Dogfish Head Squall IPA
February 16, 2010 | By Jim Leether
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Squall IPA is basically the unfiltered, unpasturized, bottle-conditioned version of Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA. It's only available in 750ml bottles, a standard for any bottle-conditioned brew. Squall is dry hopped with Palisade, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ, and Willamette hops, giving it a bold, bitter flavor. The 9.0% ABV is standard for an Imperial IPA, but it can catch you off gaurd if you're not expecting it. I enjoyed a bottle of Squall with my dinner at Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, DE. It paired perfectly with the custom-built burger I ordered. Squall is a remarkable beer in a beautiful bottle, which they let me take home. Taste notes are as follows:
Squall is a golden-brown beer with an off-white head. The head didn't stick around long, but I blame residue on the glass for that. It had all the great taste of the 90 minute IPA and then some. In general, bottle conditioning adds significantly to a beer's flavor and texture. It softens the carbonation and makes the beer feel smoother. The impact of conditioning was very apparent here. Squall is bitter, even for an Imperial IPA, but fans of the style will surely appreciate it. A potent mixture of hops is very apparent when putting your nose to this beer. The aroma is spectacular, and the lightly-carbonated texture, softened by the beer's bottle-conditioning, was excellent. At $7.50 for a 750ml bottle, it's really a pretty good deal.
Overall, I highly recommend Squall IPA. Great taste, a strong aroma, and a silky texture make it a well-crafted beer. I'd call this a "special occasion" beer. It's somewhat hard to find outside of specialty beer stores, so if you see a bottle, you may want to snatch it up.
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