Exciting day today! Jsmith traded a bottle of his 120 clone for mine, and another HBT member was kind enough to trade a bottle of real Dogfish head 120 for my clone. So I got to compare three 120 minutes side by side by side.
Before I talk about the differences: All three were
extremely close. Any big differences were masked by the big complex flavors of this beer.
1. Jsmiths: 19.3% ABV: Probably the maltiest of the three, although they are all malty. Some hop character comes through in the nose, but I get more malt.(we're really splitting hairs here) Taste is dead on: that '120' character. The beer is still, no carbonation, probably the only noticeable difference.
2. Mine: 21.1% ABV: A little less malt in the nose, and a little more hop, slightly carbonated, but not to the extent of the DFH example. A little more bitter in the finish, same 120 character.
3. DFH: 15-20% ABV (i'm thinking it's closer to 15%): More hop in the nose than mine, even less malt. Much more carbonation, bitterness in the finish is about the same as mine.
Color was very close between all three, as well as clarity. Honestly, the biggest difference was carbonation. DFH being the most, mine having some,and J's being still. DFH's being the hoppiest I probably attribute to the lower ABV. 4-6% difference is big, and that extra alcohol will cover the hop aroma quite a bit. Couple pictures: Dogfish on the left, mine in the middle, and Jsmith on the right. Second picture is a full snifter of my nuclear penguin =)