Three for the Road — The Final Battle (IPAs of course!)

Almanac India Pale Ale

ABV 7.5%

Wild Ride Brew
Hopperhead India Pale Ale

ABV 6.7%

Sunriver Brewing
Vicious Mosquito IPA

ABV 7%

Five years and over 300 beers later we have come to the end of the road. It was an epic journey of beer education and we enjoyed every sip (even those that we spit out). Along the way we drank some amazing beers and some amazingly infected beers and we learned a ton about the flavor profiles of many beer styles and what goes into making them taste the way they do. Hopefully we steered you in the direction of a great new beer or a new beer style in the process.

 

There are many reasons we are calling it quits, but one of the big reasons is that traditional reviewing gets boring and repetitive. At some point we found ourselves following the "beer reviewer" script and grew tired of the purple prose of both our reviews and the reviews of others. Trying to come up with creative ways to describe aroma, flavor and finish is tedious and took away from our enjoyment of the moment. At some point what it all boils down to is, "Do you like it?" And the factors that go into answering that question go far beyond a beer's characteristics. It's about who you're with. It's about the weather outside. It's about your current state of mind.

 

So, for this last post we enthusiastically do away with all the formality of typical reviews and get back to the true spirit of a Bottle Battle: which beer tastes better to us and why. It's completely and blissfully subjective, without any concern about beer knowledge or expertise.

 

Two of the three IPAs we chose for the final battle came from central Oregon near Bend (Sunriver & Wild Ride) while the third was brewed in San Francisco. We enjoyed all three despite the fact that they were very different stylistically. The Hopperhead came out strong with huge hops on the nose, while the Vicious Mosquito was far more subtle in its aroma hops. The Almanac smelled the maltiest of the three with some fruit and some funk thrown in for good measure. But as with many of our IPA battles it all came down to which beer found that elusive balance of malts and hops that we've described in the past as "hop candy." The answer here was clearly the Almanac. For a brewery that seems to have made a name for itself with barrel-aged and sour beers, this is a solid IPA. At 7.5% alcohol and with a distinct sweetness in the finish it could definitely fall into the double IPA category, but no matter what they choose to call it, it's damn good and has definitely made it into the rotation of excellent IPAs you are likely to find in our fridge if you come visit!

 

And before I sign off for good I'd be remiss not to thank my wife for being my co-conspirer in this whole concept and generously volunteering her nose and tastebuds to the cause. Also, a big thanks to all the guest tasters who helped out with a battle along the way! 

 

And finally, in the spirit of new beginnings, we are pleased to announce that our bakery/restaurant, Buttercloud, will be offering its own house IPA on tap starting on June 19th! It's called Hopcloud and it's brewed for us by one of our favorite local breweries, Opposition Brewing. Next time you're in Southern Oregon come by and enjoy a pint with your biscuit sandwich!

 

Unanimous decision: Almanac India Pale Ale

Saisons — Joseph James Brewing vs. Ft. George/The Commons Collab vs. Under the Rose Brewing

Joseph James Brewing
Pro-Am Saison

ABV 4.7%

Ft. George/The Commons

Collaboration Plazm

Farmhouse Ale

ABV 6.5%

Under the Rose Brewing

Saisonbeer 

ABV 4.8%

Saisons (or Farmhouse Ales) seem to be gaining in popularity lately and we're beginning to see a good selection of options available on the beer shelves. On my recent trip to Las Vegas I brought home two saisons brewed in the state of Nevada to pit against an exciting collaboration between Ft. George Brewing in Astoria and The Commons Brewery in Portland. Beers were tasted blind.

Beer #1 (Ft. George/The Commons Plazm Farmhouse Ale) was orangish brown with sweet citrus, fresh cut grass and cloves on the nose. It featured a medium body and a smooth mouthfeel with sweet malt, citrus and mild banana flavors. The citrus continued into the finish with some sweet honey and floral notes along with a mild bitterness.

Beer #2 (Under the Rose Saisonbeer) was brownish orange with a nose of earth, funk, honey, ripe-banana and band-aid. It seemed a bit undercarbonated and had a medium body that featured savory herb and banana flavors as well as some tinny, metallic notes. The finish was simple, sweet and fast with no bitterness at all.

Beer #3 (Joseph James Pro-Am Saison) was a hazy, murky yellow and smelled of a bouquet of roses (seriously!). The flavor was more crisp and citrus focused with a medium to light body. In the finish we detected grain, yeast and a moderate citrus bitterness. 

