Wood Aged Beers with Cherry — New Belgium vs. Widmer

New Belgium Lips of Faith
Dark Kriek
(65% Ale Brewed with Cherry Juice,
35% Ale Aged in Wood Barrels)
ABV 8%

Color: Clear red-tinged brown.
Aroma: Oak, cherries bit of dank, damp funkiness.
Flavor: Sweet at first, then tart with sour dried cherry flavor.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): N/A. Tart.
Finish: Tart, acidic.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Widmer Brother's Reserve
Cherry Oak Dopplebock
(Oak Aged Ale Fermented with Dark Cherries)
ABV 9%

Color: Cloudy brown.
Aroma: Intensely fragrant with burnt toffee, dried shiitake mushrooms and earthy wood.
Flavor: Thick and almost savory, slight soy sauce.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Dried dark fruit and tart acidity.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre

Winner by unanimous decision: New Belgium. Two completely different styles of beer, but both use cherry and both use barrel aging. The Dark Kriek handled the oak and cherry quite nicely. The oak was subtle, but noticeable and the cherry was bright without being medicinal. The Dopplebock, on the other hand, didn't seem to strike a balance with the cherries and oak. They both seemed lost behind a curious savoriness that surprised both of us.

Imperial IPAs — Widmer vs. Bridgeport

Widmer Deadlift Imperial IPA
ABV 8.6%, IBU 70

Color: Bright, clear orange.
Aroma: Orange blossoms, honey and clove.
Flavor: Hop candy — malty sweet with a little citrus.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Delicious sweetness followed by a mellow, lingering bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial IPA
ABV 7.5%, IBU 85

Color: Bright, clear orange. Almost exactly the same as the Widmer.
Aroma: Pine tree sap, SweeTarts, lemon peel, ammonia.
Flavor: Brief honey sweetness that is almost immediately obliterated by bitterness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Bitter, bitter and more bitter. Lemon peel and did we mention bitter?
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre

Winner by unanimous decision: Widmer in a first round knockout. The Bridgeport seemed way out of balance. All hops, no malt makes Hop Czar a bitter boy. The Deadlift, on the other hand, had a solid malt backbone to balance the hops. All around, it had softer edges and was amazingly easy to drink, despite the higher alcohol content. According to the 4-pack box, the Deadlift uses the Nelson Sauvin hop from New Zealand. We're all for local ingredients, but if this foreign hop variety tastes this good in other beers, please send a bottle our way.

Winter Beers — MacTarnahan’s vs. Anchor

MacTarnahan’s Brewing Co.
Winter Humbug’r
ABV 5.3%

Color: Black coffee with burnt orange edges.
Aroma: Coffee, clean roasted malts, smoke.
Flavor: Burnt coffee, subtle sweetness, thin body.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Sweet coffee, touch of dark chocolate.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

2009 Anchor Brewing Co.
Our Special Ale
ABV 5.5%

Color: Dark brown with hints of orange/red.
Aroma: Black pepper, cloves, pine.
Flavor: Pine with lemony acidity, subtle roasted malts.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Lemon peel.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre

Winner by unanimous decision: MacTarnahan’s. This was a battle of simple and well-made (MacTarnahan’s) vs. overly ambitious (Anchor). We love experimentation and creativity which is why we always look forward to the "Our Special Ale" every year. However, in this head to head battle, simple proved to be tastier. The Humbug‘r was a solid porter (the style they claim on the bottle). No glam, no glitz, just good beer. The Anchor, on the other hand, was just a bit... different. The aromas were amazing but the flavors didn't follow suit. On a side note, we were very happy to see that both of these were somewhat sessionable. A couple Humbug’rs on a cold night is a good thing.

Scotch Ales — Silver City vs. Bridgeport

Silver City Fat Scotch Ale
ABV 9%

Color: Deep dark maple syrup. Almost no carbonation.
Aroma: Sweet beer wort and brown sugar.
Flavor: Sweet, malty, touch of vanilla bean.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Burnt caramel, toffee.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Bridgeport Highland Ambush
Scotch Ale (33% Aged in Bourbon Barrels)
ABV 6.8%

Color: Dark brown with orange tint.
Aroma: Sweet and slightly phenolic (clove/band-aid).
Flavor: Mild sweetness with dried orange peel flavor and hint of bourbon.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Mellow citrus/chemical bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre

Winner by unanimous decision: Silver City. It had wonderful sweet, malty, classic Scotch Ale flavors and was dangerously easy to drink considering the high ABV. The Bridgeport on the other hand was not very focused. It seemed like a Scotch Ale dressed in a citrus suit. Neither of us would have guessed that the Bridgeport was a Scotch Ale.

We paired the Scotch Ales with a ground goat meat, carmelized onion, and fresh mozarella pizza and the sweetness of the onions went quite well with the sweetness of the Silver City. The Bridgeport was fiercely independant however, and did not want to cooperate with the food.