60 Minute IPA
Well, this is perplexing. Having had several 90-Minute IPA's, I felt that I had a reasonable idea what the less extreme 60-Minute IPA would taste like. While I can't say that I am disappointed with this, I do have to admit that I prefer the almighty 90-Minute IPA a lot more.
Very nice initial impression, with a rock-solid head atop a golden-orangish amber body, with tons of Belgian lace with each sip. And I enjoy the piney, rather rugged hop aroma. But the kicker is the taste and flavor profile....
Dry-hopping, whether it be for homebrew, or in a more traditional commercial brewing operation, is almost always a sure-fire way to add tons of hops aroma and character to a brew. But when taken to extremes, the flavor profile takes on something of a grassy nature. I think this is what makes 60 Minute IPA a bit less than it could be. There's a bit of a resiny/piney/grassy character present that, while not completely unappealing, presents itself a bit too predominately. Very rugged in the drinkability.
I have to assume that this ages fairly well, since it is bottle conditioned. And I look forward to obtaining a few more samples, to age and compare. But as it stands now, it's tastes a little too young ("green"), and I can't give this as many high marks as I would have liked. Tasty, but could be so much more.
Tks to francisweizen for the two bottles...!
7/3/03 Re-review: The drinkability of this beer really needs some work, IMO. I'm not talking about bitterness per se -- I'm a huge hophead! -- but the more general character of the hop/flavor profile. This beer's bigger brothers (90 and 120 Minute) have a ton of malt and alcohol to better meld the harshness of the hops in this beer. Without the help, though, this beer's crude hop character detracts from it's overall drinkability. My least favorite Dogfish Head beer, to be honest.
//TB