Riddle of the Sphinx
Burlington Beer Co.

This starts off with a great pour that easily empties the contents of a pint can into a clear glass liter mug. There's a very modest whitish head on top that appears to be enduring. Beneath, lays a darkish honey-amber liquid that's opaque, but not overly dull, nor is it murky. There's an aroma of malt, yeast and hops, but it is overpowered by the noticeable alcohol. At at 10% ABV, that can't be Judged harshly. Yes, there is an alcohol burn here to taste that some really good brews manage to disguise better. But, it's not so off-putting this can't be appreciated for what it is. After all, rather clearly, its label declares it to be a Triple IPA. There's plenty of sweet malt within the upfront taste and some hops with a tropical fruit character at the finish. Nothing more is needed there, as the alcohol dries out the finish sufficiently, by itself. For the level of alcohol, the mouthfeel is meritorious. Even though the taste buds pick up the alcohol bite early, this still flows smoothly and rather softly across the tongue. Like so many high ABV brews, glass lacing is nearly non-existent. People don't drink 10% ABV brews to marvel at the glass. Overall, this is a good high octane ale, with its worst flaw being it tastes like one. Not necessarily a beer for an affectionato, but for what it strives to be, it's pretty good.

 

I've only had 1 beer from Burlington Beer Co. previously, and even that was over 2 years ago. It's actually quite surprising since they seem to be a shelf staple at my local liquor stores. I honestly wasn't even paying attention to the brewery when I picked this up on Tavour so I probably could've picked it up locally but oh well. Let's dig in

Pours a hazy orange gold with 3 fingers of soapy off white head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves decent lacing

The nose is quite aggressive and dank, which is not what I was expecting going in but I'm perfectly fine with. I'm picking up on aromas of resinous hops, dank weed, pithy grapefruit, caramel malt, orange zest, black pepper, pine sap, and light grass

It's a bit more bland in taste unfortunately, but certainly not bad by any means. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting pithy grapefruit, caramel malt, black pepper, earthy hops, light weed, orange zest, and toffee. The swallow brings notes of caramel malt, earthy hops, pithy grapefruit, orange juice, black pepper, grass, light toast, and weed

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes neutral with a bit of a bite

This isn't anything amazing, but damn solid for what it is