Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Location: 12 oz bottle King Farm Wine, 8/26/09, I’ve been meaning to try this one for a while, but for some reason I hadn’t until now

Aroma: Fresh fruits, pine, floral, caramel, vanilla, oak
Appearance: Clear golden-amber color, about 1 finger of white foam, lots of lacing
Flavor: A nice sweet flavor of oak and fruit and some big citrus and pine hoppiness too
Palate: Wow is this easy to drink for a 10% beer, no alcohol burn, medium body, smooth, and a bit dry
Overall Impression: This was a really nice beer. I can see someone using the sweetness of it against it, but I found it to be completely enjoyable. A really well made beer, another great one from the guys at DFH. Yum.

Pours a nice deep orange with thick off-white head, lots of lacing. Aroma obvious of citrus and floral hops, heavy caramel malt, decent oak character, slight alcohol, and some dried fruits. Flavor matches well and comes together nicely. Body is a bit more heavy than I would like, but altogether a nice brew.

Burton Baton or Benjamin Button? That was not a choice I considered while consuming this beverage. In fact, I just created it for the sole-purpose of starting out my review; oh clever shrew. Brew poured in a heavenly-lacing way, large head. Nose hit without the slightest movement carrying upon upper winds of malt-scotch whiskey. Lot’s of alcohol and some floral hops. Taste is malty, bitter, and heavy on the scotch-whiskey flavor. Oak induced vanilla notes placate Warrior hops with a crisp finish. My only qualm with this otherwise excellent brew is that it’s harsh in the alcohol notes. I think given some more time, it could really mellow out into that great brew area where the alcohol is present, but you don’t know it’s really there until you stand up to take a tinkle.

12 oz bottle poured into a Sam Adams Sensory glass. The pour produced a dark orange color with a minimal 1 finger head. I could pick up citrus, pine, and wood notes. The initial taste comprised of grapefruit and then switched to a vanilla, syrupy taste on the way down. The booze and the syrup distract from an otherwise nice take on the style. For the cost I find it hard to get a lot of these but I wouldn’t mind revisiting it from time to time.

12 oz bottle poured into a tulip glass. Poured out orange-golden, light carbonation, a little head which laced on the glass side. Wonderfully rich hoppy aroma. These guys know a thing or two about making an IPA.

12 oz. bottled 6/19/09, poured into tulip. Pours deep scotch orange with small pale white head. Nice fresh hops on the nose with a hint of the oak affect. Taste is an excellent blend of citrus hoppy IPA and oak aged ale. Basically, what they said they did, they did a real good job of. Some hints of dried fruit mix in as well along with some sweet and caramelish malt. A bit rough going down, but very well done overall. Quite strong. The label says, "Please share it with loved ones and hoard it from the non-believers", unfortunately I had no loved ones to share it with at the time, so I went with the ’hoarding’.

I know DFH and I have had some issues in the past, but I come to this one with open arms and an open mind, let’s see how it goes. Appearance is on par for a good dipa. Not much in teh way of head but a very thick looking liquid with some pretty carbonation coming off of the base of my Sam Adams sensory glass. Lacing is quite nice. Smells quite strong, Wood notes are present, otherwise this is straight citrus and pine. Alluring! Taste isn’t as strong as the nose would lead me to believe, but it is quite interesting how the wood and hops interplay. This is a style that could probably be done more often. The booze becomes a slight factor that keeps this from exceptional status, but still a winner and probably the best thing I have had, in my opinion, from DFH. Pretty thick mouthfeel and low carbonation for an IPA, which is interesting. Again, I like the twist on the genre. I hope that the lack of carbonation doesn’t make this too syrupy to enjoy the entire way through the glass, because it is a pretty viscous bastard. Drinkability, this is a very good beer, but I think there is a little room to improve on a wood aged IPA. I applaud the experimentation involved here and with DFH in general, because I know that while I may not always like the end result, Sam and co are doing some crazy shit that you don’t see too much of.

Pours a thick syrupy red/orange with a medium white head. Lots of sticky looking lacing formed quickly around the glass. The beer smells sweet, lots of malt in the aroma, there’s also some raisin and orange. Mouthfeel is thick and heavy, this beer is a little sweeter than the 90 minute. The taste is mostly sweet malt, oak, and a decent amount of hops but they aren’t overbearing at all. Not a session beer and not as good as the 90 minute but a very interesting take on an Imperial/Double IPA.