REVIEW: Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA

I've been trying my damndest to come up with something clever, or interesting to say in the intro here. You know what? I've got nothing. Dogfish Head 75 minute IPA. It's a blend of their 60 and 90 Minute IPAs but bottle conditioned with maple syrup. To the beer!

As 75 Minute pours it builds up a layer of beautiful firm, finely bubbled layer of head that is resilient as all hell. Firm and sticky, it persists all the way to the bottom of the glass and leaves very nice lacing on the way. Underneath the foam is a hazed over vibrant coppery gold elixir. Quite the nice looking glass of beer.

The aromas on this one are a lovely melange op hoppy goodness. Floral, piney, earthy, resiny and fruity notes of grapefruit, berry, and a little bit of lemon all vie for attention. The hop aromas are all laid against a robust and interesting layer of bready toffee and a woody maple sweetness. These new IPA glasses from Dogfish May be so much marketing nonsense, but it really does seem to capture all of those aromas really well.

75 Minute is full, rich, and creamy at first. Flavors of bready, toasty malt and caramel, maple sweetness are evident first. The rich maltininess fades but the maple flavors persist and act as a bridge to the more lively hop notes. Hop complexity manifests with floral, herbal, resiny bits, subtle hints of pine, and an understated fruitiness of pear, lemon, granny smith apple, and a touch of tart grapefruit. For what is certainly a big IPA 75 Minute isn't very bitter at all. The brewers at Dogfish have done a wonderful job creating a very even balance between sweetness and bitterness.

If the label hadn't told me that this was a blend of the 60 and 90 Minute IPAs I never would've guessed it. This beer tastes wildly different than either of those. It's hard to believe that bottle conditioning with maple syrup has such a drastic and marked effect. 75 Minute is pretty great. Complex, rich, interesting, and much more than simply the average of two other very good beers.

HD