This week, Asheville, NC-based Burial Beer Company is celebrating its invasion of South Carolina by holding several events across three of South Carolina's key markets. I'm glad to say the invasion began right here in Columbia, with tap takeovers at local bottle shop Craft and Draft and downtown bar The Whig, with additional availability in the Columbia area.

Last night's Columbia events are being followed by similar takeovers starting tonight in Greenville and Charleston, where events will continue through the weekend.

Having visited Burial Beer in Asheville, I took the opportunity to check out the takeover going on at Craft and Draft. Their tap line-up included 5 Burial beers.

I took the opportunity to check out the two IPAs Burial had on tap, starting with the session IPA (number 3 on the big board).

Burial's Ceremonial Session IPA checks the ABV box for "sessionable" at just 4%. This particular version of Ceremonial was brewed with Eureka hops--it seems they produce various batches using different hop varietals--and pours a hazy straw color, and musters a powerful pine hop aroma. This pine note carries through into the taste, though it's not quite as strong, and blends with some dank notes and a hint of citrus. There is almost no hop bite, just a slight bite in the aftertaste, and the flavors linger for only a brief time after the drinking experience.

The second Burial beer I had at the takeover was the Tuskhorn IPA. This Tuskhorn clocks in at 7.5% ABV, and was made using Citra, Centennial, and Blonde Ella hops. The beer poured an orange-gold color, and was somewhat hazy with just under a finger's worth of lingering pillowy head. Despite being an American IPA, this beer had a powerful hop bite throughout the entire tasting experience, along with tons of pine and citrus notes, including a bit of a lemon and/or lemon candy hint. These massive flavors dissipated fairly quickly in the aftertaste, which I found surprising, given how bold those flavors were.

My congratulations to Burial Beer Company on a successful initial foray into the state of South Carolina. I hope that success carries through for this week's and weekend's events, and long into the future!