To be clear, the intent of “VS” in the title for this post is to indicate comparison, not competition.  After all, Dogfish Head is a favorite brewery of mine, and I enjoy just about all their brews…perhaps even the one made with spit, were I given the opportunity to try it.  Nonetheless, when two things, whether they be ideas, consumables, products, or people are scrutinized side by side, saying one is loftier than the other is natural, so yes, at the end of this post I will declare a better beer.

In choosing these to beers as the Sip With Us Saturday brews, I really wanted to test my own taste buds in 2 ways:  1) How would they decipher the differences between the beers, and 2) How had my taste changed, since I have reviewd the 90 Minute IPA before (though I’ve also had the Burton Baton, I haven’t reviewed it).

For the sake of brevity, I am not going to go into the typical detail I prefer to in reviewing brews, but will highlight the important aspects of the beer.  Reader beware, unfortunately, due to feeling ill, these two brews were poured and consumed a night apart.

The 90 Minute Pour:

I was a bit surprised at what I saw upon pouring the 90 minute.  Unlike my recollection of my past experiences with 90 Minute, the beer poured with little to no head, and a seeming absence of carbonation.  The beer was a pretty orange color, less red than a typical American IPA, and pretty.

The Burton Baton Pour:

Quite similar to the 90 Minute, only it appeared a tad darker with more red and rusty brown hues.  The Baton seemed only slightly more carbonated, but there was a more distinct head and lacing action inside the glass.  Both beers appear more syrupy than a standard IPA, as one would expect from their more elevated ABVs.

The 90 Minute Nose:

The 90 Minute smelled delicious!  The sweet malt aroma is quite crisp.  It is less caramel smelling than mosts America IPAs, and the hop aroma is more blended; blended in the sense that it isn’t a grapefruit bomb.  There are musky, earthy hop aromas.  Grassy and citrusy.  There was a candy like aroma, similar to cotton candy at the fair.

The Burton Baton Nose:

Unlike the 90 minute IPA, the malt aroma was more rich and buttery.  Notes of toasted bitterness hits the nose.  The hop aroma, while floral slightly grapefruity, had a slight nuance of an English IPA aroma…but only slightly.  If this beer was oak aged, my nose didn’t pick up on it.  But I was badly congested!

The 90 Minute Taste:

Holy smokes…the beer is flat.  I was a bit disappointed, knowing that last time I drank this beer I found It aptly carbonated.  Fearful that I was wrong, I asked my wife what she thought of the carbonation level.  She agreed:  something was missing.  The taste hop presence in the beer is much less bombastic than in many American IPAs.  Thank God.  I like to taste my malts alongside my bitter hops.  The beer is quite balanced.  There is a pleasant complexity.  Crisp grains, sweet slightly caramel flavor, sugary sweet candy, a bit of orange flavor, goes well with the straight out of the ground hop aroma.

The Burton Baton Taste:

There’s the oak!  I found the Burton Baton to be much more complex.  It has much more American qualities than it does English Ale qualities, but the blend is fantastic.  Had I not just drank the 90 Minute, I would notice less of a difference between the two beers, but while retaining most of the qualities of the 90 Minute IPA, Burton Baton was much smoother and added toasted qualities, hints of butter and toffee, a bit of a maple syrup flavor, raw murky hop notes, and a very subtle oak flavor, that comes across in the aftertaste.  This aftertaste is not as bitter as other oaked beers, and conveys a smooth smokiness.  One pleasant flavor that I noticed in the Burton Baton was a more fruity/juicy flavor that reminded me of apricots.

Overall Thoughts:

Both are excellent beers, but I do feel like the heavier body of the 90 Minute was in need of more oompf in the carbonation department….but I may have just had a tainted bottle.  It is not difficult to pick my preference:  Burton Baton.

What did you think? Do you have a preference?

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