Holiday beer 4: Burleigh Brewing Co Fig Jam India Pale Ale - No time to be humble here

For a while I've had it in my head that IPA should for 'Imperial Pale Ale'. How and why I'm not sure (although I might have meshed this up from the Hilltop Hood's song The Sentinel where they mention Imperial Pints) but no, it stands for India Pale Ale and holiday beer number 4 turned out to be one of the best I've ever had...

The owl oil burner in the back looks on in wonderment..

Now I'm from the school of be humble...or be humbled, so when you're faced with a label that attempts to spruik how good it is I do get doubtful. I would have much preferred a label that said 'Look it's okay' or 'Nothing special beer' so when you were curious enough to try it simply on the name alone, you'd have your socks well and truly blown off.

HOW MUCH DID IT SET YOU BACK?: Not entirely certain but I know it's under 5 bucks. Turns out it's well priced for a very tasty drop.

EVER BEEN TO INDIA: No. Did visit Indonesian once and had a couple of Bin Tang's (even bought a t-shirt) but that doesn't really count here.

INITIAL THOUGHTS: I smell grass and fruit. No that's not the opening line of some truly terrible poem, that's what I'm getting from opening smell. The colour is a mix of bronze and gold - the head has hung around longer than other holiday beers so far.
There's lots of tasty flavours here including notes of caramel, a hint of butterscotch maybe and some toffee.
It's a touch on the sweet side (similar to the sweetness in the Estrella Damm) but it's balanced nicely with everything else going on (and thankfully in this one there's plenty going on including some nice hoppy tastes.) I'm getting flavours right through the process from the tip of the tongue, right through to a lovely aftertaste that fades slowly. This is going stupidly well.

WHAT TO EAT IT WITH: Hmmm, good question. I'm struggling to think of something it'd truly gel with but I tried it with pork sirloin and it went pretty well there.

OVERALL: This beer is dynamite (and not just because it punches at 7% alcohol.) While it has a slightly different taste than a lot of beers I've drunk, it's tasty, it's insanely drinkable and it has that merit that I really enjoyed from the Brooklyn Lager and that is as soon as you finish one, you can't wait to open the next. (If you're planning or more than one though, hand your keys over to a sober friend.)

Frank It's Good, Just Ask Mary.

4.75 out of 5 Imperial Pints.