Burlington "Little Wizard" IPA

Williston, Vermont? You mean to tell me that you set your brewery up in Williston, Vermont, and yet you claim that it's Burlington? I bet you think Essex Junction is effectively Burlington as well, don't you? What about Richmond? Oh, I'm sorry, is that a bridge too far? Is your cut-off St. George? You people make me sick. If you're not in Burlington, don't claim to be! 

The Little Wizard is "Simpsons" yellow and hazy as all get-out. The head is just about perfect out of the can, and the lumpy, sticky bubbles have a chance of leaving my precious lacing as they go down. The aroma is surprisingly distant with fruits all too demure to really come out and strut their stuff. I wonder if the magic will be that the flavor is bold and strident, despite the rather tame smell.

First sip is a nice, somewhat serene mix of fruits all melted together to form a pretty massless and ephemeral experience. The malt doesn't seem to be giving it any weight, and the yeast is only intruding minimally. I guess the malt has to be doing something, as there is no bitter tsunami in the wake of the flavors, but the sip is... maybe I'm too harsh on this. I mean, it's got a flavor, and that flavor is pretty good, and it is certainly inoffensive. It's very subtle, and there's certainly a place for this kind of beer. 

Tip-in is sweet fruit with bitter ends; grapefruit and tangerine are quite forward with minimal carbonation sizzle. The middle - it's not like the carbonation is raucous, but it overwhelms the very subtle mix of very nice, wallflower flavors that are not enough to really give the beer the character it needs. The finish has more bitterness than the rest of the beer had flavor, and fruit kind of hangs on for the trail off.

Bottom Line: Honestly, good for the right mood, but pretty tame.

2.75/5