This was a beer I bought for Nicole. She really likes the Lindemans Framboise so this is right up her alley. We’ve enjoyed this beer on one other occasion at a wonderful restaurant with some friends. Dogfish Head is fast becoming one of my favorite breweries. So I’m looking forward to sitting down and really spending some quality time with this fruit beer. At 18% ABV, I am interested in seeing how the sweet fruit plays with the heat of the alcohol.

And here’s an interesting little blurb from beeradvocate.com…

The World’s Strongest Fruit Beer with over a ton of Oregon and Delaware raspberries that were dosed in, slowly, over a two month primary fermentation. This process produced lots of complex fruit aromas and flavors without being too sweet.

Appearance

Poured into pint glasses for both myself and nicole. Its odd. As raspberry beer, I think the natural assumption is that it would have a color reflective of the red raspberries. It is a mostly amber color with a slight reddish tint. Under light, it has a faint cloudiness. The carbonation appears minimal. The  head dropped quickly and remains as only a thin halo. The lacing seems to rock side to side when the glass is manipulated.

Smell

Whew. Definite fruit notes, but they do not dominate. The alcohol is certainly apparent. Personally, I found it hard to denote any malt or hop spice.

Taste

You would think a ton of raspberries would be liable to impart a more pronounced flavor. The malt sweetness tag teams with the well balanced fruit elements.

Mouthfeel

There is an obvious alcohol bite that tends to shock, but the carbonation imparts a nice crispness. Bubbles slightly.

Drinkability

It is a beer which is not to be taken lightly. Very high ABV limits how much one could reasonably drink. But for the most part, the heat of the alcohol and the carbonation marries well with the fruit forward nature of this beer. Overall, it is easy to drink once the shock of the alcohol passes.

bottomline

Nicole says “Fruity, strong… I like it.” wow… thanks for showing up princess.

I do like it but I don’t think I’d rave about it. I know Nicole really likes the taste of this beer, but she admits that it is one that one drink only occasionally. I prefer to mix this with a Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. That combination is quite delicious.

B-

Twenty One percent. Yes, a beer with21% ABV. This is the most serious beer I’m willing to drink.  The Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, brewed in Milton, DE is an American Double / Imperial IPA.

Appearance

Poured into a goblet, the beer is thick looking. The color is a cloudy soft golden orange. The off-white has little retention, and falls after a minute or two. The lacing is slight.

Smell

Massive sting of alcohol hits you at first. Its not at all what you’d expect from a beer. Citrus notes are present. The extra top hopping leaves a wonderful floral aroma that does manage to cut through the static. Also, there is a more than fair amount of sweetness here. Cane sugar sweet. That may be my one dislike here…

Taste

Ooh! Takes a minute to get used to the almost overbearing sting of all 21%. But after that… the taste is quite complex here. Citrus, like maybe grapefruit. It has a taste similar to unfiltered, very young Gewuerztraminer wine.

It does seem to be on the very far end of most Imperial IPAs. The added daily dry hopping that lasts a full month does give it a tremendous sense of floral notes, both in taste and flavor. But there is no sense of the the extreme dryness that really heavily hopped beers often impart. Your nose can’t help but get involved here. The end result is a warming of your entire mouth.

Mouthfeel

The initial shock of 21% brings an unusual heat. The carbonation is just right.  Very full in the mouth, but doesn’t coat in a slick way. Coats yes – but not negatively. There is a nice citrus aftertaste that seems to stay put longer than most Imperials.

Drinkability

Sipper for sure. The heat off the alcohol alone keeps you from slamming it down. I gotta point out one thing here. This beer gets better and better as you drink it. I think some of that comes from the shock wearing off and you get down to the meat of it.

Bottomline

Did I mention the 21%? Not sure if I got to that yet. Man, this is another beer that I wait all year for… and it does not disappoint. The “wayyy higher than everyone else” ABV is a little out of my comfort range, but it is still very tasty. At $12 a bottle, it isn’t a beer that I have often. When I do, its worth every penny. Ok, I might be a little drunk now. Final grade…

A-

Ok. i’m pretty drunk now.