This was a fun battle as all three beers were extremely different. When it came right down to it though, we both agreed that we had just experienced a Goldilocks Bottle Battle: The Saisonbeer was too sweet, the Pro-Am was too citrusy and the Plazm was juuust right (for us anyway).   

Unanimous decision: Ft. George/The Commons Plazm

Red Ales — Payette Brewing Co. vs. Ballast Point Brewing Co.

Payette Brewing Co.
Slaughter House
(India Style Red Ale)

ABV 7.5%

Ballast Point Brewing Co. 

Tongue Buckler
(Imperial Red Ale)   
ABV 10% 

This time we delve into the strange and unpredictable world of "red ales." We've always had a soft spot for a good, hoppy red ale. Unfortunately we've also run into our share of malty, roasty red ales that are essential just an amber ale with a different name. I chose these specifically because, based on their labels, they promised to deliver some attempt at hoppiness. It's a battle of Boise, Idaho vs. San Diego, California. Let's get it on! 

Beer #1 (Ballast Point Tongue Buckler) was an attractive reddish brown in the glass. The nose had plenty of hop character leaning toward piney, herbal & vegetal. It had a full body with lots of resiny hop notes to go along with a sweet, burnt caramel maltiness. It was moderate to heavy in bitterness and had an intense finish of burnt caramel. 

Beer #2 (Payette Slaughter House) was the exact same color as Beer #1 but had a bit more clarity. The aroma was reminiscent of fabric softener, soap and pine. It had a thinner body than Beer #1 with lots of floral notes and a mild sweetness. The finish was short-lived with a mild to moderate bitterness and a continuation of the floral character and some underlying grain notes.

This one had us flip flopping a bit. At first we were drawn to the boldness of the Tongue Buckler, but eventually its aggressiveness just wore us out and we both chose the Slaughter House as the winner. This is not surprising as the Tongue Buckler was brewed in the "imperial" style, which nowadays means stuff as much malt and hops into the beer as humanly possible. Ballast Point has built its reputation on boldly hopped beers and this is no exception. Our biggest complaint was in the finish which was too bitter for our tastes and even had some of that "ashmouth" bitterness that we've detected in extremely hoppy beers in the past.

The Slaughter House lived up to a beer touting itself as an "India Style Red Ale," and resulted in a successful union between an amber ale and an India pale ale — nice and malty with a decent hop kick. Our only complaint was with the nose, which definitely had elements of artificially scented cleaning products. Aside from that, though, it was a beer worth stowing in your backpack for your next recreational endeavor. Heck, take two, you deserve it.

Unanimous decision: Payette Brewing Slaughter House

IPAs — Base Camp Brewing vs. Stone Brewing

Base Camp Brewing
Ultra Gnar Gnar IPA

ABV 6.7%

Stone Brewing 

Delicious IPA 
ABV 7.7% 

Another IPA battle. This time featuring two beers with self-proclaimed greatness built right into their names. Can the laid back snowboard/skater slang of Ultra Gnar Gnar from Base Camp in Portland take down the brash pomposity of a Stone beer touting itself as "Delicious?" These are the questions we tackle at Bottle Battle. Tasting was conducted blind as is our custom.

Beer #1 (Base Camp Ultra Gnar Gnar IPA) was a hazy orangish brown that was quite a bit darker than your typical IPA. It had an intriguing nose featuring aromas of peppery and piney hops, sweet pipe tobacco and men's cologne. The flavor was quite fruity with sweet malts dominating while the peppery and piney hop notes stayed in the background along with some woodiness. The finish was a bit flat offering a bit of citrus, some moderate bitterness and a lingering vegetal taste.

Beer #2 (Stone Delicious IPA) was a clear, golden yellow. It also featured a unique and intriguing nose featuring sweet citrus (more orange than lemon), fruity honey and a hint of funk. The flavor was heavy on the citrus with a mild honey sweetness along with some fun tropical fruit flavors. The finish started with an intense citrus rind bitterness but soon faded to sweet, floral honey with softer citrus notes.

