We hope folks enjoyed tonight's episode of 'Brewmasters.' Theres no use crying over spilt 120 Minute IPA. The last production batch had to be dumped because it wasnt up to our high standards so we knew it wouldnt be up to the standards of many hardcore beer lovers.
Weve worked too long establishing our reputation for quality and innovation and , while we certainly didnt budget to dump this much, or this expensive of a beer, every year Dogfish does budget to let some batches that didnt meet our expectations go down the drains.
Each batch of beer we brew goes through over 40 micro and sensory checkpoints and we are very proud of our QC program. But rest assured - we are hard at work with experiments to tweak the recipe so that the next production batch of 120 Minute IPA meets all of our high standards. Our batch of 120 is scheduled to go out into distribution in April 2011. Assuming all of our tests and experimental mini-brew go well between now and then we are confident we can hit that target date.
Thanks for beer-ing with us and for all the ongoing support! Sam
(our fearless leader) writes about his latest travels and off-centered plans for all of us.
Unfortunately we missed the last one and forgot to DVR it. I am searching desperately online for it. Next time you want to toss a batch of beer just let me know and we'll come pick it up and drink it. Keep up the inspiring work.
wow... I love the poem. I gotta say, i am very disappointed by the ultimate fate of 120. i just recieved orders to Little Rock, Arkansas. I am currently stationed in Washington DC. Will I get some 120 in Arkansas when april rolls around? As I type this, I am sipping on some world wide stout... oh my. Its 18% abv is just a poignant reminder of what I'll be missing now that 120 is not coming out. BTW, thanks for a great show. I've been looking forward to a beer show for a while and I was incredulous to find out that it is based on my brothers (and sisters) from another mother at Dogfish. Good luck with your current and future batches and i hope to be able to visit Delaware before I leave from DC. Cheers!
I shared this on the Brew Masters Facebook page, so I thought I would post it here too. This poem reads best with a 120 in hand...
Today I watched Brew Masters and,
This episode...was sad.
For a half a million dollar batch,
Of 120 had gone bad.
So Sam, Katrinka, Floris too,
They all went hard to work.
To try to save this precious brew,
To give it back its perk.
Some tests were run, some tastings too,
To get it right next time.
But this half a million dollar batch,
Would never...reach its prime.
With saddened minds and broken hearts,
They agreed to let it go.
And so they opened up the tanks,
And let their hard work flow.
But as with bad, there's always good,
And in the interest of taste,
Sometimes it's best to let it all,
Be sacrificed…as waste.
So we'll have to wait a little more,
For beer's tastiest of treats.
One Hundred-Twenty-Minute IPA
One of brewing's greatest feats.
-Matt Roach..Beer Poet..
I saw the episode on 12/09/2010 and I saw you had to dump the IPA 120. I don't understand why your company would not have a way to recycle the dump in a productive way. The episode highlights you recycling the piece of so called art that was doomed to the junk pile but you stepped in and made it work. I don't understand why you would not do the same with the dumping of any beer that does not meet your company standards. Isn't there a way to think out of the box? Isn't there a way to feed a pig farm or recycle into a flower garden or a community garden as a fertilizer? It really seems out of character to dump the beer down the sewer? After all, beer has all these nutrients which you wasted.
Thanks for showing all of the gritty details in your process. The show does a great job of balancing the basics with enough of the non-basics to keep it very engaging for both the non-beer geek (my wife) and the seasoned craft beer veteran.
Wife and I watched last night, I must say this show is rad. My wife isn't as big into beer but after the show she had a much higher appreciation for it.
About the 120, I'm glad you dumped it. After spending $20 on a bottle of Lost Abbey Angel Share and then being unable to drink it for numerous reasons, a buddy of mine and I wondered why they would let this go to production. There were many complaints posted across the web on beer sites and it was just puzzling. We had purchased two extra bottles for cellaring and decided that time was not going to appreciate the value of the lost cause beer. So being in San Diego, we call Lost Abbey to see if we can get credit or exchange (not a refund cause we like beer) and to our surprise we were told "Sorry, can't do it." We were angry to say the least. I guess they were forced into the same decision as you but chose to just sell it anyway. Good on you guys.
Chris
I understand your concerns over the 120. Can't wait to try the next batch and hopefully it works out like it is supposed to. Love the show and love your beer even more! Keep up the good work!
I appreciate your quality standards, especially when I am at Happy Hour enjoying several different Dogfish brews. Awesome brew, awesome brew company, and great people running the show. CHEERS!!
Can't wait to get my hands on some of these in March!
Well it's your company and I'm glade you have such high standards for QC. However, if it were me I would have bootled and kegged at least half if not all of the 120 batch and sat on it until I could come up with a way to make some money off of it. Keep up the great work your doing, we all appreciate it!
Join the Dogfish Head Community today and gain access to more great Dogfish Head content.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
