Burton Baton

Brewer: Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10%
Country: USA, Delaware

Looks like this will be the first (of many) Dogfish Head beers consumed for blogging purposes. I'm a big fan of plenty of the brews they put out as well as their willingness to try different things. I hope their new show on Discovery Channel brings them some recognition and popularity.

The Burton Baton claims to be "a two-thread blend of young & wood-aged Imperial i.p.a" I'm a fan of big IPAs and Dogfish can pull off some incredible IPAs, my favorite being the 90 Minute IPA.

I poured this into my loyal pint glass. The color was a bright and coppery amber. Very clear. A one finger head finished with a thin lace. This essentially looked like a glass of whiskey with a head on it.

The aroma, starts big and hoppy with plenty of citrus, mostly oranges and pineapples. Alcohol is certainly powerful and finishes things out. As I worked my way down the glass the scent of alcohol increased and dominated.

It had a big hop taste with plenty of bitterness. Sweet honey malts and pineapple hops, though, are quickly overpowered by the bitterness and the strong taste of alcohol. Oak wood flavors show up along with the alcohol continuing to reminded me of a glass of Jack Daniels. The aftertaste is long and warm. The Burton doesn't make any attempts to hide the large amount of alcohol within.

The idea of an IPA whiskey hybrid is certainly interesting but overall the wood and alcohol flavors are too overpowering. I prefer my IPAs to do a better job of concealing the alcohol though and in the end this was a bit too much. I wanted to like this one but I can't see myself trying this again.

Grade: C+

Photos by: http://marleyphoto.oliad.com/