Sitting in front of me is a glass of Dogfish Head 120 Imperial IPA.

The wait is finally over.

For those who don't know anything about this beer, here are some facts: It's continually hopped for the duration of its 120-minute boil and then dry-hopped for an entire month. It's a very strong beer weighing in at 20% abv. It is, according to the label, the Holy Grail for hopheads. 

Here are my thoughts after a few sips of this legendary brew:

This IS too extreme to be called beer.  

It's got an amazing hop aroma. As soon as you poor this beer into the glass, you'll smell hops. But the first taste is anything but hoppy. In fact it's really, really sweet. At 20% I wasn't surprised to be hit with sweetness, but I think the sweetness actually overpowers the hoppiness. 

You truly can't see through this IPA. It's an awesome amber-rust color and has a pretty decent head when you pour it.

There's no question that this is a SIPPING beer. I all add that it's a beer to be sipped very slowly. Don't think of beer when you crack one of these bad boys. Think Scotch or Brandy. On an empty stomach, one of these could get me pretty tipsy (I think it's a beer that is better shared). 

After the initial aroma of hops, the next thing (which I smell at every taste) is sweet alcohol (not unlike a watered-down brandy).

My untrained tastebuds actually feel the hops more than they taste the hops in this colossal brew. A really hoppy beer always gets me in the back of my mouth and up into the lower portion of my nose. The 120 Minute Imperial IPA is really noticeable back there.  

At $8.50 per 12-ounce bottle, I can't say I'll be buying a lot of this beer. But I now take pride in knowing that I am a member of an elite group of beer drinkers - Those who have enjoyed the high-octane hoppiness of the Dogfish Head 120 Minute Imperial IPA.