IPA Can Clash — Caldera vs. Maui Brewing Co.

Caldera IPA
ABV 6.1%

Color: Dark reddish orange.
Aroma: Malt, moist ground funk, pine sap and caramel.
Flavor: Citrus peel hops, toffee, soap.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Intense and long lasting bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Maui Brewing Co.
Big Swell IPA
ABV 6.2%

Color: Light orangish yellow.
Aroma: Powerful floral and citrus.
Flavor: Sweet flowers, honey, cedar, citrus.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Mellow citrus and sharp acidity.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good

Blow by Blow
There is no shortage of IPA in the Northwest. However, your options are a bit more limited if you are looking for IPA in a can. This Can Clash features two imported (to the Seattle area) IPAs, one hailing from Southern Oregon and one from Hawaii. We popped them open on a brisk November evening to find out which one was best.

The Maui came out strong with an extremely intense aroma that packed a powerful punch. The Caldera was more subdued in the aroma but made up for it with a huge dose of hoppy bitterness in the finish. In a way, the beers were kind of mirror images of each other, with the Big Swell starting strong then slowly fading and the Caldera starting subtle and slowly building — two different approaches that both deliver the hops but in completely different ways.

In the end, both beers were still standing and both were confidently gesturing to the crowd as if they'd won. Turns out they both were wrong as the results revealed that it was a split decision. I preferred the wonderful aroma and sweet, citrusy flavors of the Big Swell while Ellen was drawn to the big, bitter finish and caramel notes of the Caldera. Neither quite reached the heights that some Northwest IPAs attain but both are well worth the space in your backpack should you need some liquid refreshment on your next hike.

Split decision: l chose the Maui while Ellen preferred the Caldera.

Urban Beer Hike Triple Header

It was an epic night of battles as we teamed up with Urban Beer Hikes for a three location triple header. Our first stop was at Beer Authority for a Sierra Nevada Fresh Hop tap tussle.



Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere
Harvest Wet Hop Ale
ABV 6.7%

Color: Clear orange.
Aroma: Sweet malt and lemon rind.
Flavor: Toasted malt and intense piney bitterness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Intense, long-lasting burnt toast and lemon rind bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good -

Sierra Nevada Estate
Homegrown Ale
ABV 6.7%

Color: Clear orange with slight red tint.
Aroma: Grassy with some nice citrus.
Flavor: Fresh, grassy hops with good malty sweetness as well.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Pleasant mellow bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good +

Blow by Blow
We were pleased to find two fresh hop beers from Sierra Nevada on tap so we promptly threw them into the ring together to see who would reign supreme.

Both were served really cold, so it was kind of difficult to decipher the aromas but the Estate clearly had the upper hand. It offered the classic fresh, grassy hops with a nice citrus element as well. The Harvest struggled with its aroma and ended up being mostly sweet toasted malts with some piney hops in the background.

The Estate continued to dominate in the flavor and finish while the Harvest was exposed as a one dimensional bitter bomb without any of the typical fresh hop flavors. We all agreed that if we had tasted the Harvest blind, we probably wouldn't have guessed it was a fresh hop.

Winner by unanimous decision: Estate Homegrown.

The second fight on the card featured two bottles purchased at Big Star Beer Market. The theme: Beers named after tasty marine animals.



Porterhouse Brewing
Oyster Stout
ABV 4.8%

Color: ? (We drank from the bottle. Probably dark.)
Aroma: ? (Hard to smell anything through the neck of a bottle.)
Flavor: Cola, chocolate, coffee, earth.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced
Finish: Bitter lemon and coffee.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre +

Rinkuskiu Alaus Darykla
Lobster Lovers Beer
ABV 9.5%

Color: ? (We drank from the bottle. Probably amber.)
Aroma: Sweet (We could even smell it through the neck of the bottle.)
Flavor: Sweet cough syrup with some Belgian yeast characteristics.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Sweet and medicinal.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Bad

Blow by Blow
It was an international duel with Lobster Lovers hailing from Lithuania and Oyster Stout coming from Ireland. They both were feisty even before the fight as the Lobster offered an enticing naked lady/lobster label and the Oyster countered with the novelty of a pull off cap.

In the ring things got ugly quick. The big Lithuanian was sweet and medicinal, just a mess of a beer. We couldn't even finish it. The Oyster Stout won by virtue of being not quite as bad. It had some weird sweet cola flavor that took away from the chocolate and coffee stout flavors.

Winner by unanimous decision: Oyster Stout.

The final battle turned out to be a can clash featuring beers that we purchased at the 85th St. Market, a place with a surprisingly good beer selection and an extremely nice owner named Chuck.



Maui Brewing Co.
Bikini Blonde Lager
ABV 4.5%

Color: ? (We drank from the can. Probably light yellow.)
Aroma: ? (Hard to smell anything through the mouth of the can.)
Flavor: Sweet, smooth, creamy and easy drinking. Dave noted that it had tiny bubbles (very Don Ho of it.)
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Sweet and malty.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good -

Oskar Blues
Mama's Little Yella Pils
ABV 5.3%

Color: ? (We drank from the can. Probably light yellow.)
Aroma: ? (Hard to smell anything through the mouth of the can.)
Flavor: Crisp, with light citrus hops and some graininess.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Balanced
Finish: Grain and teeny, tiny bit of citrus hop bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good -

Blow by Blow
These beers are meant for hot weather, but we decided to see what they were made of on a mild October night in Seattle.

It kind of turned into a slap fight with a lot of flailing of the arms without much contact. Both beers were predictably simple and didn't offer much more than something to wash down whatever you're eating.

Turns out, Dave and I have different preferences when it comes to simple, session beers. He prefers something a bit sweeter and thus chose the Bikini Blonde, I prefer something with some kind of hop presence so I went with Mama's.

Final note: We rated them both "Good -", but they would probably be rated higher if we tried them on a hot day. They both would definitely be acceptable for a beach or a bbq.

Split decision: I chose the Pils, Dave chose the Lager. (Ellen sat this one out.)

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.