Double IPAs — Dick's Brewing Co. vs. Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB)

Dick's Brewing Co.
Imperial IPA
ABV 8.6%

Color: Bright, clear orange.
Aroma: Sharp pine with some sweet fruitiness.
Flavor: Big, bitter pine at first, then floral honey sweetness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Hoppy honey, moderate bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

HUB Ace of Spades
Imperial IPA
ABV 9.5%

Color: Murky, dirty orange.
Aroma: Clean, soapy, with spicy pine.
Flavor: Acidic, grassy, piny with slight fruity sweetness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Extremely bitter. Burnt grapefruit rind with intense tannins.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good -

Blow by Blow
OK, with this being the third double IPA battle in the last five weeks, we're officially in the midst of a serious hop binge. Trying the likes of Pliny the Elder, Widmer Nelson (formerly Deadlift), and Double Jack has us craving that balance of extreme hops and sweet malts that can create bottled bliss.

This time around we battled the highly regarded Ace of Spades from the popular and successful Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland against the new Imperial IPA from Dick's Brewing Company, a long-running but often overlooked brewery from Centralia Washington.

As I am often aware of popular opinion regarding the beers we try, Ellen usually pours them so that I can judge the beers blind. So, I left the room, Ellen poured the beers and the battle was on.

Right off the bat the Dick's had the upper hand with a bright, clear orange color as opposed to the murky Ace of Spades. In the aroma they both were dominated by spicy, piny hops with the Ace of Spades also coming across a bit soapy. Neither had the big, juicy citrus and floral notes that are prevalent in some of our favorite double IPAs, but they were both very aromatic.

The Dick's also had a more appealing flavor with a good floral honey malt sweetness to balance the piny hop bitterness. The bottle says that they used "all Columbus hops" in the beer which seems pretty unique as most double IPAs out there use a mixture of different hops to achieve their target hop profile.

The Ace of Spades is not what we would call a balanced beer. The flavor is a shock to the tongue with sharp pine notes and acidity. The fruity malt is in there somewhere, but it's hard to taste it behind all the bitter, grassy hoppy flavors.

As you might expect at this point, the Dick's emerged victorious with a pleasant finish that was like hoppy honey (I think I might try to make some hop honey to put on biscuits or toast!) The Ace of Spades continued to stick to its guns just like Lemmy, and finished with a massive burnt grapefruit rind bitterness that seemed intent on bludgeoning our taste buds much like a Motorhead song might bludgeon your ears. So, I guess HUB succeeded in making a beer befitting of its name, but its bad ass moniker couldn't help it from getting owned by the far less brash offering from Dick's.

Winner by unanimous decision: Dick's Brewing Company

Former Champion Double IPAs — Firestone Walker vs. Widmer

Firestone Walker
Double Jack
ABV 9.5%

Color: Deep orange.
Aroma: Sharp pine resin, beeswax and rich sweet malts.
Flavor: Full bodied with sharp, astringent piny hops and a touch of citrus.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Long lasting pine resin and citrus rind bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Widmer Deadlift
Imperial IPA
ABV 8.6%

Color: Light orange.
Aroma: Intense floral and citrus hops. Grapefruit candy.
Flavor: Full bodied and sweet with bright citrus hop punch late.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Mellow grapefruit bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Blow by Blow
Tonight we staged an epic battle. Two former double IPA Bottle Battle champions squared off to see who would remain undefeated. In one glass we had Firestone Walker's amazing Double Jack. In the other glass we had the equally amazing Widmer Deadlift.

As you might expect, both came out swinging. Both had big hops in the aroma, with the Deadlift offering floral and citrus hop aromas and the Double Jack countering with sharp pine resin and some citrus as well. They both smelled absolutely awesome, but we gave the edge to the Deadlift as we prefer the floral to the pine.

The flavors continued to impress. Both were full bodied with a rich malty backbone that was able to balance the intense hop flavors. The Double Jack was a bit more aggressively hoppy throughout while the Deadlift started sweet and brought the hops late. Again, both great.

The big difference came in the finish. Deadlift had an amazingly balanced finish with just the right amount of hop bitterness and sweet citrus flavors. The Double Jack had a much more bitter finish, leaving us with long lasting bitter pine sap and citrus rind flavors.

Despite these both being fantastic beers the decision was easy for us. We both chose the Widmer Deadlift because it's like drinking some kind of magical hoppy, grapefruit flower nectar. This is a good thing for our bank account since the Double Jack is far more expensive.

Bottle Battles are all about matchups. If you look at our tasting notes for the Double Jack from earlier this month you'll see that we detected more citrus than pine. There is definitely a little of both, but when compared against the Alaskan Double IPA the citrus stood out, while the battle with the Deadlift brought out more of the pine notes. Just more proof that tasting is always influenced by a multitude of factors that range from your environment to your mood to what beer you're comparing it against.

Winner by unanimous decision: Widmer

Burly Porters — Mactarnahan's vs. Flying Dog Brewery

Mactarnahan's
Ink Blot Baltic Porter
ABV 7.5%

Color: Dark brown with a touch of red.
Aroma: Sweet and malty with some berry fruit and coffee.
Flavor: Sweet and smoky with some coffee notes.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Acidic with mild, lingering coffee.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Flying Dog
Gonzo Imperial Porter
ABV 9.2%

Color: Dark as a black steer's tookus on a moonless prairie night.
Aroma: Sharp, spicy hops.
Flavor: Berry fruits, then some coffee maltiness and finally some big piny hops.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Malty coffee flavors at first, then burnt coffee ground bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Blow by Blow
Tonight we battled Porters, but these weren't your average porters. These were porters on steroids. The Ink Blot from Mactarnahan's called itself a Baltic Porter which is basically a regular porter with more alcohol. The Gonzo from Flying Dog called itself an Imperial Porter which is also a regular porter with more alcohol. Two different names, same basic style.

