Former Champion Double IPAs — Firestone Walker vs. Widmer

Firestone Walker
Double Jack
ABV 9.5%

Color: Deep orange.
Aroma: Sharp pine resin, beeswax and rich sweet malts.
Flavor: Full bodied with sharp, astringent piny hops and a touch of citrus.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Long lasting pine resin and citrus rind bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Widmer Deadlift
Imperial IPA
ABV 8.6%

Color: Light orange.
Aroma: Intense floral and citrus hops. Grapefruit candy.
Flavor: Full bodied and sweet with bright citrus hop punch late.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Mellow grapefruit bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Blow by Blow
Tonight we staged an epic battle. Two former double IPA Bottle Battle champions squared off to see who would remain undefeated. In one glass we had Firestone Walker's amazing Double Jack. In the other glass we had the equally amazing Widmer Deadlift.

As you might expect, both came out swinging. Both had big hops in the aroma, with the Deadlift offering floral and citrus hop aromas and the Double Jack countering with sharp pine resin and some citrus as well. They both smelled absolutely awesome, but we gave the edge to the Deadlift as we prefer the floral to the pine.

The flavors continued to impress. Both were full bodied with a rich malty backbone that was able to balance the intense hop flavors. The Double Jack was a bit more aggressively hoppy throughout while the Deadlift started sweet and brought the hops late. Again, both great.

The big difference came in the finish. Deadlift had an amazingly balanced finish with just the right amount of hop bitterness and sweet citrus flavors. The Double Jack had a much more bitter finish, leaving us with long lasting bitter pine sap and citrus rind flavors.

Despite these both being fantastic beers the decision was easy for us. We both chose the Widmer Deadlift because it's like drinking some kind of magical hoppy, grapefruit flower nectar. This is a good thing for our bank account since the Double Jack is far more expensive.

Bottle Battles are all about matchups. If you look at our tasting notes for the Double Jack from earlier this month you'll see that we detected more citrus than pine. There is definitely a little of both, but when compared against the Alaskan Double IPA the citrus stood out, while the battle with the Deadlift brought out more of the pine notes. Just more proof that tasting is always influenced by a multitude of factors that range from your environment to your mood to what beer you're comparing it against.

Winner by unanimous decision: Widmer

Double IPAs — Alaskan Brewing vs. Firestone Walker

Alaskan Brewing
Imperial IPA
ABV 8.5%

Color: Slightly hazy reddish copper.
Aroma: Sweet wood and whiskey with some floral notes.
Flavor: Sweet and simple with a bit of woodiness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced
Finish: Mild bitterness early building to harsh, woody bitterness. Acidic.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Firestone Walker
Double Jack
ABV 9.5%

Color: Clear golden.
Aroma: Spicy, citrus hops.
Flavor: Full bodied. Big, sweet and malty with equally big citrus hops.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Sweet malts, mild citrus bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic

Blow by Blow
Imperial IPAs continue to take up a lot of space on store shelves, so it is our duty to battle them for the benefit of all you hopheads out there. These two in particular were itching for a fight, so we poured a bit of each and let them settle it in the glass.

If this battle were about looks alone, the Alaskan would have won handily. It had a gorgeous hue of vibrant reddish copper that was so compelling that we were tempted to take the beer down to Home Depot and have them mix up a batch of Alaskan Imperial IPA paint for us. The Double Jack, on the other hand was a fairly bland golden hue — not inspiring at all.

What the Double Jack lacked in color it more than made up for in aroma. It was just bursting with juicy citrus hops. Neither of us wanted to give up the glass. Each sniff kind of made our eyes roll back in our head. The Alaskan was nowhere near as special. As a matter of fact, in comparison to the Double Jack it seemed to barely have any hops in the nose at all, choosing instead to focus on a sweet, malty and woody aroma.

Once the Double Jack took the upper hand it never gave the Alaskan a chance, ultimately landing an uppercut that knocked the Alaskan clean out of its XTRATUFS. Game over. Lights out.

The Alaskan is a decent beer, it just got steamrolled by one of the best IPAs we've ever had the privilege of drinking. If you like huge, malty, hoppy Imperial IPAs go get some Double Jack immediately. There may still be some left on store shelves in the Seattle area.

Winner by unanimous decision: Firestone Walker