This was a fun battle, mostly because it seems as if brewers are straying from the typical IPA profile of just a few years ago by incorporating a whole host of new and experimental hop varieties that are expanding our definition of what an IPA can be. I can envision a time in the not so distant future where IPAs are categorized and labelled based on the hops they use, similar to the grape varietals in a wine. You'll have hopheads waxing philosophic on the merits of Mosaic hops and tweaking old wine acronyms like ABC (anything but Chardonnay) to "anything but Chinook." I can almost see it now, an entire refrigerated case at Whole Foods dedicated to IPAs organized by hops.

Back to the beers. While we were captivated by the aromas of both, we preferred the overall package of the Stone Delicious IPA. The Ultra Gnar Gnar was a fun and unique IPA, but to our palate the fruity and malty notes overwhelmed the hop notes leaving it a bit out of balance. 

According to Stone's marketing, the Delicious IPA is an attempt to bridge the gap between IPA snobs and IPA noobs. On a very simple level we think they made a nice, well balanced IPA and somehow managed to make it a bit softer and sweeter without sacrificing that balance. And while we're not sure that they will find a huge market in the IPA snob population (count us in there) we do feel that it could be the perfect beer for IPA noobs wanting to experiment with IPAs.

Unanimous decision: Stone Delicious IPA

Triple India Pale Ales — Green Flash vs. Knee Deep

Green Flash

Green Bullet Triple IPA

ABV 10.1%

Knee Deep Brewing 

Simtra Triple IPA 
ABV 11.25% 

A friend dropped off the Knee Deep on the way through town (thanks Brandon!) which inspired me to hunt down another "Triple IPA" for a battle. File the Triple IPA style along with all the other hoppy beer styles that really have no official metric to distinguish one from another. I think that this inconsistency could potentially be quite confusing and frustrating to people just getting into craft beer, but perhaps I'm just an OCD stats geek that wants things compartmentalized and orderly? Regardless, let's see what this whole triple IPA thing is all about. Beers were tasted blind as usual.

Beer #1 (Knee Deep Simtra Triple IPA) was a hazy orangish brown with a suspicious lack of bubbles. The nose was a punch in the face with a hop-soaked glove. Massive notes of grass dominated with such an intensity that it came across as almost medicinal. It also had lots of alcohol on the nose which contributed to that medicinal quality. As suspected, it had almost no carbonation but featured a medium body due to a load of malty, sweetness in an attempt to balance out the hop attack. Alcohol continued to be prevalent in the flavor and throughout the finish with a moderate bitterness reminiscent of grapefruit.

Beer #2 (Green Flash Green Bullet) was a crystal clear orangish brown with plenty of bubbles. It also featured a huge blast of hops in the aroma, focusing more on bright fruitiness with a bit of funk and some new oak woodiness. We also got whiffs of meat, nuts and a vegetal quality as the beer warmed up. All in all it was a very unique and complex aroma. The body was creamy and medium bodied with flavors of fruit forward hoppiness and nuts. It finished with a moderate piney and grassy bitterness and a bit of lingering alcohol flavor.

As expected, these were both extremely intense beers — lots of hops, loads of malts and high in alcohol. And to be honest, as much as we love hops, both of these beers were just a bit too much. The Knee Deep Simtra strayed into territory reserved for smelling salts and bitter liqueurs which made it hard to finish the 22 oz. bottle even between the two of us. The Green Bullet was also a monster, but a slightly more tolerable monster with a unique nose and a nice body. Both should be taken in small doses unless your main goal in drinking them is to wince and then fall asleep.

Unanimous decision: Green Flash Green Bullet Triple IPA

Various Styles — Bridgport Trilogy Series

Bridgeport Brewing
Crystal Dry Hopped
Pale Ale
ABV 5.2%

Bridgeport Brewing
Aussie Salute IPA
ABV 5.8%

Bridgeport Brewing
Brewers' Class
(Dry-Hopped Session Brown Ale)
ABV 5%

The first time we heard about the Bridgeport Trilogy series we knew it was destined for a Bottle Battle. First a little background: The trilogy series was brewed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Bridgeport Brewing. Each beer represents a decade of their brewing history with #1 highlighting one of the classic aroma hops that defined northwest craft beer, #2 celebrating the IPA style (featuring Australian hops since the brewer of the original Bridgeport IPA was Australian) that exploded during their second decade of operation, and #3 focusing on the future with a collaboration beer created with the help of students from the Oregon State University Fermentation Science Program. Great concept, great execution, but when all is said and done what really matters is which one tastes the best. That's where we come in. This tasting also featured my parents as guest tasters and was done blind as usual.

