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Samuel Adams Imperial StoutABV 9.2%
Color: Deep dark brown/black.
Aroma: Sweet chocolate malt shake.
Flavor: Slightly bitter chocolate milk.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Mostly just sweet with a mild bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre
North Coast Old Rasputin
Imperial Stout ABV 9%
Color: Deep dark brown/black.
Aroma: Coffee with cream, burnt wood.
Flavor: Sweet molasses, black coffee and a bit of citrus hop character.Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Burnt toast, coffee grounds and citrus hops.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good
Winner by unanimous decision: North Coast. Old Rasputin is a tough opponent. It ought to be tough, since it's named after a guy who just wouldn't die. Old Sam was just a bit too one-dimensional. If alcoholic chocolate milk sounds good to you, then give the Samuel Adams a try. It's so sweet that it might match up with sweeter desserts as well. Old Rasputin, on the other hand is wonderfully complex, combining rich roasted malt and coffee flavors with a nice complement of citrusy hops. Drink enough of it and you might be able to grow a beard as impressive as Rasputin's.
Sierra Nevada Torpedo
Extra IPA ABV 7.2%, IBU 65
Color: Clear amber orange with brisk carbonation.
Aroma: Pine needle jolly rancher (maybe they should make that flavor?).
Flavor: Sweet maltiness, followed by piney hop bitterness.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy.
Finish: Malty with a sharp and sweet hop bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good+
Scuttlebutt Gale Force IPAABV 5.25%, IBU 96
Color: Cloudy amber orange with noticeably less carbonation.
Aroma: Sweet malt, citrus and earthy grain. Flavor: Starts sweet and toasty then moves to a nice balanced citrus hoppiness. Very smooth, almost creamy.Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): HoppyFinish: Tart acidic hop bitterness.Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good
Winner by unanimous decision: Sierra Nevada. This was a hard one. Both are very solid IPAs. The edge went to the Torpedo for its smooth mouthfeel and great balance of sweet malt to temper the aggressive piney hops. We got more of the citrus and floral hop qualities from the Gale Force, but it finished just a bit too bitter for our tastes. We were very surprised to see that the Scuttlebutt was packing 96 IPAs — they really integrated the hops well, because it was not overwhelmingly bitter at all. Also, big props to the Scuttlebutt for clocking in at a sessionable 5.25% ABV. Both are worthy of your fridge. Keep the Gale Force up front for daily consumption and the Torpedo in the back for those trying days when a bit more alcohol is exactly what you need to wind down.
Ninkasi Spring Reign Ale ABV 6%
Color: Clear golden orange.
Aroma: Fresh, clean grains and a touch of honey. Floral hops.
Flavor: Not much going on, just some lemony hops along with the fresh grain flavor.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy.
Finish: Bitter vegetable finish that stays for a long time.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre
Snoqualmie Spring Fever
(Belgian Style Grand Cru Ale)ABV 7%
Color: Burnt orange.
Aroma: Classic belgian yeast — banana & cloves, nutmeg and sweet malts.Flavor: Starts with citrus then on to sweet malts, cinnamon and cloves.Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): MaltyFinish: Sweet pineapple and banana, slight lemon bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good
Winner by unanimous decision: Snoqualmie. The Ninkasi tasted like a pretty basic pale ale — good to sip on a hot day to quench your thirst, but not very complex or interesting. The Spring Fever, on the other hand, had a lot of character, flavors and aromas. It is really a very nice interpretation of a Belgian ale with classic flavors and a rich, full mouthfeel. This battle brings up a larger issue: what style should a Spring beer be? Should it be clean and hoppy like the Reign or rich and complex like the Fever? To us, it make more sense for a Spring beer to be more like the Reign, but that has no bearing on which one we thought was a better beer — clearly the Spring Fever in this case.
New Belgium Lips of Faith
Dark Kriek
(65% Ale Brewed with Cherry Juice,
35% Ale Aged in Wood Barrels)ABV 8%
Color: Clear red-tinged brown.
Aroma: Oak, cherries bit of dank, damp funkiness.
Flavor: Sweet at first, then tart with sour dried cherry flavor.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): N/A. Tart.
Finish: Tart, acidic.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good
Widmer Brother's Reserve
Cherry Oak Dopplebock
(Oak Aged Ale Fermented with Dark Cherries)ABV 9%
Color: Cloudy brown.
