beers.  This is not that offensive.  There is definitely fresh flavor – it strikes me as minty in that it is a little sharp, a little sweet.  There is some pineapple in it, maybe some citrus.  I would put it as a basic Belgian.  It probably does not knock the socks off someone who is a Belgian drinker, but it is probably a good basic.  The flavor is a little light, and the worst characteristics are the ones that tend to stay on the palate in the after taste.  I would give it 6 out of 10.  Because I have not grown accustomed to this style, I would not voluntarily drink it again in the near future (meaning it would have to be the only beer available that I would drink), but I may try it again when I get some more experience tasting wheat beers.

Halloween Beers

Ok, so Halloween seems more like a liquor night to me, but there are plenty of good beer choices.  First, there are many Oktoberfests that are getting ready to go out of production.  This is the time to taste these beers.  The Foothills Oktoberfest is excellent this year, and many people like the Sam Adams Oktoberfest.

Personally, I am not a fan of beers flavored with fruit and the like, but pumpkin ales are very popular.  After reviewing some excellent websites for recommendations (Beer Advocate, and actually Chowhound thanks to google), I can make some recommendations.   Dogfishhead Punkin Ale, Southern Tier Brewing Company Pumpking, for those of you in the southern/midwest, Schlafly Pumpkin Ale, and locally, Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale.

Preferably, I would go for a hoppier beer to go with all the candy.  With candy corns and pumpkins, a brown ale that isn’t too sweet would be nice.  I would also like a hoppy American Pale Ale to balance the sweetness.  With chocolate, that is a little tougher.  Very sweet chocolate like M&Ms might also go with a hoppy pale ale, but a Reese’s cup, one of my favorite candies, I would go a little sweeter, again back to the brown ale. 

So, enjoy your Halloween, drink responsibly, and drink some good beers.

Beer 130 ?

Ipswich Summer Ale - Ipswich, brewed by Mercury Brewing Company, was a belgian style Blonde ale, which if you read me regularly, is not my preferred style of beer at all as they tend to be wheated.  Still, I am trying to learn more about beers and eventually appreciate the wheat style.  Like a typical wheat, the beer was cloudy and amber, though it had a slight hop aroma on the nose. 

Blonde ales are wheated, which means in addition to a lot of wheat, they contain some malt.  This beer was wheated, but with some hop flavor of the more perfumy and fruity variety.  It had a clean finish, with floral and almost lavender in flavor overall.  I really enjoyed the fresh, quick flavor of the beer.  While not my first choice in beer, I did enjoy it and would drink it again.  7/10

Beer Bottles 2

Before I begin this blog, based on a new announcement from the Federal Trade Commission, it is necessary that I inform everyone that my beers for this blog were provided by my mother at no cost for me as explained below.  Apparently, the FTC is cracking down on bloggers that promote goods that they have received for free without disclosing the free-ness.  Don’t get me wrong, I have disclosed every free beer (three other than the ones in this e-mail).  Still, I find it ridiculous that they are actually policing the blogosphere.  I work in the legal field and find it ridiculous.  Anyway, on to the blog . . .

As hinted in an older blog about beer bottles (May 4, 2009), there was a specific reason I came up with the topic.  Specifically, I recently had a request from a reader (who happens to be my mother) to find some beers in interesting bottles so she could put dishwashing detergent in them and cap them with an oil spout so she could have a decorative dishwashing detergent holder.  Heaven forbid the actual plastic Dawn bottle sit out on your counter.  Anyway, this tasting is all beers in interesting bottles.  It took a little longer than I expected, as even my Dad (who was forced to drink the rest of the six pack my mom bought) did not like the last beer.  It took me a while to get the nerve to drink it.

Innis & Gunn – This beer is actually oak-aged, and the website suggests your typical oak flavors of vanilla, smoke, etc.  This beer is a lighter amber – still brown, not gold – and, of course, is in a slightly interesting bottle. 

