I haven’t done a beer review in awhile, so I figured now would be a good time! I had the pleasure of tryingDogfish Head Squall IPA the other day. Unfiltered, bottle conditioned, and dry-hopped with 6 different types of hops? An unfiltered 90 minute IPA?! That’s enough to make my hophead spin!!
Dogfish Head has some great IPAs (like the 60 and 90 minute IPAs). After cracking this baby open, I took a whiff and noticed that it wasn’t very floral compared to some of the other imperial IPAs I’ve had (like Avery Maharaja – one of my favorites) It was actually sweet and caramel-like in the nose.
It’s darker and amber colored. Also, it’s a little more cloudy than your standard issue IPA because it’s unfiltered.
I was surprised when I tasted it. The beer was very full and strong in flavor, but it did not have a lot of hop character that I’d expect in an imperial IPA. It was very malty, but also very tasty. Clocking in at 9%, it’s definitely a big beer. I enjoyed every sip and rank it around a B+ for flavor. It was definitely sweeter and a little citrusy. However, for hop character, I’d give it lower marks. Maybe the malt masks the hops, or maybe my palate isn’t mature enough balance out the malt and hops. Great beer, but if you’re hophead is searching for something to make your toes curl, this isn’t your beer. If you’re looking for a full, flavorful malty style IPA, this is your bottle! It’s definitely worth the investment, and is very affordable retailing for 10 bucks/750ml.
Thanks for another good brew, Dogfish Head!
Cheers!
