Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA: Revisited

A few years ago, I reviewed Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA here. It wasn't my first time having this beer, and my taste for the hoppier brews was just developing at that point. Recently a friend of mine came over with a 6-pack of this popular brew, and ended up leaving a bottle behind in my fridge. Now that my taste buds have developed even further, I wanted to see how my perception of the beer stacks up, especially considering the vast range of amazing beers I've had this year alone. That said, I'm also not going to try to be overly harsh to this brew as it is a beer available daily for a reasonable price and across a wide distribution range. This bottle is fairly fresh, having been bottled last month and left refrigerated for most of the time since then.

The first thing I noticed is that it doesn't smell all that hoppy to me now. I'm getting roast malt, bread, and caramel scents more than anything else. Perhaps there are some wood/spice smells, but I'm definitely not getting the citric qualities I noted a few years ago.

My first sip revealed a mild sweetness up front, followed by just a touch of citrus. In the back of the mouth I experienced a pleasantly substantial bitterness with a more peppery quality to it than I had expected. Considering that I have a copy of the recipe for 60 Minute found in Extreme Brewing, I don't see how this taste comes from the ingredients listed. Maybe I should try brewing it myself sometime.

I'll spare you all the boring details of mouthfeel and such, these remain largely unchanged from my previous review. What I will say is that even though I have had offerings from other breweries that I vastly prefer (see Evolution Lot 3 or Southern Tier 2XIPA), even brews that are just as easily had for about the same price, I still see a place for 60 Minute. There's a sense of balance to this beer that can be hard to match. It certainly isn't the overly malty, syrupy beer that some people make every Dogfish offering out to be. The flavor profile is pretty drastically different from your standard IPA, and I can easily see some people choosing it over some of the more citrus flavored offerings out there. At it certainly beats the pants of Sam Adam's Latitude 48 IPA.

- Adam

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

It's kind of an interesting phenomenon how tastes can change over time. The first time I had the Dogfish 60 minute, I didn't like it at all. I thought it was too bitter, and didn't have the malt profile necessary to balance the beer. That was a few years ago when I first had a Dogfish beer. It wasn't until pretty recently that I gave this beer a fair chance again. Now I'm sitting near the end of a case and a half that were left over from the wedding, and I've become pretty fond of it.

The initial burst of aroma carries a strong hop scent, but it's got a dull bitterness to it, that seems similar to dark chocolate. It's a bit surprising since the beer isn't all that dark, and chocolate usually comes from heavily roasted malts. There is also a grassy hay smell underneath. All in all, it's not the best smelling beer in the world, but there's nothing unpleasant to it.

In the glass the beer has a smooth and deep golden color with a faint hint of ruby. The beer is extremely clear, and the bottle doesn't contain any sediment. A vigorous pour is required to get a finger thick creamy head, mostly white with a touch of caramel color to it. Still this dissipates quickly to a ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass and a dusting across the top.

Although the malt quality of the beer doesn't stand out as particularly strong, it is fairly present. It's not sweet, but butterscotch flavors come through along with a faint roasted taste. In the back of the mouth, the hops come through clearly with a smooth dull bitterness. There's a bit of grapefruit, spice, and a bit of pine. There's also a lasting warmth in the front of the mouth and a dull bitterness in the back.

In the mouth, the beer has a medium body, with a moderate and pleasant level of carbonation. The warmth in the beer seems to come more from a spice quality of the beer than from the alcohol. There's a light smooth coating in the mouth, and a decent wetness to the beer.

It really does astound me just how much my opinion of this beer is changed. Before I would have had to really force myself to get through this beer, now I find it extremely easy to drink. It's not particularly strong, but not exactly lightweight either. At 6% it still has the potential to sneak up on you, even more so if you find it as easy to drink as I do now. With beers like this it's no wonder that Dogfish has manged to become one of the top breweries in the country.

- Adam