Pale Ales — Fremont Brewing Co. vs. Lazy Boy Brewing

Fremont Brewing Co.
Summer Solstice
ABV 5.2%

Color: Clear, yellow/gold.
Aroma: Grain, lemon peel, apricot.
Flavor: Grapefruit and lemon.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Citrus bitterness with some grain coming in late.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Lazy Boy Brewing
Dumb Luck Pale Ale
ABV 5.8%

Color: Clear, amber/copper.
Aroma: Sweet malts with funky, earthy, piny hop notes.
Flavor: Mostly roasted sweet malts.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Long-lasting pine resin bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre

Blow by Blow

On a recent trip to Vashon Island with some friends we brought along two bottles to battle as part of the festivities. The group included some heavy hitters in the northwest homebrew community as well as some very experienced palates so the beers were in for a true test.

The confrontation featured two beers falling into the pale ale category that will be competing for your hard earned cash this summer. In one corner we had the Fremont Brewing Summer Solstice from Seattle and in the other corner we had the Dumb Luck Pale Ale from Lazy Boy Brewing in Everett.

As a graphic designer, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my disdain for the Lazy Boy label. I’m hoping that this is just a temporary change since I’ve always thought that their original labels were pretty good — bright, colorful and befitting of their name. I must admit that I was drawn to the new label, but not because it was impressive, rather because it was so stark and uninspired. I realize that with a name like Dumb Luck the designer didn’t have much to work with, but wow, it comes across as downright, um, lazy. I know that may have been the point, but it doesn't make it look any better.

The beers themselves were both decent, but all seven of us chose the Summer Solstice as it was just a solid beer with a nice, refreshing burst of citrus that carried through from the aroma all the way to the finish — perfect for hot weather drinking (now if we could only get some hot weather). The Dumb Luck was a totally different animal, darker in color, with some funky hop notes in the aroma, a malty flavor and a pine resiny, bitter finish. Not bad, but not up to the competition.

Big thanks to our guest tasters, Bekky, Emily, Colin, Mark and Rick “the lawn dart technician” for participating in the battle.

Winner by unanimous decision: Fremont Summer Solstice

Oregon IPAs — Three Creeks Brewing Company vs. Oakshire Brewing

Three Creeks Brewing Co.
Hoodoo Voodoo IPA
ABV 6.0%

Color: Clear, reddish amber.
Aroma: Clean piny hops and sweet honey malts.
Flavor: Powerful malt backbone with sharp pine resin hoppiness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Moderate pine and citrus rind bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good +

Oakshire Brewing
Watershed IPA
ABV 7.1%

Color: Hazy gold.
Aroma: Burnt brown sugar with mild funky, vegetal hop notes.
Flavor: Bitter citrus and pine. Acidic and a bit vegetal.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Long-lasting, intense citrus rind bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Blow by Blow

We picked these two bottles up on a recent trip to Oregon. It's pretty amazing to stand in front of a beer cooler in another city that features a great selection of local beers that never make it to Seattle. It was tough to choose what to battle, but we ended up choosing two IPAs that I'd read good things about in the past. The Three Creeks Hoodoo Voodoo hails from Sisters out near Bend while the Oakshire Watershed represents the west side of the state in Eugene.

The Hoodoo Voodoo immediately stood out in the color department with a vibrant clear reddish amber color while the Watershed stumbled into the ring with a murky orange hue.

In the aroma both beers struggled a bit. They certainly featured hops, but in both the hop aromas were dominated a bit by sweet malty aromas. We would have preferred that the aroma hops were ramped up a bit. The Watershed also had some funky, vegetal notes that weren't really off putting, but aren't our favorite hop qualities to encounter.

The flavors were both quite nice with the Hoodoo Voodoo falling a bit more on the malty side and the Watershed getting its bitter on right from the first sip. This continued on through the finish as the Voodoo had a nice, moderate piny hoppiness while the Watershed continued the hop assault and finished with a long-lasting citrus rind bitterness.

Although both were solid IPAs, we chose the Hoodoo Voodoo since it had a better hop/malt balance. So, fill the fridge with Voodoo for yourself and keep a couple bottles of Watershed in back to give offer your hop-addict friends who love a more aggressively hopped IPA.

Winner by unanimous decision: Three Creeks Hoodoo Voodoo

Beers That Feature Old Diving Helmets on the Lable — Diamond Knot Brewing Co. vs. Maritime Pacific Brewing Co.