Upon first opening the bottle, there is a definite beer odor.  I know that sounds funny because beer smells like beer, but it is that smell you get if you spill a beer on you or something, just overall barley kind of smell.  When poured into a pint glass, however, the oak flavors definitely come out.  Definite vanilla on the nose, toffee too.  The barrels are bourbon barrels, but I do not smell a bourbon alcohol flavor. 

Very interesting flavor.  The vanilla and toffee really takes over.  It does not taste much like a beer.  I can’t decide how I feel about it – let me drink some more.  After a few more sips, the vanilla goes down and the beer comes through.  It is described as a Scottish ale (and brewed in Scotland) but it is much lighter than the Scottish ales I am used to (in color and maltiness) but I do drink more American made Scottish ales, so it is difficult to say.  More like a pale ale instead of a brown ale.   It is about 6.6% alcohol by volume, so a little high.  Since I had wine at lunch, I definitely need to take a nap after this.  Overall, I don’t find it that impressive.  It is too sweet, and I find the lighter beer does not hold up to the oak.  Probably why many of the local brewers are choosing stouts and porters to brew in bourbon barrels.  Some people might like this, but it is too off-putting for me.  I give it 3 out of 10.

St. Peter’s Old Style Porter:  Like many beers, it comes in a traditional 16.9 oz. container, and is also in a stubby (a term you will remember from the last blog on beer bottles).  A picture of this beer is in that blog.  I gave it a traditional British/Scottish/Irish pour, head be darned.  It was a great head, nearly half the glass, and brown in color.  It smelled immediately of a little malt as is common in these beers.  It is dark as a stout.

The initial taste was a definite disappointment.  Not much flavor came through.  As I continue to taste it, the flavor increases and definitely spreads through the palate.  However, there is still not much too it.  A little malt, barely detectable hops.  Neither sweet nor hoppy.  Kind of a basic beer.  It may make an excellent soap dispenser, but I give this beer 5 out of 10.

By far, the coolest bottle is Lucky beer, from China.  The bottle is green, and in the shape of a Buddha.  The cool factor of this bottle explains why my mom bought a six-pack, and why this is the bottle currently gracing her sink.  The aroma of the beer is a little like a pilsner, mostly a small amount of hops, but not American hops – more like the German hops just for aroma, not bitterness.  The actual taste is nothing near the aroma, which is pleasant.  Instead, the taste is flat and non-existent.  I don’t find it much less tasteless than a light beer, but since it isn’t my light beer of choice (Miller Lite, of course), and since it is not light, it is definitely a waste of a beer.  3 out of 10.

So basically, the point of this blog is not to pick a beer on the basis of its appearance.  You may be able to tell a little bit about where the beer is from, or the style beer it is trying to achieve.  For flavor, however, base your selection on something else.

Flying Saucer Beer # ?

As stated, my beer number is a little messed up due to them not recording all of my beers.  Therefore, I am leaving the number off.  Just so you know I am not trying to cheat, let’s say this should be beer 129.

Lost Coast Pale Ale - As you may recall, I have been experimenting with these beers at the recommendation of a good friend.  While my first couple of beers were not a great experience, I have had better beers as time has gone by.  The beer is a cloudy amber, which is a little disconcerting because it looks wheated.  It did have a decent head for an American beer.  On the nose, I immediately picked up the hops expected in an American pale ale.

Upon tasting, it was very smooth.  The beer was medium to light and fairly full-flavored.  Toward the end, the flavor starts to flatten and not have as much punch.  Further, it has a higher alcohol count (though I did not write how much and it is not on their website).  Therefore, since it fell flat, and wasn’t as strong as I would like, I have to discount it for having a high alcohol content without the matching flavor punch I would appreciate in a beer I want to drink a little slower.  Still, I give it 7 1/2 out of 10.

Update

Well, I have hit Beer 149 at the Flying Saucer, though I am a little behind in blogging about them. The frustration is that they are not counting all of my beers. I have found some errors and corrected them, but there is at least 1 that I have blogged about but they have not counted. I have done some soul-searching, and I decided I would just drink another rather than correct any more. I feel I owe it to my readers. Therefore, I may not count my beers for a while until I get caught up, and then you will see numbers approaching the upper 140s, lower 150s.

