270 Minutes of Dogfish Head Bliss

 Today was THE DAY!!!
Dogfish Head has been in Indiana for quite some time, and as soon as they arrived, I made sure to grab a 60 Minute and a 90 Minute IPA from them.  It was a little more difficult to find single bottles of the 120 Minutes, but randomly, I would see them - but I was just never in the mood to pick one up.  As I came to terms with the fact that this blog is around 25 Beers away from competing my goal of 1000 different beers, I decided that NOW was the time that I needed to make this happen.

The glassware used this afternoon was AS CLOSE as I could possible get to their OFFICIAL recommendations..

Saturday night, I stopped at the liquor store on my way home and there is was:  a 120 Minute Single Bottle.  I could not avoid the sign.  So, I picked it up, and drank it on Sunday.  Marking BEER 974 on the website.  Beer 974 was the final leg of the Triathlon that I took part in today.  We started by revisiting BEER 357:

 In an interesting twist of fate, this turned out to be my least favorite beer today.  However, almost FOUR years after I tried it for the first time, my thoughts remain the same in regards to the 60 minute.  It's VERY dry, and quite bitter in the backend.  I don't really enjoy it, but I don't hate it.  I'm not interested in ordering one when I go out - but I would not turn one down if it was offered to me. It's not my favorite, but I don't mind drinking it.  But, it's my least favorite and glad I started with it.  Things only get better from here.

 BEER 811 revisited.  One year and one month ago - OR One Hundred and Sixty-Three beers ago - I tried the 90 Minute.  As far as this post is concerned, I am TWO-for-TWO.  My feelings that night definitely echo how I feel today.  I enjoy the 90 Minute more than the 60 Minute, and I think the flavors are a lot better.  There is a similar bitterness, but the dry backend is less noticeable. A good beer, and a step from the previous.

 BEER 973, the beer I drank earlier this afternoon.  I have all three of these beer fresh in my mind - and somehow the longest brewed, and longest dry-hopped verison is my favorite.  You can read my full review in the link, but the truth is:  I enjoy this beer the most of the three.  The bitterness is there, but not terrible.  The dryness is there, but mild.  The fruity and floral flavors actually seem to "pop" in this beer.  It's BIG and strong, and reminds me of a Quad, or Imperial Ale.  It's enjoyable.  I would choose to drink this one before either of the other two.

The Trifecta:  270 Minutes of Dogfish Head Pale Ale Bliss.

974. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

I have been waiting a long time to do this beer. 

When Dogfish Head first came to Indiana, I picked up the 60 Minute and the 90 Minute and put them away, waiting for the day I would do all three.  I saw the single 120 Minute bottles a few times, but was never in the mood to buy them - needing some serious time to mentally prepare what I expected to be a terrible drinking experience.  As this website is getting close and close to "the end" - I decided I needed to make this happen.

As you will see in my next post, I took this Sunday afternoon to indulge in 270 Minutes of Bliss.

And oddly, the 120 Minute was my favorite of the three.  It's a BIG beer, Dogfish’s website lists the ABV between 15% and 20%, which I believe - however, it does go down very smooth for being so big.  But it's enjoyable - I compare this beer to an Imperial Quad.  Or even a Bourbon Barrel aged ale.  It's big, it's thick, it's heavy - but the flavors are really good.  It's NOT as dry as I expected.  It is bitter up front, but there are also very good flavors in the back end, almost a fruity aftertaste.  NOT a the dry, "I need water!" that I was expecting.

I am very happy that I did this beer.

973. Lagunitas Doppel Weizen

I'm not sure why I keep trying Lagunitas stuff.
It always sounds interesting, but fails my taste buds. This is one of their better offerings, its a pretty light weizen that goes down smooth with a simple wheat taste. Sadly, the aftertaste kicks in very dry in the back of my throat. It isn't terrible, but I would rather be drinking something else.

972. Żywiec Beer

Literally tastes like Stella Artois.

971. Tallgrass Velvet Rooster

Decent Tripel. Some good flavors, with a little bit too much dryness in the back end. Good, but nothing amazing.

970. Rogue Hot Tub Scholarship Lager

Very dry lager. Not terrible, but just not something I would really enjoy drinking often.

969. Bier Trackbier

I am late on this one.
I wanted so badly to get one during the month of May - but i never went to the track and kept forgetting to pick one up.

So, my first birthday beer of 37: is pretty tasty. Light and smooth. Goes down easy and is refreshing. I could easily day-drink these outside all day.

968. Rita Kohn's Hangin' Tough

This is a beer that I am very glad I was able to get my hands on. I had been seeing lots of posts on Facebook about this beer - but since I tend to avoid large crowds, I didnt even try to go to the launch event. Luckily, I found one at a local liquor store. And while I have never meet Rita Kohn in person, I have read much of her work and am familiar with who she is and what she means to the Indiana Beer Community. So, drinking this beer is a great way for me to personally show my appreciation for what she does. I also thought that it was very cool that one of the oldest Brewpubs in Indy joined with a Female-Owned and operated brewery to make this collaboration. That is pretty awesome in my eyes.