Aroma: Intensely fragrant with burnt toffee, dried shiitake mushrooms and earthy wood. Flavor: Thick and almost savory, slight soy sauce.Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): MaltyFinish: Dried dark fruit and tart acidity.Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre
Winner by unanimous decision: New Belgium. Two completely different styles of beer, but both use cherry and both use barrel aging. The Dark Kriek handled the oak and cherry quite nicely. The oak was subtle, but noticeable and the cherry was bright without being medicinal. The Dopplebock, on the other hand, didn't seem to strike a balance with the cherries and oak. They both seemed lost behind a curious savoriness that surprised both of us.
Widmer Deadlift Imperial IPAABV 8.6%, IBU 70
Color: Bright, clear orange.
Aroma: Orange blossoms, honey and clove.
Flavor: Hop candy — malty sweet with a little citrus.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Hoppy
Finish: Delicious sweetness followed by a mellow, lingering bitterness.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Fantastic
Bridgeport Hop Czar Imperial IPAABV 7.5%, IBU 85
Color: Bright, clear orange. Almost exactly the same as the Widmer.
Aroma: Pine tree sap, SweeTarts, lemon peel, ammonia. Flavor: Brief honey sweetness that is almost immediately obliterated by bitterness.Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): HoppyFinish: Bitter, bitter and more bitter. Lemon peel and did we mention bitter?Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre
Winner by unanimous decision: Widmer in a first round knockout. The Bridgeport seemed way out of balance. All hops, no malt makes Hop Czar a bitter boy. The Deadlift, on the other hand, had a solid malt backbone to balance the hops. All around, it had softer edges and was amazingly easy to drink, despite the higher alcohol content. According to the 4-pack box, the Deadlift uses the Nelson Sauvin hop from New Zealand. We're all for local ingredients, but if this foreign hop variety tastes this good in other beers, please send a bottle our way.
MacTarnahan’s Brewing Co.
Winter Humbug’rABV 5.3%
Color: Black coffee with burnt orange edges.
Aroma: Coffee, clean roasted malts, smoke.
Flavor: Burnt coffee, subtle sweetness, thin body.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Sweet coffee, touch of dark chocolate.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good
2009 Anchor Brewing Co.
Our Special AleABV 5.5%
Color: Dark brown with hints of orange/red.
Aroma: Black pepper, cloves, pine.Flavor: Pine with lemony acidity, subtle roasted malts.Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): MaltyFinish: Lemon peel. Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre
Winner by unanimous decision: MacTarnahan’s. This was a battle of simple and well-made (MacTarnahan’s) vs. overly ambitious (Anchor). We love experimentation and creativity which is why we always look forward to the "Our Special Ale" every year. However, in this head to head battle, simple proved to be tastier. The Humbug‘r was a solid porter (the style they claim on the bottle). No glam, no glitz, just good beer. The Anchor, on the other hand, was just a bit... different. The aromas were amazing but the flavors didn't follow suit. On a side note, we were very happy to see that both of these were somewhat sessionable.
A couple Humbug’rs on a cold night is a good thing.
Silver City Fat Scotch AleABV 9%
Color: Deep dark maple syrup. Almost no carbonation.
Aroma: Sweet beer wort and brown sugar.
Flavor: Sweet, malty, touch of vanilla bean.
Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): Malty
Finish: Burnt caramel, toffee.
Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Good
Bridgeport Highland Ambush
Scotch Ale (33% Aged in Bourbon Barrels)ABV 6.8%
Color: Dark brown with orange tint.
Aroma: Sweet and slightly phenolic (clove/band-aid).Flavor: Mild sweetness with dried orange peel flavor and hint of bourbon.Hops vs. Malts (Hoppy, Malty or Balanced): MaltyFinish: Mellow citrus/chemical bitterness.Overall (Fantastic, Good, Mediocre or Bad): Mediocre
Winner by unanimous decision: Silver City. It had wonderful sweet, malty, classic Scotch Ale flavors and was dangerously easy to drink considering the high ABV. The Bridgeport on the other hand was not very focused. It seemed like a Scotch Ale dressed in a citrus suit. Neither of us would have guessed that the Bridgeport was a Scotch Ale.
We paired the Scotch Ales with a ground goat meat, carmelized onion, and fresh mozarella pizza and the sweetness of the onions went quite well with the sweetness of the Silver City. The Bridgeport was fiercely independant however, and did not want to cooperate with the food.
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