Beer #1 (Crystal Dry-Hopped Pale Ale) was an orangish gold and had a floral and citrus aroma along with some grain. It had a thin body with a grapefruit character that bordered on cleaning solution. It finished with more citrus and a mild bitterness.

Beer #2 (Aussie Salute IPA) was a golden yellow with a huge aroma of tropical fruit and peach jolly rancher. The flavor continued with the same fruity characteristics to go along with a malty and sweet medium body. The finish was dominated by a lingering citrus peel bitterness.

Beer #3 (Brewers' Class) was reddish brown with dried fruit, roasted malts and alcohol on the nose. It was thin-bodied with a pronounced roasted grain character in the flavor. The finish was also mostly roasty and a bit flat and abrupt with no bitterness at all.

We all agreed that #2 was the best. The aroma was fantastic and it found a nice hop/malt balance with a not-too-aggressively bitter finish — all hallmarks of a good IPA in our opinion. Second place was a tie, with me and my mom choosing the #1 and Ellen and my dad going with #3. Neither were all that great in my opinion, with #1 having too much of that grainy quality I associate with macro-lagers and #3 tasting like a thin amber/brown hybrid that, despite dry-hopping, had almost no hop character at all.

Turns out that Bridgeport had a voting among fans to determine which beer was the best and #1 was the overwhelming favorite. That wasn't too surprising given that #1 would most certainly qualify as a familiar style for the typical northwest palate. Thanks to Bridgeport for being craft beer pioneers. Here's to another 30 years! 
 
Unanimous decision: Aussie Salute

Winter Beers — Anchor vs. Anchor

Anchor Brewing

Our Special Ale 2014

ABV 5.5%

Anchor Brewing 

Winter Wheat 
ABV 7% 

It's not really that cold or wintery in southern Oregon but that's no reason to avoid the slew of winter beers hitting the shelves! For this battle we went with two seasonal releases from the craft brewing pioneers at Anchor Brewing Co. Beers were tasted blind as is our custom.

Beer #1 (Anchor Winter Wheat) was a deep, dark brown and smelled of vanilla and coconut. The body was unbelievably smooth, rich and creamy with subtly sweet flavors of dried fruit and vanilla. The finish was roasty, toasted grain with almost no bitterness at all.

Beer #2 (Anchor Our Special Ale 2014) was a dark reddish brown with grass and honey on the nose. It had a light to medium body and a solid, malty/honey sweetness accented by herbal, mineral and dried fruit notes. The finish also featured the herbal and mineral notes with a mild herbaceous bitterness.

Being a big fan of Anchor's Our Special Ale releases throughout the years I expected that it would emerge as the winner. Wrong. As a matter of fact, it wasn't a very close fight. The Winter Wheat was superior on every level and left us disappointed that I'd only bought one bottle (that has since been remedied). It's truly a remarkable beer that manages to be deep and dark in color without the aggressive chocolate, coffee and burnt malt flavors that often lurk within a glass of dark beer. We both also agreed that it is one of the most unique and impressive winter offerings we've tried in awhile. 

Be it from a tough draw in a Bottle Battle or an off year at the brewery, the Our Special Ale just didn't seem that special this year. Where we were expecting winter spices (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg) we got indistinct herbs and minerals. It also just seemed thin for a winter beer and thin beers, in general, get no love from us in a battle. Mouthfeel is underrated and really can influence your opinion of a beer.

Big props go to Anchor for continuing to be relevant in a beer landscape that is surging with up and comers looking for a piece. Here's hoping the Winter Wheat becomes a key cog in their lineup of seasonal beers for years to come!
 
Unanimous decision: Winter Wheat

IPAs — Breakside vs. New Belgium/Odell

Breakside

Feel Good Flagship IPA
ABV 6.8%

New Belgium/Odell 

FOCOllaboration
(American Pale Ale) 
ABV 6.75% 

In case you hadn't heard, Breakside Brewery in Portland, Oregon just won "Best American Style IPA" at the Great American Beer Festival. Being big IPA fans ourselves, we thought it was our duty to feature this award-winning beer in a battle to see just how it stacks up. Its opponent was an "American Pale Ale" collaboration from two well known Colorado breweries. Tasting was done blind as usual.

