Booze Block: Dogfish Head Brewing Company 60 & 90 Minute IPA

by Chuck P

I remember hearing about Dogfish Head in my early days of discovering craft beer. With odd names like Chocolate Lobster, Pennsylvania Tuxedo and Flesh & Blood they piqued my interest and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some. It was then, in my young naivete, that I discovered their beers were not distributed in Louisiana.

How would I ever get to try these?!?

Dogfish Head's 60 & 90 Minute IPAs

Luckily, I had friends who would search out and bring back craft beers from their travels and from this I was given my first two Dogfish Head brews, their 60 and 90 minute IPAs.

Now, at the time I was still very much on the fence about IPAs. Pale Ales broke me into the appreciation for hoppy styles that before I had turned my nose up at. After my palette adjusted and I began to enjoy them, I started easing myself into hoppier choices and the 60 minute was one of the first.

The 60 minute IPA is a very hop forward beer with really nice citrus notes on the nose. Coming in at 60 IBUs the bitterness is moderate which was good for me at the time. The finish is very crisp with a bit of that bitterness hanging around, but not enough to offend. I remember my first time drinking this thinking it was perfect for me and couldn’t possibly imagine drinking anything hoppier…

And then came the 90…

My first sip of the 90 minute Double IPA opened my taste buds like no other beer before it. The heavy piney and citrus aroma caught me off guard at first, but after that first taste I was hooked. I was getting hints of raisin and citrus dancing over my tongue and the maltiness cutting through the intense hop profile was surprising, but welcomed... and was that a bit of fruitcake I was tasting? Madness!

Ever since then the 90 minute has become one of my Top 5 favorite beers of all time and one that I actively look for when traveling outside of Louisiana.

To hear more about both of these great brews check out the Bite & Booze Podcast below with myself, Jay and Jacob Talley from Mockler Beverage as we proclaim our love for these delicious beers.

Cheers!

Booze Block: DC Brau Brewing Company's Public Pale Ale & Corruption IPA

by Chuck P

Just like any other craft beer lover, I’m always on the lookout for any brews that aren’t available here in Louisiana when I’m traveling. Making our way back from our NYC James Beard adventure in July, our team stopped off at West-O Bottle Shop & Bar in Ocean City, Maryland. I legit spent the most money there out of anywhere on the entire trip. It was there that I picked up two delicious beers from the DC Brau Brewing Company, the Public Pale Ale and Corruption IPA.

DC Brau Brewing Company's The Public Pale Ale

The Public Pale Ale is a delicious classic American Pale Ale with a nice malty backbone which gives it some hints of caramel in its flavor. The aroma gave off some lingering notes of grapefruit. It’s a very easy drinking pale ale that I’ve been enjoying lately and it shows with my 6-pack now dwindling down to a 2 pack.

DC Brau Brewing Company's The Corruption IPA

The Corruption IPA is just a little over the Public Pale Ale in the ABV category (Corruption is at 6.5% and the Public sits right under at 6%) but definitely packs a punch. This take on a Pacific Northwest IPA is exclusively brewed with 40lbs of Columbus hops per brew which brings it in at a whopping 80 IBU so if you’re into bitter beers this is a good one for you. It’s sitting right at the line between IPA and an Imperial IPA but that’s not really a bad thing. The malty backbone and killer hop presence shines through with that dank bitterness that true hop heads love.

If my stellar review hasn’t convinced you to try these awesome beers check out the Bite & Booze Podcast at the link below to hear myself, Jay and Jacob Talley, Craft Brand Manager of Mockler Beverage sing their praises.

Cheers!