Destroyed By Hippie Powers - Blue Pea Flowers
Burlington Beer Co.

 

On tap at the brewery. This was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a musky charcoal black color with a thin crisp white little head. Dissipates at a nice pace. Light lacing. The aroma leans mostly floral through the peaflowers. Some rugged bitter grassy hops make a decent effort to blend nicely. The flavor leans florally sweet against a soft sweet crisp to bitter grassy hops to toasty malt backbone. Sly floral aftertaste sliding into a quick finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a nice crisp smooth grassy to floral feel about it. Carbonation seems good. Enough bitterness hits appropriately. Overall, don’t be deceived by the look of this beer, because all of the aromatics and flavors are on par. Good stuff that I would have again.

 

 

 

 

16 oz. can poured into a fluted snifter.

This beer is straight up purple, hazy, thin grayish head, weird.

Aroma is very floral, reminds me of hand lotion but not in a terrible way. Bit of citrus and grassy hops.

Flavor is also quite floral, bit of earthy spice that is a bit rye-like. Quite a bitter finish. A bit medicinal.

High side of moderate carbonation and medium body.

A strange brew, weird, but not unpleasant. Floral, spicy, different, purple.

 

 

Straight pour from a 16oz can to an oversized wineglass (JK stemware, OBVS). This has a canning date of October 19, 2016 (“LIGHT IT UP! 10/19/16”), making this beer one month old at the time of consumption. Refrigerated consistently.

Appearance (3.75): It pours an inky, slate-gray color with two fingers of faintly bluish gray foam of respectable composition. The body is fairly hazy, as well. The head dies down slowly, leaving decent lacing in the form of scattered, thin collars and suds. Hold it close to the light, though, and it goes fuchsia. You really have to get it close, though. As it sits under normal light exposure, it looks dark gray with a very faint, reddish pink undertone. Unreal. Gimmicky, but really fun to look at either way.

Smell (4.25): Smells like a Galaxy IPA. Grass, light mango, some passionfruit, a bit of gooseberry . . . mostly passionfruit and grassy notes, which with slight mineral undertones give you that impression of sauvignon blanc, which I love so much. The malt is pale and crackery, and stays out of the way . . . BBCo. did a good job retaining the fruity aspects of Galaxy without letting grassiness dominate. Good job!

Taste (2.0): Here, the blue pea flower must be coming out. Like the nose, the flavor here has all the hallmarks of a nicely made Galaxy IPA: pale, crackery malt, grassy- and passionfruit-inflected hops, and a nice, dry feel despite the fruitiness. But then there’s the other part of it. It’s vegetal and very off putting. Worse, it’s not just bitter—it’s imparting a lot of odd, floral and vegetal flavor that is unappealing (to me, anyway). It’s . . . inky. It tastes kind of like the rotted aspect of kimchi (and don’t get me wrong, I love kimchi) mixed with stewed cabbage, with a soapy finish. It’s overpowering, distracting, and very unappealing.

Mouthfeel (4.0): The carbonation is modest but pleasant, offering a soft coating that tingles gently on the washout. The body is medium weight and smooth, but it finishes nicely dry. No impressions of alcohol.

Overall (3.0): The look is gimmicky, but fun, with an incredibly gross color but decent fundamentals. The smell and feel are both very good and on point for the style. But the taste is no good, for the most part—must be the blue pea flowers. WOMP WOMP. But, I’m still psyched for the hibiscus edition!

 

 

 

 

A: OK, the guy who brought me this beer from Vermont told me it was going to be bluish-purple. Still, I didn't really believe him, or understand what he meant, until I poured this beer (into my Duvel tulip, BTW): it's bluish-purple with a half-finger whitish head on top. When backlit it's more plummy in color. I have never seen a beer look anything like it.

S: Despite the color of the beer, the smell is similar to a standard IPA, with floral hops, tropical fruit and a touch of citrus. Also an herbal and tea-like quality to the nose.

T: It loses something here - first impression is that there's something a bit weird, about mid-sip and on the back third of the palate - medicinal, maybe? Perfumey? Definitely herbal tea-like (reminds me at times of a teabag), which makes sense given those peaflowers. . . . Good IPA bitterness at the finish fights off the underlying sweetness. Once I get a little more used to that odd flavor, I can find some tropical fruit and citrus (grapefruit I think more than anything). That 7% ABV is not at all evident.

M: Call it medium in heft; carbonation is appropriate and nice. Slightly chalky at the finish.

O: Certainly unique, that's for sure. I wouldn't want to have a bunch of these, but it's not just a weird-tasting, gimmicky beer. It's a Purple IPA.

Poured into a tulip glass from 16 oz can.

L: Awesome deep blue-green color with minimal head, and just a thin ring of lacing.

S: Strong hoppy, tea-like, flora/fruity aroma that is very pleasant.

T: Bright hoppy, sweet flavors with a moderate level of bitterness.

F: Decent level of carbonation, which compliments the beer well.

Overall: Very good IPA with awesome, unique look.

 

 

 

Poured from the can into a wili becher glass.
Pours a slate gray blue/green. Minimal head. Hold a non-florescent light upto it and it glows bright and vivid pink.
Aromas showcase nice sticky hops. Some candied mango notes.
Flavor is solid. Good hoppiness, some astringency here, maybe from the flowers. Notes of violet.
Mouthfeel is good.
Overall, I really enjoy the color changing aspect with a perfect name. Flavor is nice on its ownright. Wish this would be a year round release.