Beer #1 (FOCOllaboration) was clear golden orange with Nilla wafers and piny hops in the aroma. It had a very thin body and a watery pineapple juice flavor. The finish was watery and thin as well with just a touch of bitterness.

Beer #2 (Breakside) was bright brownish orange with a blast of grapefruit and citrus salad in the aroma. The flavor continued along the citrus theme with a great balance of malty sweetness. The finish featured a pleasant mild to moderate citrus peel bitterness.

This wasn't even close as Breakside proved that it is certainly worthy of its accolades. We love grapefruity IPAs and the Feel Good Flagship had that whole citrus thing nailed. Add to that a solid malt presence and you get a truly stellar IPA in our opinion. Sadly, the FOCOllaboration (by the way the FOCO is short for Fort Collins) was not much of an opponent. The lack of body really doomed the beer from the start. "Watery" is never an adjective you want to use to describe a beer but that is exactly how it came across to both of us. Just goes to show that although flavor and aroma are certainly key parts of a beer, body and mouthfeel also play an important role in a well made beer.

Congrats again to Breakside on a delicious IPA! Fortunately it is readily available in southern Oregon so you'll likely find a bottle or two in our fridge more often than not.

Unanimous decision: Breakside Feel Good Flagship IPA

Hoppy Wheat Beers — HUB vs. Three Floyds

HUB

Pig War White IPA
ABV 6.0%

Three Floyds 

Gumballhead
ABV 5.6% 

This battle features another beer from Three Floyds Brewing in Indiana that was generously donated to the blog by Greg (see this battle). My research revealed that the Gumballhead is a hoppy wheat beer so I sought something out that was similar and found Pig War from HUB in Portland. Battle was conducted blind (for me anyway).

Beer #1 (Pig War) was hazy gold with grassy and citrus aromas. The flavor featured more sharp, grassy notes with a crisp acidity. It finished with a moderate, lingering citrus peel bitterness.

Beer #2 (Gumballhead) was clear orange with floral and honey on the nose. The body was a bit flat (undercarbonated?) with some herbal and citrus flavors. The finish was mildly bitter and slightly watery with mostly bready, roasty and malty notes.

This was a classic example of what can happen in a comparative beer review as opposed to a stand-alone beer review. Side by side tasting results in two beers being reviewed in the context of the other. So, while the Gumballhead wasn't a bad beer, it didn't show very well in this battle simply because its opponent was so much more full-flavored, full-bodied and dynamic. In comparison to the Pig War, the Gumballhead was just outclassed all around. Thanks again to Greg for sharing the Three Floyds beers. If anyone else wants to donate beer I heartily encourage it.

PS Is it just me or does it look like the pig is about to grope that poor girl in the photo?     

Unanimous decision: Pig War White IPA

Canned Beer from San Diego — Mike Hess Brewing vs. Modern Times

Mike Hess Brewing

Habitus Rye IPA

ABV 8.0%

 

Modern Times 

Blazing World Amber
ABV 6.8%

San Diego is serious about craft beer. During our short visit a couple of months ago we planned on checking out a bunch of the San Diego stalwarts like Green Flash, Stone, Speedway, Alesmith, Ballast Point, Lost Abbey/Port and Pizza Port. When we got there, however, we were far more intrigued by the vast number of smaller breweries that don't currently distribute to Oregon. We ended up checking out Acoustic Ales, Societe Brewing, Council Brewing, Belching Beaver Brewing (possibly the worst name for a brewery, ever) and Modern Times. We didn't make it to the Mike Hess brewery, but did sample their beers at an event where they were pouring. This battle features two of my personal favorite beers from the trip. They are not the same style, but who cares? They are both in cool cans, both from San Diego and I make the rules.

Beer #1 (Mike Hess Habitus Rye IPA) was a bright orange. The nose featured pine and pineapple hop notes, sweet honey malts and a spicy rye character. The rye really stood out in the flavor with a distinct spiciness to go along with the piny, herbal hops. It finished moderately bitter with a smooth spicy finish.

Beer #2 (Modern Times Blazing World Amber) was more of a brownish orange. The aroma was very complex with a sweet and fruity malt backbone combined with some serious dank (as they so aptly describe it), cat-pee, marijuana funkiness. The flavor was very rich with some smoky and sweet pipe-tobacco along with toasted wood and an intense, herbal hoppiness throughout. The finish had a solid bitterness with some slight smoke and herbal funk.

