Blind Faith (Magic Hat Brewing, Burlington, VT)

So, last summer we were driving in Vermont on vacation, passing through downtown Burlington en route to Ben & Jerry's later in the day, and I saw a sign: Magic Hat Brewing: Next Left.  Didn't plan or research it, but had no choice but to stop.

I'll leave the review of the tour for another post, but one of the samples I had was Blind Faith that ranked really high. However, picking up a bottle of it locally, I didn't come up with the same evaluation.

Big off white head piled up high in the glass and lingers for a long time before falling to a nice thick film with a light lace. English IPA is what's listed on the bottle and the earthy hop aroma on a strong malt biscuit base doesn't disappoint.  Underneath is a sharp yet subdued spice that's peppery along with an almost musty smell.   Warms up well and the nose clarifies with the temperature. Some bitterness in the taste with a mineral or metallic taste blended with the light malt.  Mouthfeel is fairly light.

Not a bad beer, but I'm not the fan of it now that I was last summer.  Looking at Magic Hat's website, Blind Faith is the summer IPA on Tour, so looks like I'm a bit behind the curve on buying and drinking this one.  Still a good beer, but I'll should pay attention a bit more when buying out of the way bottles at a liquor store that I don't know the reputation.