Last Thursday was a banner night for this beer lover. I met my friend Adam and we strolled on over to Memphis Taproom to enjoy a great Dogfish Head stunt tapping for their 75 Minute IPA. We got there a little early thinking we might have to twiddle our thumbs for a minute before they tapped the cask, but no, we were just in time to knock down a few pints of this great IPA.The 75 Minute IPA blends their trademark 60 and 90 Minute IPAs, resulting in a remarkably smooth IPA that will still knock you flat if you’re not careful.
Adam and I ended up having a wonderful conversation with my friend Derrick, another Memphis Tap regular and amateur beer aficionado like myself. We discussed the merits of Dogfish Head’s approach to brewing and how great it is to be sandwiched between so many great breweries, all of which are doing different, distinctive things. Dogfish Head really does a great job of brewing signature IPAs, complemented nicely by great seasonals. I think their spring and summer beers, both of which feature great fruit flavors, are among the most refreshing I drink, without being sickeningly sweet.
As an aside, I wanted to take this opportunity to mention Jay Hinman’s great beer blog, Hedonist Beer Jive. Some of you may recognize Jay from his legendary music blog, Agony Shorthand. Now, instead of debating issues of race with Black to Comm, he’s telling you why he won’t pony up for expensive bombers of Russian River Consecration (and I don’t blame him!) Jay’s always been a great read, and his beer writing is just as fun and engaging as his music writing ever was.