I had a really hard time choosing as I think both of these beers are amazing. The Habitus is probably the best Rye IPA I've tried and the Blazing World is unique, experimental and absolutely delicious. I ended up choosing the Blazing World because it is just unlike any other beer I've tasted and I give them huge props for putting something so unfamiliar in their permanent lineup. It was an easy decision for Ellen, however, as she went with the stellar Habitus mainly because she found the super intense richness and aggressive funky hoppiness of the Blazing World to be borderline offensive.  

Split decision: Ellen chose the Habitus, I chose the Blazing World

IPAs — Three Floyds Brewing vs. Elysian Brewing

Three Floyds Brewing

Zombie Dust Pale Ale

ABV 6.2%

 

Elysian Brewing  

Dayglow IPA

ABV 6.2%

This battle could not have happened if not for the generous contribution of Greg, a new follower of Bottle Battle and a fellow IPA geek. You see, Greg was able to get me a bottle of Zombie Dust which happens to be somewhat of a cult beer, adored by beer drinkers and beer judges alike. It's brewed by Three Floyds Brewing Company in Indiana and is not distributed on the west coast so we were very excited to see how it fared in a battle. For the opponent we chose a bottle that is getting a lot of buzz among IPA lovers, Elysian Brewing's Dayglow IPA. As usual, beers were tasted blind.

Beer #1 (Zombie Dust) was brownish orange with a yeasty, herbal, piney aroma. The flavor was amazingly balanced with sweet malt and citrus hops to go along with an incredibly smooth mouthfeel. The finish had some mild grain notes and the most pleasant citrus hop bitterness that we can recall tasting — not harsh in any way while still managing to be moderately bitter.

Beer #2 (Dayglow IPA) was almost the exact same color as Beer #1. The aroma was bold with cat pee, marijuana and an all around funk. The flavors were similar to the aroma with great balance as well leading to a very harsh herbal and citrus rind finish.

First off let's talk labels. I have no idea who would win in a fight between a metal-armored, giant hammer-wielding zombie and a tiger that shoots lasers from it's eyes but I'm sure it would be entertaining. Regardless, both of these beers have amazing labels that feature foil accents and stunning graphics. Kudos to the design teams for some excellent artwork.

Regarding the stuff inside the bottles, both were damn good but both our votes went to the Zombie Dust for being some of the most full-flavored, yet easily drinkable beer we've ever had the honor of drinking. And for those sticklers out there who might point out that one is a Pale Ale and one is an IPA, we say "shut your yapper," because nowadays those stylistic lines are completely blurred by the whims and philosophy of each brewer. It's chaos in the hoppy beer world but it's very tasty chaos. 

Thanks again for the beer Greg! Cheers! 

Unanimous decision: Zombie Dust

Barrel Aged Belgian-style Quads — Deschutes vs. Deschutes

Deschutes 

The Stoic

(Malt Beverage Brewed with Pomegranate with 16.5% Being Aged in Oak Wine Barrels and 16.5% Being Aged in Oak Rye Whiskey Barrels)
(Best By 8/4/12) 
ABV 11% 

Deschutes 

Not The Stoic

(Malt Beverage Brewed with Pomegranate Molasses with 15% Being Aged in Oak Wine Barrels and 15% Being Aged in Oak Rye Whiskey Barrels)

(Best After 4/22/15)
ABV 12% 

On a recent trip to Portland my brother-in-law pulled these two beers from his cellar for a battle. It's worth noting that we failed to drink The Stoic before its "Best By" date and we jumped the gun on Not The Stoic by drinking it before its "Best After" date. That's just the kind of rebellious, rule-breaking beer drinkers we are. Deal with it.

My sister and her husband were guest tasters for this battle which was conducted blind for all but one of us.

Beer #1 (The Stoic) was orange with aromas of honey and pomegranate juice with the distinct quality of many sour beers we've tried. The flavor was sweet and fruity with some oak tannins and the finish was dry and slightly tart.

Beer #2 (Not The Stoic) was reddish brown with a complex mix of banana, cola, dried fruits and dates on the nose. The flavor continued with more sweet dried fruits and dates and the finish had smoke, coffee, wine barrel funk and a savory herbal quality.