Diamond Knot Brewing Co.
Industrial India Pale Ale
ABV 8.1%

Color: Slightly hazy orangish amber.
Aroma: Herbal, rosemary, pine, earthy soil, camp fuel and papaya.
Flavor: Savory, root vegetables, herbs and piny hops.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Harsh, piny and long-lasting.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre +

Maritime Pacific Brewing Co.
Decompression Ale
ABV 8.0%

Color: Crystal clear reddish amber.
Aroma: Sweet roasted malts, touch of citrus and pine.
Flavor: Floral, perfumey hops, toasted bread and a bit of sulfur.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Extremely harsh, burnt, ashy bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre +

Blow by Blow

In anticipation and celebration of the upcoming Seattle Beer Week (May 19th -29th) we decided to feature the official beer of the 2011 Seattle Beer Week in this week’s battle. Each year the organizers of SBW choose a different brewery to brew the official beer and this year they chose Maritime Pacific Brewing in Ballard. The good folks at Maritime decided to brew a strong ale called Decompression ale. The label features an image of a diver in an old diving helmet being groped by a tentacled beast. While perusing the beer aisle I stumbled across another beer featuring an old diving helmet on the label, Diamond Knot’s Industrial India Pale Ale. Two beers with diving helmets? Why not? Let’s battle.

Ellen poured the beers so that I could taste them blind and after trying both I thought it was obvious which one was the double IPA and which one was the strong ale. Apparently it wasn’t so obvious, because I was wrong.

Turns out, the Decompression is a seriously hoppy beer that could easily qualify as a double IPA. In our opinion, a high alcohol beer that relies on hops as its main flavor component should be called a double IPA if only to clue people in on what to expect when they taste the beer. Strong ale just doesn’t really give much information that you can’t see for yourself if you look at the alcohol content.

Style rant aside, the Decompression was not really to our liking. The aroma featured floral, perfumy hops with some toasted bread and sulfur mixed in. The flavor started pretty decent with some of that hop candy quality that we like, but quickly degraded into an acidic, harsh, spicy, bitter hoppiness that foreshadowed a wickedly bitter, burnt, ashy finish.

The Diamond Knot really wasn’t much better. The aroma was bizarrely complex with notes of rosemary, pine, earthy soil, camp fuel and papaya. It was nice to be able to detect something other than the typical citrus/pine/floral qualities we find in most double IPAs, but it really was just too weird to get excited about. The flavor followed suit with a savory, root vegetable quality along with some herbs and piny hops. The finish was not quite as harshly bitter as the Decompression, but it still wasn’t very pleasant and stayed with us for awhile.

Since we didn’t really care for either of the beers it was a tough call to pick a winner, but in the end we both chose the Diamond Knot because it wasn’t quite as harsh going down.

Winner by unanimous decision: Diamond Knot Brewing Company

IPAs — Fremont Brewing Co. vs. Two Beers Brewing Co.

Fremont Brewing Co.
Interurban IPA
ABV 6.2%

Color: Golden yellow.
Aroma: Floral and citrus hops.
Flavor: Bright citrus.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Moderate grapefruit rind.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good +

Two Beers Brewing Co.
Evolutionary IPA
ABV 6.2%

Color: Reddish amber.
Aroma: Sweet roasted malts, touch of citrus and pine.
Flavor: Honey with lemon and pine.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Long, burnt, almost ashy bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good -

Blow by Blow

This battle featured IPAs from two newish Seattle breweries jockeying for a place in a saturated IPA market. We love supporting local breweries and we love IPA, so game on! Joining us for this battle was esteemed macro-canned beer afficionado, Sarah.

One of the key things in an IPA for us is a bright hoppy aroma and the Interurban really delivered with classic floral and citrus notes. The Evolutionary, on the other hand, had more sweet roasted malts in the aroma with a bit of pine and citrus lurking in the background. Honestly, the smell reminded us more of an amber than an IPA.

The flavor in the Evolutionary was more in line with what you’d expect from an IPA with a nice lemon, honey and pine combination. The Interurban was up to the challenge though and countered with some great citrus flavors.

In the finish the Interurban asserted itself and claimed the victory with a moderate grapefruit rind bitterness that Ellen and I liked far more than the long-lasting burnt, ashy hop bitterness of the Evolutionary.

The decision, however, was not unanimous. Sarah chose the Evolutionary as she thought it was smoother as opposed to the mouth-puckering (her words) citrus hoppiness of the Interurban. We think this probably had to do with hop tolerance. Our hop-hungry palates were drawn to the beer that had a bigger hop profile, while her sensitive, hop-deprived palate sought something a bit more mellow. Take note and purchase accordingly, as both are well made and worth buying.

Winner by majority decision: Fremont Brewing Company