May 24, 2014 Show

This week was a Dogfish Head feature, we began by discussing the brand new music collaboration beer Rosabi and then went forward with a full vertical tasting of the 60, 75, 90, and 120 Minute IPA's.  We even had time to squeeze in a giveaway!  A great show this week for sure, but enough of that, here are some notes on the beers!

Dogfish Head Brewery:

Rosabi:  The newest release from the brewery is labeled an Imperial Pale Ale, but treads into IPA territory, with the addition of Wasabi.  The collaboration, this time with Julianna Barwick, again leads Dogfish Head into experimental waters.  The Wasabi makes its appearance in the beer and will standout to those familiar with the taste, but for those who are not it comes across as a spicing within the beer reminiscent of something within the hop variety.  While it must be said that this is a beer that is not for everyone, it is very enjoyable and for those who are fans of Dogfish Head's love for experimenting with beers than this is a must try!

60 Minute IPA:  This is an IPA that is certainly familiar to all who love the style and may just be the beer that introduced them to the style.  At 6 % ABV it is the lightest within the sampling today and for many hopheads is a complete session beer.  The hops are dominant in this beer, but the balance is still present as well.  What drives many to this beer is the fantastic dry finish after a crisp hop bite, there is a reason that this is Dogfish Head's biggest selling beer and that is because it's fantastic!

75 Minute IPA:  This is a unique beer unto itself both within this vertical tasting and within the greater IPA category as well.  The idea behind 75 Minute IPA is that sometimes people want more than a 60 Minute IPA, but not as much as a 90 Minute IPA, hence 75 Minute IPA.  This beer comes in at 7.5% ABV and is literally a blend of 60 Minute IPA and 90 Minute IPA with the addition of maple syrup.  This addition gives the beer a deeper layer of complexity and body and makes an easy drinking beer even more enjoyable.  The hops are certainly still present but the maple syrup adds an extra layer of sweetness to quell the hop bite.  A must try for hopheads and newbies to the IPA style!

90 Minute IPA:  This is the beer that really kicked off the Dogfiah Head IPA craze!  This Imperial IPA comes in at 9 % ABV, but has a surprising amount of malt profile and is not a hop kick to the palate that one might expect.  However, this is a beer that is extremely comfortable in its perfect balance.  The hops are present but the hefty malt bill needed to brew this beer provides a great body and keeps the beer from being overly bitter.  Considering that this beer is high in the ABV category and is a DIPA, it is extremely easy drinking,

120 Minute IPA:  Hands down the biggest and maybe the best beer of the day.  However, be warned this 18% ABV behemoth is absolutely not for the faint of heart and is most definitely a sipping beer!  Due to the high alcohol and heavy malt bill to beef this beer up, it is unbelievably balanced and not overly hoppy at all, which is hard to believe given that at bottling this beer clocks in at 120 IBU's!  This is a great beer to gift for friends who love hoppy beers and is also great to buy and age for future side by side tastings.  If you have not tried this beer and you love IPA's, wait no longer and get some!

The vertical tasting really showcased what one brewery can do by continually experimenting and beefing up a recipes.  When the color is viewed there is surprisingly little difference between most, except in the case of 60 Minute which is much lighter.  However, all are very clear, with the exception of 75 Minute which has a bit of cloudiness from the maple syrup addition.  This is a vertical tasting that we all highly recommend you try with friends and don't be afraid to take notes it is part of the fun of this current craft beer revolution!


We also had a chance to give away a FANTASTIC book this week!  One of our listeners called in and won Canned!: Artwork of the Modern Beer Can.  This amazing book is full of fantastic artwork featuring many great craft beer breweries and truly showcases what craft brewers have been able to do with this packaging medium!  If you want to check the book out for yourself click on the photo below!