David Brockington's Tasting Notebook

Boston Burton Ale

My first impressions were more along the lines of expectations. Most of the microbrewed beers in North America are some variant of British Ales, yet they have all taken on particular characterizations of their own, such as an affinity for hops in the Pacific Northwest, or a general trend across the continent to equivicate "Pale Ale" with a truely "pale" beer rather than one with a more amer-copper shade. Furthermore, at least among the North American Pale Ales which I have tasted, few have attempted to replicate the relatively unique flavor profile found in the Ales of Burton-upon-Trent. The mineral composition of the beers in Burton make for a minerally-woody palate, and also lends itself well to higher hopping rates. Needless to say, I was intrigued by the moniker of this beer alone, and jumped at the chance to taste it.

Initial Impressions:

A lovely copper color with a quickly-generating head composed of small bubbles. The head slowly dissipated, yet a pleasant lace remained behind suggesting good head-retention. The clarity was spectacular -- crystal-clear to brilliant. I imagine that it was filtered.

Nose:

The hops were definately subdued in my sample, but a hint of maltiness poked through, in addition to a touch of cloying sweetness which lends one to speculate on the addition of a 40-80L crystal malt in light quantities. Such an addition to the mash would also explain the beautiful color.

Flavor:

I wasn't overwhelmed with any particular flavor constituent in this glass -- it was well balanced to be sure, but lacked in any particular excitement. Not that a Pale Ale necessarily lends itself to excitement, and the lack of a strong impression would not lead me to score it down. My suspicion is that the beer was filtered, however, as an unfiltered product would have allowed for a slightly stronger presence of both malt and hops to come through, in addition to the dextrines which create body. The body itself was medium for style; I would guess at a 155F conversion temperature. However, as I previously indicated, the alleged filtration process took some of the body out of the beer. Yeast attenuation seemed high.

Final Analysis:

Since I was looking for them, I was keen to notice the modest presence of Burtonesque water-treatment making itself apparent in the beer. Even while the rest of the flavor profile struck me as average, the mere presence of a Burton-like quality to the beer would put it on my "recommend" list. I appreciated that aspect of the beer quite a bit. Overall, this is the one aspect which stands out to me, even though it, like the rest of the flavor profile, remains subdued; there was little if any hop or malt flavors to compete with the Burtonesque flavors. Ultimately, this makes for a decent session beer, one which I could probably drink all night and still make my way to the bed. I would guess at an OG between 1.045 and 1.050.

Score:

***1/2 out of five. (The half is solely the result of the Burton-ness of this beer. Aside from that, it rates a 3, imho).
Copyright 1994 by David Brockington, all rights reserved

David Brockington, Seattle, USA
bronyaur@u.washington.edu