It's no secret that I tend to stay away from the West Coast Dry-and-Hoppy IPAs of the world. They just don't hit my mouth in a way I enjoy. So, it was with caution that I approached this beer. It had a nice and foamy head to it, that smelled really good - probably the oatmeal reminding me how many cookies I've eaten in my life. Upon my first taste, I was worried I wasnt going to like it. It starts off pretty heavy and dry upfront - and my mouth was worried. Luckily, the rest was pretty amazing. It hits hard at first, but then goes down pretty easy and smooth, without too much bitterness. Then, a nice and subtle fruity-citrusy flavor creeps in during the backend, and lingers for a short period of time. While it's not a go-to beer for me, I am happy and proud to add it to my list.

967. Taxman Golden Parachute

The Brettanomyces in the beer gives it just a small hint of sour-ish flavor up front, then it mellows out into a really full bodied and delicious golden. It's not something I would drink all the time, but it is very enjoyable.

966. Urbangang

Urban Chestnut meets Ommegang in a delicious bock beer. Delicious chocolate notes are the way throught this beer. It goes down really smooth, small amounts of bitters and just really tasty chocolate notes in every phase of drinking.

965. Rivertown Roebling

Caitlin and I have learned that Rivertown just isnt one of Ohio's best. I haven't had a good review for any of their beers - and this one isn't much different. Really blah. No vanilla flavors. Espresso is there and very dry and bitter throughout. Just blah.

964. 5 Rabbit 5 Lizard

This is a pretty nice and easy wheat beer that goes down really easy, and has a hint of lime in the backend. (Somehow, I ended up with two like beers tonight... odd...)

Simple flavors that are juat good. It's nothing special, bit it is simple and tastes good.

963. Avery El Gose

This is a very mild/minor sour beer.
It has a himt of sour while drinking, but the lime flavor cuts into it and the salt flavor kicks in once youre done drinking - thus causing the backend to be very dry-mouth. Overall the flavors aren't bad, and very distinct, but I like my sours with more bite to them. And no salt.

962. SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale

Very, very dry and bitter.
Not too bad on the hops, and there are some flavors involved, but all I could taste was the thick bitterness it brought to my whole mouth. I assume the majority of IPA drinkers would really enjoy this.

961. Uinta Lime Pilsner

Probably the best of the three beers i have had from Uinta. It is interesting, very light and goes down really easy - but the lime aftertaste is kind if funky. Not in a bad way, but just different.

960. Wolter's Black Beer

Very standard black beer.
The thing I have learned about Wolter's is that they make tasty beers, that silply give you exaclty what you expect. Nothing more, nothing exciting, just simply the flavors you would expect. Simple. But, German.

959. Big Lug Small Batch 8 Brett Rye Wit

I had some high hopes for this beer, being brewed with Brettanomyces, I thought it could have some good sour flavors - but there was not. The beer was okay, pretty full bodied, yet also very dry on the backend. Lack of sour flavors and no real fruity notes made me enjoy it less than I had hoped. It was quality in flavor, for a dry and bitter witbier, but not what I hoped for. Dione ordered one too, so I took a picture of her with this beer.

958. Big Lug 8 Malts 9 Hops

Really big hoppy beer.
More than I tend to like, but there are some good flavors here. Dry mouth on the back end.

957. Big Lug Jay & Silent Bock

Really good flavors for a bock, but not something I would drink a lot.

956. Heavy Seas Tropi Cannon

As Miller demonstrates in the photo - the aromas this beer has are euphoric. It smells of heavy citrus, with that hint of grapefruit-ness.

This beer drinks easy, has wonderful flavors - and then just dries up my mouth in a bad way. I told Miller I liked 75% of this beer. If hoppy-dry-mouth is your thing, then you will really enjoy this.

955. 5 Rabbit Gringolandia Super Pils

Much thicker and heavier than a traditional pilsner. Some nice flavors upfront, but it settles into a very dry and bitter aftertaste.

This Gringo doesnt plan to go back to Gringolandia anytime soon...

954. Maui Bikini Blonde

Really nice and refreshing beer.
Some really good flavors, crisp taste, a little (very little) heavier than something I would want to drink all day - but if I had to, I would make it work. Good quality beer.

953. Wolter's Weizen

Very standard Hefeweizen.
nothing stands out.

952. Wolter's Pilsener

Very standard German light beer.
Has some extra taste upfront, but leads to a dry backend, but it doesnt linger long. Still very easy to drink and enjoyable.

