Beer/glass review: Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA + Dogfish Head’s new “IPA Glass”

The folks at Dogfish Head are frequent collaborators with Sierra Nevada on beer, this time Spiegelau joined the party and they all created “a glass that would serve as the new global standard for the American IPA style of beer.” I’ve already got a few Spiegelau glasses and can tell you they are my favorite thing to drink out of. That said I’m really excited to try out this new IPA glass. A new batch of Dogfish Head’s 75 minute IPA recently arrived around town so what better to fill my new Dogfish Head glass. I’m going to use this beer to compare this new IPA glass with a standard American shaker pint glass like you find at most bars and restaurants.

75 minute IPA is, like it sounds, a combination of 60 minute IPA and 90 minute IPA. Now there are 2 kinds of 75 minute IPA running around the world. The older of the two is a simple combining of 1/2 60 minute IPA + 1/2 90 minute IPA, either from the bottle or the tap. I plan on reviewing this “beer” as well as the 60 & 90 in the next few weeks. The version on hand today is very similar except it’s specially brewed with DFH’s 75-minute continual hopping. Then they add maple syrup to sweeten things up and create some natural carbonation.

Brewery: Dogfish Head          Beer: 75 Minute IPA     Style: India Pale Ale    
ABV: 7.5%            Hops:Whole leaf cascade hops       Calories: ~215

IPA Glass

First off here’s the hype on this glass off DFH site:

Thin, round walls to maintain proper temperature longer.
A slender, bowed shape to amplify hop aromas.
Wave-like ridges to aerate beer on its way in and out of the glass.
A wide mouth, allowing drinkers to comfortably nose the beer.
A laser-etched logo on the bottom of the bowl to sustain carbonation and head.

I poured the glass with a standard 45 degree pour then turning it vertical half way through and filling down the middle. As you can see that resulted in a crap load of head. I’m not sure if I poured it the wrong way for this glass or if that laser etching REALLY kicks in a lot more head. The color is a very nice golden brown of 11 SRM with a fluffy white head. Lots of carbonation bubbles getting kicked up keeping the head going strong.

Definitely get a strong aroma of the maple syrup and flowery citrus action from those cascade hops. A very nice enjoyable flavor that I think is certainly highlighted by this glass more so than other glasses… or its a very pungent aroma.

Taste is pretty much what you’d expect. Hop aroma and flavors just like in 60 with more bitterness from the 90. That is mixed in with the maple syrup and some other malt sweetness filling the background. The bitterness leans more towards the 90 side of things then the 60. I was worried how forward the maple syrup would be and it really isn’t, it’s definitely there but not aggressive.

Smooth light bodied mouth feel that coats your tongue with a load of carbonation.

Overall the beer & glass is pretty sweet. I can see that it lives up to the hype on keeping the carbonation and head strong. It seems to be maintaining temperature but I’m not measuring this so I can’t be too sure. The nose is the real hype point for me. I really feel like it lets me get a much better sense of the aroma and does a great job of keeping it in there.

On the other side of things this is a big glass, 19 oz per the website, which makes me think a 12 oz bottle would like puny in here. Also those ridges on the bottom LOOK like they’d make it easy to hold the glass, sadly not quite the case. I like to think I have medium sized hands, I have to squeeze my pinky in to hold the glass there. If someone had big hands this would be a no go, small hands it’d be great. With that considered there is no other good way to hold this glass, not really a huge problem though I mean how many beer glasses are notably awesome to hold? One last thought here that really came before all the rest. This is a pain in the ass to dry. Getting a paper towel down into that bottom party to fully dry it out sucks.

American Shaker Pint

There’s no real hype to be had on these glasses. They’re cheap, easy to clean, easy to stack, and go “ok” with about any style of beer. Breweries are fond of throwing their logos on them but that’s beginning to change…. as I wait to get my hands on a 50 west snifter. I’m not gonna do another full review here, just note the differences that I…note…

Significantly less head than in the IPA glass. Nose packs the same aromas but much less vibrant. Flavor tastes the same. This glass is definitely heavier. There is no laser etching in this glass but I’m still getting loads of carbonation. That makes me wonder about the true effectiveness of that laser etching, besides looking cool that is. The color of the beer seems a shade darker here than before. I suppose this glass does seem to be holding the temperature slightly less well, but I doubt it’s more than 2 or 4 degrees difference.

Here’s a link to buy the DFH glass. If you’d prefer a Sierra Nevada logo you can get that here, exact same glass just a different logo. If you don’t have any nice beer glasses and love IPAs I’d strongly recommend this. If you already have a tulip I would say put this on your birthday wish list and save yourself the $20 ($10 of which was shipping).

P.S. It has come to my attention that Dogfish Head is full of it. They did not “create” this type of glass, they simply applied it to IPAs. See this Riedel O Trio glass on Amazon.com. Regardless it’s still a decent glass that I’m happy to own. Even though it didn’t live up to the hype or the price.