Dogfish Head Squall IPA Beer Review

Dogfish Head Squall IPA

The journey to becoming a hophead is not taken overnight, as I’m sure many of you will attest. When I tried my first IPA, I struggled just to choke it down and was baffled to learn that it was the brewery’s most popular beer. Now granted, this is before I really got into craft beer in general, but I never thought I would be able to appreciate IPAs or other hoppy beers.

In the coming months, I became a little more adventuresome with beer, but I still strayed far from any brew bearing those three dreaded letters. At the local World Market, I’d build mix six-packs that usually consisted of maltier beers, like stouts and porters. But as I started to read up on craft beer a bit more online, I continued to come across the many praises of IPAs and double IPAs. I couldn’t imagine twice as much of that horrible hoppy, bitter flavor, but as an aspiring beer nerd I decided to try an imperial IPA I’d been hearing quite a bit about — the Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA.

I decided to try the beer after mowing the grass one day (I know: Dogfish Head Lawnmower would be far more appropriate). I was blown away. The hoppiness was there, of course, but it was balanced by a wonderful malt character. I loved the citrusy, piney quality that the hops provided. My tastes, it would seem, were changing.

From that point on, I continued to seek out IPAs and double IPAs, but only last week did I pick the Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA back up. I enjoyed it, but the beer seemed very different than I had remembered. It was almost malt-forward. I don’t know if my tastes have changed or the beer has, but I’ve seen others lament the hoppiness of the 90-minute (and yes, it was a relatively fresh bottle).

This is how I came to seek out the Dogfish Head Squall IPA, which is a version of the 90-minute that is bottle conditioned and unfiltered, but more importantly dry-hopped with ”Palisade, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ and Willamette hops.”

I found that I got last year’s batch (bottled 02/09), as this year’s is not yet out. I hoped that the hop character was still pungent, and a quick smell of the beer after pouring it into my nonic pint revealed that it was. The beer had a wonderfully floral nose, with a bit of citrus and pine in there as well. The taste was more of the same, with a nice toasted malt quality that bordered on milk chocolate as the beer warmed that really complemented the floral note of the hops. As a result of the sweet, toasted malts, Dogfish Head Squall is not a very bitter IPA — but the hops are, of course, what this beer is all about.

(At this point my wife tasted the beer, made a “Bleh!” face, and said, “What is that taste?” She’s just now embarking on her hop journey.)

Like the regular 90-minute, this is a very drinkable beer with a medium mouthfeel. It gives the Chicory Stout a run for its money as my favorite Dogfish Head offering. Now I want to taste it fresh, and hopefully when the beer is released next month I’ll be able to do so. In the meantime, I would encourage any hophead to pick an aged bottle up — I think you’ll enjoy it. There are several boxes full at Total Wine and More in Matthews.

Also, if anyone is curious here are all of the Dogfish Head 2010 releases.