Imperial Red Ales — Port Brewing vs. Yakima Craft Brewing

Port Brewing Shark Attack
Double Red Ale
ABV 9%

Color: Hazy orangish brown.
Aroma: Burnt brown sugar, strong medicinal notes.
Flavor: Thick, intense blast of floral honey and burnt molasses.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Sweet and intense metallic bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Bad

Yakima Craft Brewing
Imperial Red
ABV 6.6%

Color: Clear brownish ruby red.
Aroma: Sweet roasted malts.
Flavor: Sweet, malty, molasses and honey.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Same as flavor with a touch of bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre

Winner by unanimous decision: Yakima Craft Brewing.
In perhaps the upset of the year, the young, upstart Yakima Craft Brewing stunned the established veteran, Port Brewing.

Regular readers might note that we have tried a lot of red ales thus far. We do admit to being intrigued by red ales, since stylistically they can run the gamut from hop bombs to malt monsters. In our experience, west coast red ales tend to fall on the hoppier side, but that was not the case with these two. As a matter of fact, we felt that both of these beers definitely fell more on the sweet and malty side of beer styles and we weren't really impressed by either of them.

The Yakima Imperial Red had a much nicer red hue which was the first blow to the murky brown looking Shark Attack. Neither beer had a great aroma, but the Shark Attack was just plain nasty — somewhere between burnt sugar and burnt tires. So, with the aroma, the Yakima Imperial won not because it was great, but because it was inoffensive. This same scenario was played out in the flavor and the finish as well, with the Shark Attack being way out of balance and the Yakima being somewhat pedestrian, but certainly a lot better than Port Brewing's offering.

Honestly, we can't recommend either beer. We'll give the Yakima Craft Brewing company a pass since they are newer to the scene and perhaps finding their legs. As for the Port, they should know better. Their 9% monster gains the distinction of being our first non-tainted beer to be rated "Bad." Intense bitterness coupled with intense maltiness turned out to be intensely off-putting.

Brett Beers — New Belgium Le Fleur, Misseur? vs. New Belgium Biere de Mars

New Belgium Lips of Faith
Le Fleur, Misseur?
ABV 6.2%

Color: Clear golden yellow.
Aroma: Grain, sour yeast, mango.
Flavor: Clean, clove and cardamom spice. More savory than sweet.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced
Finish: Touch of grain then quickly disappears.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

New Belgium Lips of Faith
Biere de Mars
ABV 6.2%

Color: Clear orange.
Aroma: Barnyard funk, dust, gingerbread.
Flavor: Sweet rich malts, cinnamon, molasses.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Roasted malt and a slight bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good +

Winner by unanimous decision: Biere de Mars.
Tonight, as we watched the New Orleans Saints clash with the Minnesota Vikings, we were waging a battle of our own with two specialty beers from New Belgium Brewing. Both beers were from the highly regarded Lips of Faith series of unique and experimental beers that come in boldly decorated bottles. Both beers also contained some of the yeast strain known as Brettanomyces or Brett for short. Brett is kind of a wild card. It can create a wide range of flavors from sour to funky so it's always with a sense of adventure that you raise a new Brett beer to your lips.

From the beginning it was a good fight. The Misseur came out with a nice sour aroma and the Mars countered with a big, banyardy funk. The Misseur offered up flavors of clove and cardamom and the Mars answered with cinnamon and molasses. These were fun beers — a welcome change from the bevy of Pale Ales and IPAs we've been drinking over the summer (if that's what you call this mess). Neither were overly soured or overly funky from the Brett. They both just incorporated the Brett in different ways.

Ultimately, we decided on the Biere de Mars mostly because it was a bit richer in mouth feel and seemed to fit the Fall/Winter weather we've been getting in Seattle. We were both surprised to find out that the Mars was brewed as a Spring seasonal beer. Call us crazy, but that beer tasted way more Fall than Spring. To us, the lighter, crisper Misseur would have made a far better Spring beer, but who's keeping track? As long as they keep coming out with new Lips of Faith beers every season we'll be happy and so should you.