Beer in Asheville, NC

Asheville is known for beer. With numerous local breweries and brewpubs, it is a beer lovers paradise. At the end of a recent vacation, I landed in Asheville for a couple of days of relaxation and beer tasting. I started at the Bier Garden on Haywood Street (downtown, THE scene in Asheville) for a couple of beers and lunch. I was a little disappointed in the lack of local Asheville breweries on their menu (French Broad and Highland were featured, but you can get those anywhere). Still, their overall beer list is lengthy and superb.

I did start with the Appalachian Copperhead Ale, a reddish amber ale with a little wheat on the nose. I think it is actually malt that adds the sweet wheatish aroma, but it has a quality more like that of wheat than malt. In tasting, however, the hops start to come out. It immediately fills primarily the back of the palate with a little on the side, giving it an early spread in the mouth. I have a feeling as I continue to taste that it will continue to expand. The aftertaste is sweet, but pleasant and fruity. The beer is a little off-balanced, but not off-putting.

This beer is from Appalachian Craft Brewery, not Appalachian Brewing Company, a large brewery I think out of PA. Appalachian Craft is located in Fletcher, NC in Henderson County, home to some of the greatest people I know (hey Aunt Louie!). They seem to have small production and local distribution, so definitely a beer to try when you are in the mountains of NC. The beer loses a little flavor as I continue to taste – I think the aftertaste is so powerful that the beer cannot keep up. But the aftertaste remains amazing. It is great to sit and breathe out your nose after drinking, which allows me to taste the balance that comes in at the end.

Still, I enjoy this beer and would order again. I give this one 8 out of 10.

I next tried the French Broad Wee Heavy-er Scotch Ale, from French Broad Brewery in Asheville, NC. According to the website, the “wee heavy-er” ale is a reference to the wee-heavy that was brewed prior to the alcohol laws being changed in NC allowing higher gravity beers to brew. In Scotland, a wee-heavy refers to a beer over 6% alcohol, so technically it would have been a misnomer when brewed as it was less than 6 % to be legal. This beer now has about 7% ABV.

It is light brown, not amber, somewhat cloudy with a decent head. There is malt on the nose but it is well-balanced in the taste. I have not been able to find a solid definition of a Scottish Ale, other than it is copper to light brown. One site states that it is heavier on malt than hops (like a brown ale), and another says that Americans tend to make Scottish Ales that are malty and hoppy. While it seems picky to analyze the style so specifically, I should say that I am getting ready to start brewing beer in the next few months so I am educating myself more on styles now. Anyway, it was a little light at first. I noted that it was a nice warm weather beer but overwhelmed by the food I was eating. However, as I continued to taste, the flavor continued to fall flat. It was full palate, but mild. It was not horrible, but I would not go out of my way to get it again. I give it a 4 1/2 out of 10.

Foothills Oktoberfest

I had an opportunity to stop by Foothills again recently, and on a slightly cooler evening, which really put me into the mood for a fall beer.  Perfect timing for an Oktoberfest, which is exactly the seasonal Foothills was featuring.

I have not had good experience with Oktoberfest styles in the past, as many beer companies will make a sweet brown ale or a pumpkin beer.  This, however, was labeled as a German amber lager, and I was ready to dive in.  EXCELLENT DECISION on my part, if I do say so myself.  This beer was absolutely delicious.  It was a red amber in color, and had malt and a little hops on the nose.  On the palate, it was not the traditional malt flavor, which to me can be oversweet.  Instead, it was the malt flavor, with some hops, for a pleasant, not bitter, not sweet, balanced experience.  The flavor was light and did not coat the tongue or anything, making it a great Oktoberfest in the warmer NC weather.  It was a little nutty in flavor, some caramel, but again, not in a sweet candy fashion.  I did not pick up all the flavors in the description, but overall enough flavors to make this a wonderful experience.  I originally wrote down 9 out of 10, but really, this is a 10.  No qualifications.