Dogfish head's Burton Baton

A blend of Old Ale and Imperial IPA? Where in the Hell did they decide to come up with that? I could have sworn I had this before, but maybe I swore off Dogfish before it became widely available in Texas. Didn't know it was an IPA, at least in part, or I might not have ignored it. Then again, who knows what it will actually be, based on their penchant for mislabeling styles.

Pours a loosely filtered deep reddish amber with a nice tan head. Sweet and floral, like a decent IPA should smell--I guess the Old Ale tones it down a bit from the Imperial IPA. The 10% ABV comes out in the smell the more it warms. And in the taste. Otherwise it has a decent feel to it, with plenty of malt that translates into the taste well. It has a fair amount of hops as well, but it's well-balanced and well thought out. Probably the best Dogfish beer I've had.

Boston Brewing Company's Samuel Adams Long Shot Old Ben Ale

The only reason I bought this was because of the Long Shot competition. I bet it started as a great beer. but will be greatly reduced after Sam Adams gets hold of it.

Pours a deep coppery amber with a nice small-celled tan head. Nice bready smell to it, with no alcohol, a surprise for a 9% beer.

There's the alcohol. It's the biggest part of the taste, followed by a sickly sweet fruit taste. Not citrus, more dank.

I bet this was alright at the home brew competition, but here it's odd. Too much going on to be an old ale, I think.