Extra credit: Perhaps no beer bottles on the market make better flower vases than these. Put a flower in one and give it to your non-beer drinking husband or wife and they might be more supportive of your expensive beer drinking habits.

In the interest of full disclosure to satisfy the FTC’s law, this battle features sample bottles received from the New Belgium Brewery.

Flavored Porters — Tree Brewing Co. vs. Maui Brewing Co.

Tree Brewing Co.
Raspberry Porter
ABV 5%

Color: Dark brown with red accents. No head.
Aroma: Chocolate covered raspberries.
Flavor: Slightly tart with raspberry and coffee notes.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): None. Overly fruity.
Finish: Bit thin and acidic with lingering raspberry taste.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre -

Maui Brewing Co.
Coconut Porter
ABV 5.7%

Color: Black with tan head.
Aroma: Sweet coffee.
Flavor: Rich, sweet coffee with some hop bitterness and maybe just a hint of toasted coconut (or was that just the power of suggestion?).
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced.
Finish: Sweet with some coffee bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Winner by unanimous decision: Maui Brewing Co.
We picked up this bottle of Raspberry Porter on our recent trip to Canada, so as far as we know, it is not readily available in the Seattle area. Consider yourselves lucky because the Tree Brewing Co. Raspberry Porter is not very good. It's yet another example of one of those beers that we would have finished and been OK with if it had been on its own, but when compared side by side with the Coconut Porter all of its flaws were magnified.

The Tree Brewing Co. porter was interesting at first, but the more we tasted it, the more it seemed off in some way. The Coconut was just so freaking good that every sip of the Raspberry seemed like a waste of time and calories. The fight was so lopsided, in fact, that eventually we just gave up on the Raspberry altogether and dumped it down the sink. Mind you, it wasn't absolutely a dumpable beer, but when you're comparing it to the sweet, rich, balanced, concoction of chocolate malt and toasted coconut that is the Maui Brewing Coconut Porter you're liable to make rash decisions. And at that moment it seemed completely reasonable to use the Tree beer as a drain cleaner while we closed our eyes and made oohing noises with each delightful sip of the Maui masterpiece.

Extra credit: The Coconut Porter has a tag line that is completely baffling to us. It says "... Like hot chicks on the beach." What? If anyone knows the story behind that line, please fill us in.

Seattle Beer Week Double IPAs — Hale's vs. Pike

Hale's Seattle Beer Week
2010 Double IPA
ABV 8.3% IBU 100

Color: Hazy, honey/orange.
Aroma: Floral and citrus hops with a slight scent of yeasty dough.
Flavor: Almost savory bitterness, like bitter greens that evolves into citrus hop bitterness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Really hoppy.
Finish: Grapefruit and pepper hop bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good +

Pike Double IPA
(First brewed for inaugural Seattle Beer Week 2009)
ABV 8% IBU 80

Color: Clear amber.
Aroma: Malts and toasted nuts.
Flavor: Sharp piney hops with a touch of stinky cheese funk.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy.
Finish: Burnt toast bitter hops.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Winner by unanimous decision: Hale's. Tomorrow is the first day of Seattle Beer Week! In celebration and anticipation of this event we decided to pit this year's SBW Double IPA (Hale's) against the one brewed for last year's inaugural SBW (Pike). Both are good beers, however, the Pike came up a bit short when compared directly against the Hale's. Both are intensely hoppy beers that will appeal to any and all hopheads, but they both emphasize a different style of hop. The Pike has more of a focus on citrusy hops, while the Hale's leans toward the piney, sappy hop character. What set the Hale's apart for us was the generous dose of malty sweetness that did an admirable job of tempering the hoppiness for awhile before finally giving in to a mellow burnt toast bitterness. The Pike, on the other hand, didn't have the same malt profile and ended up being dominated by intense citrus hops through and through.

Food pairing thoughts: Despite the fact that the Hale's was the victor, it may not be the best with food. Its massive hop flavors are very dominant and would overwhelm most foods. The Pike, on the other hand is a softer, rounder beverage that might be able to marry well with spicy or acidic foods that could use a bit of hops to counter the intense flavors.