Roadside Bandits
Burlington Beer Co.

 

A: Pours a dark blue/purple color with 2 fingers of head that fades down to a thin cap

S: Blueberry, vanilla, lactose sweetness, and some light maltiness

T: Follows the nose. Starts off with a mix of blueberry, vanilla, and lactose and then picks up some light malt notes. On the sweeter side, but the malt helps to balance a little. Very lightly bitter

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation

O: An interesting milkshake IPA that does a nice job with the blueberries and vanilla. Decently drinkable. Solid

 

Drinking out of sampler at brewery.
Unappetizing color - somewhere between hibiscus juice and coke.
Slight filmy head.
Fruity smell, maybe blueberries.
Taste probably dominated by the blueberry. Little hop or malt coming through.
Not sure this really works.

 

 

 

Consumed 7/22/18

A: Deep purple - seriously, it's a rich purple with some medium purple around the edges - hazy, opaque - pours with a medium sized light purple head - fades to a wispy cap, retains a small collar, leaves a few spots of lacing

S: Blueberries, hops, and some dairy - the blueberry aroma comes first, with lightly acidic blueberry juice and whole blueberries - hops hit the nose second, with some layers of citrus, orange and grapefruit - herbal and some leafy notes as well, with some touches of grass - some milky lactose sugar, touches of vanilla - aroma pretty much matches the description, except I'm not getting much pancake - some pale, mostly neutral malts

T: Non-specific blueberry-themed dessert - lots of blueberry, for better or for worse - lots of blueberry juice and blueberry flesh, with a medium level of tartness that I am not certain was intentional - hoppy flavors under the blueberry, with some orange and grapefruit flesh - some herbal, leafy hops, touch of grass - lactose sugar, not too sweet, with some touches of vanilla - neutral pale malt base that is overpowered by the fruit

M: Medium body, a bit chewy but not entirely smooth because of the tart sharpness of the blueberries, carbonation on the low side, finishes with some lingering juice

O: Who cares about beer styles when you can have blueberry pancakes?

My exposure to milkshake IPAs has been minimal. I have had a few tastes, but the one full can I experienced nearly made me gag. Roadside Bandits is bizarre, but the combination of flavors works fairly well. I'm not sure how to rate this though, as I typically try to take style into account while rating.

 

Poured from the can into a tulip.
This beer pours a hazy and bright purple...light comes through on edges, low head.
Aromas are hops and mellow sweetness.
Flavors are really fun with the blueberry and milk sugar featuring very prominently.
Mouthfeel was great.
This beer was tasty and different and a lot of fun. I enjoyed it!

 

 

Stamped on the side of the can reads "061518."
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a thick purple color with a thin white foamy to fizzy head. No matter how hard I poured, the head always fizzled and didn't leave any lace.
The aroma had sweet and tart blueberry flesh and skin qualities up front with a keen yet balanced character about it. Subtle grassy hoppiness at the back end.
The flavor yields to the sweetness initially and then develops a light tartness from the blueberry skin. Luckily, the milk sugar smoothes things out a bit sweetly. Shy aftertaste of blueberries and milk sugar.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Some bitterness plays with a tart clenching dryness on my tongue. Carbonation felt fine. Finish was tart with the blueberries, slightly sticky with a certain sweet blueberry flesh.
Overall, to me this is a nice bluberry milkshake IPA, but the pancake that's supposedly in this seems to be MIA. Since I'm a huge fan of blueberries (yes, hidden bias here), I would definitely do this beer again despite it being as weird as I thought it was.

 

 

16 oz. can.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a one inch pink head over a purple body with no lacing. No head or ring after a few minutes. Nose of vanilla foremost, followed by blueberry, slight citrus, and slight tropical fruit. Tastes of citrus, tart blueberry, and slight vanilla. Feel is par for the Milkshake IPA course which means it gets a 3.5 and no higher, ever. Overall, lovely nose although a bit overboard on the vanilla. More like blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream than blueberry pancakes. All in all this beer and I sorta get along. Cheers!