The Gonzo really caught us by surprise. We were expecting a boozy, malt bomb, but we were confronted with a hop monster instead. As a matter of fact, if we didn't know what style of beer it was we'd have guessed it was either a double IPA or a CDA (or Black IPA). It had some coffee notes, but they were mostly dominated by an intense hoppiness throughout.

The Ink Blot was a totally different story. It focused much more on sweet and malty flavors and had just a trace of hops to keep it from being too sweet. It also had nice coffee and smoke flavors that proved to go quite well with our chicken molé enchiladas.

Befitting of the name (and the person it was named after, Mr. Hunter S. Thompson), the Gonzo was a big, bold and intense beer. In the end though, it was just too amped up for me so I scored the fight in favor of the more subdued Ink Blot. Ellen, however, was drawn to the brash and unapologetic Gonzo and ended up choosing it because it was a richer, fuller beer.

Both are worth your dollar, but be mindful that they are totally different beers, one appealing to the hopheads and one to those who prefer a sweeter and maltier beer.

Split decision: Ellen chose the Gonzo, I chose the Ink Blot.

Scotch Ales — 3 Brewery Collaboration vs. Silver City

Green Flash/Pizza Port/Stone Collaboration
Highway 78 Scotch Ale
ABV 8.8%

Color: Dark reddish brown.
Aroma: Sweet malts with coffee, chocolate, honey and root beer notes.
Flavor: Not too sweet with molasses and roasted malt flavors.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Lingering sweetness that with some smoke and acidity.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good +

Silver City
Fat Woody Scotch Ale
ABV 9.2%

Color: Flat Coca-Cola.
Aroma: Sweet gummy coke bottle.
Flavor: Quite sweet with smoky malts and dates/prunes. A bit thin.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: More Coca-Cola then quickly disappears altogether.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Blow by Blow
Tonight we battled a collaboration beer brewed by an all-star cast of California breweries against a long-time favorite in Washington from Silver City Brewing Co. The style: Scotch Ale.

A little over a year ago we featured Silver City's Fat Scotch Ale in a battle. This time around we tried the Fat Woody Ale which is the Fat Scotch Ale aged with American white oak. One thing that we noticed in both of the Silver City Scotch Ales was that they were severely undercarbonated. So, if anyone from Silver City is reading, we implore you to get some bubbles into your bottles.

Sadly, the Fat Woody did not live up to our expectations. We had hoped that the wood aging would have been more apparent, but on the contrary, we could barely detect any wood character at all. The whole experience was way to reminiscent of drinking flat cola — very sweet, undercarbonated and slightly fruity.

The Highway 78 didn't blow us away, but we liked it a lot more. It still had plenty of sweetness, but it was also complemented by some smoke and acidity which made it taste more balanced overall.

These beers are definitely made for cold weather imbibing which made them perfect candidates for the winter-like weather we've been getting in Seattle this "spring." We suggest drinking them after dinner since they are very sweet and desserty. Both are worth trying, but if you have to choose, go with the Highway 78. We gave it the edge in this battle and if you like sweeter beers with little to no hops this will be right up your alley.

Winner by unanimous decision: Highway 78

Double IPAs — Alaskan Brewing vs. Firestone Walker

Alaskan Brewing
Imperial IPA
ABV 8.5%

Color: Slightly hazy reddish copper.
Aroma: Sweet wood and whiskey with some floral notes.
Flavor: Sweet and simple with a bit of woodiness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced
Finish: Mild bitterness early building to harsh, woody bitterness. Acidic.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Firestone Walker
Double Jack
ABV 9.5%

Color: Clear golden.
Aroma: Spicy, citrus hops.
Flavor: Full bodied. Big, sweet and malty with equally big citrus hops.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Sweet malts, mild citrus bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Blow by Blow
Imperial IPAs continue to take up a lot of space on store shelves, so it is our duty to battle them for the benefit of all you hopheads out there. These two in particular were itching for a fight, so we poured a bit of each and let them settle it in the glass.

If this battle were about looks alone, the Alaskan would have won handily. It had a gorgeous hue of vibrant reddish copper that was so compelling that we were tempted to take the beer down to Home Depot and have them mix up a batch of Alaskan Imperial IPA paint for us. The Double Jack, on the other hand was a fairly bland golden hue — not inspiring at all.

What the Double Jack lacked in color it more than made up for in aroma. It was just bursting with juicy citrus hops. Neither of us wanted to give up the glass. Each sniff kind of made our eyes roll back in our head. The Alaskan was nowhere near as special. As a matter of fact, in comparison to the Double Jack it seemed to barely have any hops in the nose at all, choosing instead to focus on a sweet, malty and woody aroma.

Once the Double Jack took the upper hand it never gave the Alaskan a chance, ultimately landing an uppercut that knocked the Alaskan clean out of its XTRATUFS. Game over. Lights out.

The Alaskan is a decent beer, it just got steamrolled by one of the best IPAs we've ever had the privilege of drinking. If you like huge, malty, hoppy Imperial IPAs go get some Double Jack immediately. There may still be some left on store shelves in the Seattle area.

Winner by unanimous decision: Firestone Walker