I don't think any of us were blown away by these beers. Both were interesting and unique but neither made us say "wow!" The Stoic had definitely turned a bit sour. I think this had to do with the beasties from the barrel-aging taking over. But the sour quality didn't make the beer bad, it just tweaked the style a bit into another category. We've had many intentionally sour beers that were not nearly as good as this unintentionally sour beer. Regardless, if you are hanging onto a bottle you might want to open it soon just in case yours is starting to turn as well. I guess the lesson here is: pay attention to Deschutes date recommendations!

Not The Stoic was a completely different beast. It was extremely complex and had a body not unlike a rich red wine. The aromas were also reminiscent of some red wines.

Although a couple of us wavered, in the end the battle was a draw with myself and my brother-in-law choosing Not The Stoic while Ellen and my sister chose The Stoic. The ladies both preferred the slightly tart and acidic beer over the rich and sweeter beer. My B-I-L explained his pick with one word, "juicier," and I sided with the beer that I felt was most complex and unique.

It will be interesting to see how NTS changes in the bottle between now and its "Best After" date. In the meantime, if you are impatient NTS is tasting pretty decent right now. 

Draw

Imperial IPAs — Green Flash Road Warrior vs. McKenzie Brewing Hopasaurus Rex

Green Flash
Road Warrior 
(Imperial Rye India Pale Ale) 
ABV 9% 

McKenzie Brewing
Hopasaurus Rex
ABV 9.5% 

 

I'm always pleased to see a new Green Flash beer on the shelves so I snatched up this bottle of Road Warrior. Unfortunately I could find no other Imperial Rye IPA options so I went with a bottle of IIPA from McKenzie Brewing (which is the outside distribution line of Steelhead Brewery in Eugene). So we've got Rye vs. Regular and San Diego vs. Eugene. Here's how it went down.

We tasted blind as usual, but it was pretty pointless because rye malt imparts a dark reddish hue to beer so it was obvious based on the color which beer was which.

Beer #1 (Road Warrior) was reddish brown with a real spicy rye bread and grass aroma. The body was rich, creamy and malty with more rye spice showing through and the finish was dominated with rye notes as well with a mellow bitterness.

Beer #2 (Hopasaurus) was a rich orange hue and featured a sweet, vanilla, caramel and cotton candy-like aroma. The flavor was sweet with notes of dried fruits and toasted nuts. The finish was a tad citrusy with some burnt wood bitterness. 

Our overall impression was that both beers fell on the malty side of the IIPA spectrum. Neither offered up anything special in the way of aroma hops and neither were very bitter in the finish. Being a malty IIPA is nothing to be ashamed of, it's just one of many interpretations of the style. Both were enjoyable but the Road Warrior really impressed us with its strong rye presence and fantastic body. It was the first time we've had a rye beer that we could actually detect much rye character. So if you're looking for a fun and unique IIPA we'd recommend getting a bottle (or two) of the Road Warrior before it disappears in August.

Unanimous decision: Green Flash Road Warrior

Saisons — Firestone Walker Brewing vs. Stone Brewing

Firestone Opal

(Dry Hopped Saison)

ABV 7.5% 

Stone Brewing

Saison
ABV 6%

First of all we must apologize for the extended blog silence. Last month we moved to a new home and transitioned to being open 7 days a week at our bakery. Much beer was drunk but we hadn't the time or energy to conduct a proper Bottle Battle. Now that things appear to be stabilizing we will attempt to get back to our semi-regular battles.

For our first official battle at our new home we chose one of our favorite styles of beer: Saison. It's an all California Saison showdown. Let's get it on! Beers were tasted blind.

Beer #1 (Firestone Opal) was a clear, straw yellow with a constant stream of bubbles from the bottom of the glass. The aroma brought Belgian yeast, spices, bubble gum and tropical fruit. The flavor was complex, featuring a mild sweetness with bright citrus notes and some underlying spice. The finish was mild and almost savory with just a hint of bitterness.

Beer #2 (Stone Saison) was a hazy golden and also had a constant stream of bubbles rising from the bottom. The aroma featured a big funky, barnyard component with lots of herbal and spice notes (especially cardamom). The flavor was very herbal and spicy with a mildly bitter finish followed by more spice.

Both of these beers are good but ultimately we chose the Opal mostly because it had a finesse and complexity that was unique and extremely tasty. The big spice characteristics of the Stone saison just seemed to be clumsy and heavy-handed in comparison to the Opal.

