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.

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.