951. Black Acre Cherry Ol Fritz

Now this is TASTY!!!
Very tart upfront, with delicious lingering sourness. Nice and smooth, light, easy to drink and some wonderful cherry flavors that delivery just the right sour flavor to my mouth. This is kne of the best sours I have ever drank.

950. RJ Rockers Brown Eyed Squirrel (8♣️)

Pretty standard brown ale.
Good flavors up front from the roasted malts.
It's good all the way until the finish - just too dry for me. I don't mind drinking it for the good flavors, but I keep drinking it faster because I don't enjoy the lingering bitterness.

949. Blank Slate Out & About (6♥️)

Coriander, Caraway, and Salt?
Those are the "brewed with..." ingredients.
Goses are one of my favorite styles of beer, and sadly I am not a fan of this one. I expect a very sour aspect of the beer somewhere. Either my lips pucker when I take the first sip, or the back of my mouth is tingling after it goes down. This beer never does either of thise things. It is dry from start to finish and leaves my mouth craving something to satisfy the thirst left. I hope to try more from this brewery, as if they do a different style better.

948. Old Dominion Candi

This is a very nice Tripel with hints of spices and a dry backend. Very drinkable, but not one of my favorite Tripels.

947. Rivertown Jeanneke

Very interesting mix of a Belgian weight to the beer, it goes down a little heavy - but then the refreshingness of a Blonde - that ends very dry. Its a complex beer, and I appreciate that. I enjoy it, but do not see it being a regular I would drink.

946. Brew Kettle Kitka

Caitlin and I stuck with the Chocolate Stout theme tonight and tried this coconut version. Very good quality beer, that did have some really good flavors, including a small hint of coconut. Obviously not as much as I beg for in my beers, but still enough that it was there and enjoyable. This one was a little sweet being a milk stout, but also finished with more bitterness. We both really liked this one.

945. Fort Collins Shot Down

Very standard chocolate stout, good flavors but nothing special.

674. Rogue Beard Beer

I was very curious about this beer.
While Caitlin was very disgusted by it's concept.
The beer was fine.
I am curious how much my knowledge of it's origin affected my tasting.
It was a little heftier - like a Hefe - with some mildly fruity notes to it.
Nothing I would ever care about trying again.

944. Rhinegeist Hans

Rhinegeist continues to become one of my top breweries. This is a very quality, light and crisp Vienna Lager. Flavors are good, it goes down very smooth and my glass was empty very quickly. I could go through a six pack of these, easily.

943. Miami Beer Company Miami Weiss

This beer wins My New Favorite Beer Name!Sadly, as great as the name is... The Beer is just okay. It's good, I liked it, perfect flavors - but there just was not anything special about it. I would gladly drink lots of them, if they were around.

943. Three Floyd's Space Station Middle Finger

I don't hate it as much as I expected to.
The upfront flavors are actually good, but then it turns into a mellow-dry bitterness. I know a lot of people who like this, but it is not for me. Not as heavy, dry, or bitter as most of their beers - but still not something I enjoy.

942. Uinta Golden Ale

Much thicker and heavier than most golden ales. It has some decent flavors up from, but then finishes it like it wants to be a hoppy ale. Too dry for me. My second disappointment from Uinta.

941. Ballast Point Sea Rose

Light. Tart. Easy to drink.
Cherry flavor is good, the wheat taste is very light, but dry in the back end.

940. Daredevil Vacation

My first beer from Daredevil.
I've been trying to find the time to visit the brewery, but that has not happened yet. So, this was at the store and looked tasty.

The beer was okay. It wasn't as smooth and light as I tend to prefer kölsch beers to be. It had a heavy wheat flavor - in my opinion. The taste was not bad, but not what I was expecting.

939. Slap Shot Brewing Playoff Beer'd

Since the Redwings are not in the Playoffs this year, I had to decide that since Slap Shot Brewing is from Chicago - I would drink this beer during the Blackhawks first playoff game.

It's a good beer. Very smooth and enjoyable, but also nothing special. I would gladly order this and drink more of it - but I wouldn't seek it out anywhere.

938. Central Water Mudpuppy Porter

Very standard porter.
Nothing special about it - but it is very drinkable and you get the exact flavors you would expect.

937. People's Brewing Battalion American Pale Ale

I have a serious problem with both this beer AND BEER #634 being the official beers of any outdoor sporting event. They are both dry and both bitter, and in absolutely NO way refeshing. On a hot matchday, I DO NOT want to be drinking something like this. I will always prefer a nice, light, refreshing Modelo over this beer any time I am sitting outside. It is very, very disappointing that neither of these good breweries have produced a refreshing beer for me to enjoy lots of on matchdays.

936. Black Acre Chai Guy Milk Stout

Really, really good and enjoyable milk stout. Chai flavor is subtle and doesn't hurt the overall flavor. Caitlin really enjoyed this beer.