Red Ales — Laurelwood vs. Elysian

Laurelwood
Organic Free Range Red Ale
ABV 5.9%

Color: Diluted cranberry juice.
Aroma: Sweet with piney hops and a savory element, almost like worchestershire sauce, but in a good, mellow way.
Flavor: More sweet than hoppy. Honey and toasted grain with slight acidity.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced.
Finish: Sweet honey maltiness followed by a pleasant bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Elysian
The Men's Room
Original Red
ABV 5.6%

Color: Reddish-orange.
Aroma: Funky, cannabis hops with sweet malts in the background.
Flavor: Slight citrus at the beginning, but then turns sweet, simple and thin.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced.
Finish: Not much. Tiny bit of bitterness comes in late.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre

Winner by unanimous decision: Laurelwood.
As we've said before, with red ales you never know what you're going to get. Some of the reds we've had in the past have been phenomenal, others forgettable. So, it was with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that we popped the caps off these two combatants.

If the fight were between the mascots on the bottles, most people would put their money on the restroom devil guy over the chicken and most people would be wrong. The chicken was not messing around and it really dominated the fight from the starting bell — looking redder and tasting better. It had a great balance of sweet to bitter and a fantastic aroma that managed to be sweet and savory at the same time. All in all it was a delicious beer that would go nicely with a variety of foods — might we suggest beer can chicken?

The Men's Room Red is a beer that is brewed for the KISW radio show of the same name. A portion of the profits from sales go to helping support families of military veterans, so if you want to drink beer and support a good cause, get yourself a Men's Room Red. It's not majorly flawed or anything, it just got whooped by a chicken, that's all.

Porters — Firestone Walker vs. Elysian

Firestone Robust Porter
ABV 5.9%

Color: Clear brown/orange.
Aroma: Hops, both floral and citrus.
Flavor: Citrus hops first, then sweet malts, then subtle roasty malts. A bit thin.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Nice, mellow coffee.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Elysian Perseus Porter
ABV 5.4%

Color: Clear dark brown/red.
Aroma: Funky, stinky cheese and coffee beans.
Flavor: Sweet malts, then nice roasted coffee.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced
Finish: Bitter chocolate hoppiness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good +

Winner by unanimous decision: Elysian. Perseus is ripped. I mean, look at those pecs. The dude's spent some time in the gym. Despite his imposing physique, the Perseus didn't win this battle with brute force. It was a nice combination of balanced hops and malts and a fuller, richer body that led him to victory. The Firestone is no slouch itself, but when compared to the Elysian, it just came across a bit too thin and simple. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure that either of us would have guessed it was a porter in a blind tasting. It had a surprisingly hoppy aroma that might cause you to think Pale Ale, followed by a surprisingly sweet flavor that might lead you to conclude Amber.

On a side note, the Firestone paired marvelously with our smoky and spicy beef tacos while the Perseus was a bit too strong and didn't really add much to the flavors. So, drink the Firestone with food (we think it would go well with BBQ meats as well) and have some Perseus before or after dinner (or both!)