Not only did they have the 120 Minute, but the Pats were on and they whooped the Buccaneers 31-14! Great night! But I was infinitely more excited to finally try the 120 and on tap, at that!. Horrid quality photo again, I know... for some reason the flash on my phone ruins everything but I couldn't let the experience of a real, live 120 Minute go undocumented. Not sure of the pour quality, as it was super heady..no real technique to the pour..he just kinda let it flow straight down into the glass. Good pour or bad..the head amazing stayed for quite some time, a shock considering the alcohol content of this absolute behemoth of a beer: 18% ABV and 120 IBUs...well slap me silly and call me Nancy! Simply beastly. Such a powerful nose, I could smell it as the bartender was pouring it at least 2 feet away! Crazy amount of sweet caramel malts, toffee, hoppy grapefruit, candied brown sugar and the alcohol is already making its presence known. First thing about the taste that'll hit you is how rich the beer is, how sweet it is, without being off-putting. The sweetness is balanced with an absurd background hoppiness, mixing between grapefruit and piney. Honey, toffee, caramel along with candied pecan and sweet stone fruits all provide the balance to the 120 IBUs. The alcohol pops its head in and out, more so the warmer the beer gets, but in turn, it also managed to get even sweeter and more complex. It changes it's profile from the slightly carbonated, rather heavy, but sweet and hoppy beer you started with, to barely any carbonation, even heavier, even sweeter brew with similarities to a port or sherry. Depending on the sip, you may get sweet and heavy, or crazy hoppy with the alcohol bite, or fruity and iced coffee-like. I could ramble on and on about this, every sip was better, more complex than the last... my best advice is to track this down wherever, however you can, clear your schedule for the rest of the night and prepare to have you taste buds totally molested. Trust me, they'll love it!
No comments:
Post a Comment