Dogfish Head Burton Baton Review

Name: Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 10%

It's been a couple of months since I've had any beer from Dogfish Head, so I've decided to take it upon myself to check out their Burton Baton, Despite having the word "Burton" in its name, this isn't a Burton Style Ale but actually an oak-aged Imperial IPA. It is a comparatively stark contrast to Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA, which clocked in at 18% ABV.

Seeing as how I'm a history geek of sorts, there is usually a story behind a name of a beer from Dogfish Head and it turns out the name comes from the town of Burton, England. It is from Burton that the India Pale Ale was first conceived. Back when India was a British Colony, there was a demand from British Soldiers for beer from back home. However the beer would spoil on ships making their way to India, so extra hops were added to help preserve the beer, and thus, gave birth to a new style of beer and has gone on to become a staple of the craft brewing industry.

Burton Baton pours a hazy orange color with no visible carbonation. It possesses a very thin khaki colored head but comes with some pretty good lacing.

In the aroma, I'm getting some strong citrus hop & grapefruit notes paired with some oakiness. Following up with that is some rather caramel & toffee maltiness with a slight hint of smoke.

With the taste, it is quite grapefruit & piney hop heavy upfront, followed by some strong oakiness & caramel malts. In the aftertaste I'm getting some very strong hop bitterness and light roastiness.

Needless to say, this is an Imperial IPA that provides the hop fix that fans of the style so desperately crave. Plus I'm a sucker of sorts for oak-aged beers, but even if it weren't oak-aged, I would still highly recommend this!

Dogfish Head Burton Baton - 9.25/10