Beer:30 on a Friday Morning

What libation awaits us for today's version of Friday Beer Blogging?

None other than Dogfish Head Brewery's 120 Minute IPA.

The beer pours out a coppery amber color with red hues. There is a thin pure white head, maybe 1/4", but it is heavy and lingers. Excellent lacing down the glass as I quaffed.

Surprisingly for a Double-IPA (DIPA), it has an amazingly fruity aroma: grapefruit, orange, grapes. I would have expected much more hops up front. But there it is, right after and under the fruit: pine, leafy-green, citrus/spice.

The taste is spectacular. So many DIPAs are so over-blown. Hops upon hops with no balance, ends up tasting like grass clippings out of a tin can. But not this beer. It is so well-balanced, it's like a Tripel with more hops. Unbelievable. It tastes sweet up front: caramel and cane sugar, followed by a dominant fruitiness from both the yeast products and the choice of hops: citrus fruits like grapefruit and oranges, with a great floral undertone. Then...wham! A big, huge alcohlic warmth all the way down the hatch. 21% ABV, baby. More booze in this 12 ounce beer than in most bottles of wine. Ahhhhh... Great spicy finish.

The mouthfeel yields light carbonation, gentle, not at all biting. Huge, full-bodied and rich and creamy.

Usually, a beer even close to 21% ABV is hard to drink, being harsh like doing a shot. But this beer is extraordinarily-well balanced with sweet, caramelly and sugary malts and such great, gentle fruit that it goes down so easily. I put this ahead of any other DIPA on the market right now. Maybe ever.