This battle also provided us with more reason to believe that Firestone Walker is one of the best breweries in the US. They make an amazing array of superb beers that range from subtle and refined like the Opal to beautiful, barrel-aged behemoths like Parabola, Sucaba and their anniversary beers. They are often kind of spendy, but every one we've ever tried has been well worth the money.  

Unanimous decision: Firestone Walker Opal

New Stone Beers — Go To IPA vs. Stochasticity Project Grapefruit Slam IPA

Stone Brewing

Go To IPA

ABV 4.5%

Stone Brewing

Stochasticity Project
Grapefruit Slam IPA 
(Ale with grapefruit peel added)

ABV 8.2%

I bought the Stochasticity Project thinking that it was a new brewery with a weird name. Plus we love citrusy IPAs so the addition of grapefruit peel peeked my interest. Further investigation revealed that the Stochasticity Project is actually a newly introduced second label of Stone Brewing used to showcase some experimental brews. We decided to pit the Stochasticity against another new release from Stone, the Go To IPA which is their attempt to make a big, flavorful IPA without a high alcohol content. Tasting was conducted blind as usual.

Beer #1 (Stochasticity Grapefruit Slam) was clear orange with pine, citrus and grain in the aroma. The flavor was pure, piney, hop candy, which is our way of describing a beer with a nice balance of malt and hops. It finished with an aggressive and long-lasting citrus rind bitterness.

Beer #2 (Go To IPA) was golden yellow with a pungent and funky, dank, cat pee aroma. The flavor was like concentrated citrus that bordered on cleaning solution. The finish was moderately bitter with lots of grapefruit and a musty dankness. 

We both assumed that Beer #2 with its pronounced grapefruity finish was the Grapefruit Slam IPA but that was not the case. Turns out that all that grapefruity goodness came from the Go To IPA. Normally this would be a good thing, as grapefruit is one of our favorite flavors in a beer. However, as is often the case with Stone, they may have pushed the boundaries a bit too far with the Go To IPA. The beer is so aggressively hopped that it borders on offensive. Ellen didn't drink any more after her first couple of sips. I finished the bottle but noted that it may have been the first "session" beer I've ever had that was so intense that I don't think I could drink more than one in a sitting. So, in one sense Stone accomplished its mission to create a boldly flavored beer with low alcohol, but they may have made it too boldly flavored for simple, summertime sipping.

To us the Grapefruit Slam, despite not being very grapefruity was the clear winner. It's also a bit misleading on the label as it says IPA on the front and Double IPA in the description on the back. Whatever it actually is, it was the winner in this battle and has us eager to try the next release in the Stochasticity Project. Say it aloud a few times, Stochasticity... Stochasticity... Stochasticity... . Fun word. Fun beer. 

Unanimous decision: Stochasticity Project Grapefruit Slam IPA

Imperial IPAs — Left Coast Brewing vs. High Water Brewing

Left Coast Brewing

Hop Juice

Double IPA

ABV 9.7%

High Water Brewing

Hop Logic

Imperial IPA 
ABV 9.5%

 

Two California beers squared off in this battle. Hop Juice hails from Left Coast brewing in southern California while Hop Logic represents High Water Brewing in Chico. Both beers claim to use a mixture of five different hops which is interesting, but perhaps more interesting is who made a better beer with all those hops. 

Beer #1 (High Water Brewing Hop Logic) was a clear orangish-brown with earthy, spicy hops coming through on the nose. It had a rich, almost creamy, full-bodied texture with flavors of tropical fruit. The finish was deep honey with a moderate bitterness and some floral hops.

Beer #2 (Left Coast Brewing Hop Juice) was a hazy pinkish-brown. The aroma was very fruity, bordering on Fruit Loops. Flavor continued with the fruitiness along with lots of honey. The finish was sweet followed by an intense and long-lasting bitterness.

Not knowing either of these breweries very well I guessed which was which based on the bottles alone. The Left Coast's nice, screen-printed bottle led me to believe that their beer would be the cleaner, clearer, more polished beverage so I guessed it was Beer #1. Wrong. Turns out that the hazy, malty and overly bitter beer was from Left Coast. High Water Brewing on the other hand, despite having an inferior label, had a much superior beer. It was an easy decision for both of us as the Hop Logic is a really, really good Imperial IPA. So good, in fact, that we will most certainly seek it out again in the future. If you like Imperial IPAs we suggest you do the same.  

Unanimous decision: High Water Brewing Hop Logic