Oregon IPAs — Cascade Lakes vs. Terminal Gravity/Double Mountain Collaboration

 

Cascade Lakes IRA

ABV 6.8%

 

Terminal Gravity/Double Mountain

Collaboration IPA

ABV 7.2% 
 

This battle featured a couple of non-standard IPAs from Oregon. Representing the beer mecca of Bend was the Cascade Lakes IRA and hailing from Enterprise (Terminal Gravity) and Hood River (Double Mountain) was the Gravity Mountain Collaboration IPA. 

The Gravity Mountain continues a growing trend of two (or more) breweries combining their knowledge and resources to create a special collaborative concoction. For those not familiar with IRA, it is simply a variation of a normal IPA. It stands for India Red Ale, a hybrid name created from IPA and red ale.

The color of the Cascade Lakes wasn't so much red as hazy orangish brown. In the aroma it had lots of bready malts and a touch of milk chocolate with no significant hop presence. The hops came out in the flavor however, as it started sweet and ultimately gave way to some grassy, herbal and citrusy hop notes. The finish was mild and sweet with a pleasant mild bitterness.

The Gravity Mountain had a cloudy, golden hue and a strong and funky marijuana aroma. The flavor was dominated by the funky hops with just a touch of sweet maltiness in the background. On the finish it was acidic and bitter, a harsh and long-lasting bitter greens sort of bitter.

Neither beer really wowed us. To our palates they were both decent but unimpressive. The victory went to the Cascade Lakes IRA because we just don't care for IPAs that smell like pot. Not sure if it's a specific variety of hop or a style of beer making, but it's not for us.

Winner by Unanimous Decision: Cascade Lakes IRA

Washington State IPAs — Elysian vs. Pike vs. Diamond Knot

Elysian Prometheus IPA

ABV 6.7%

Pike IPA

ABV 6.3%

 

Diamond Knot IPA

ABV 6.2% 
 

In anticipation of the IPA blind tasting event we did for Medford Beer Week, Ellen and I had to do some research to find an IPA to represent each state on the west coast. At the local bottle shop we found a nice selection of Washington IPAs to choose from and we ended up choosing these three — Elysian and Pike from our old hometown of Seattle and Diamond Knot from a city called Mukilteo just north of Seattle.

 

Colors varied with the Elysian coming across reddish orange, the Pike showing off a brownish orange and the Diamond Knot looking fairly unappealing with a kind of brownish yellow.

 

The Elysian had the aroma that appealed to us most, featuring gobs of grapefruit and citrus that started us salivating immediately. The Pike had some strong funky, earthy, marijuana-esque hop aromas and the Diamond Knot was more restrained with some tropical fruit notes.

 

The Elysian continued its dominance in the flavor as the citrus was complemented by a nice sweet caramel maltiness and a fairly mild bitterness in the finish. The Pike was intensely bitter with a bit of burnt hops and cat pee in the finish. The Diamond Knot also had a harsh bitterness in the finish, although not as much as the Pike, while the flavors were fairly simple, offering a bit of grain and some lemon-water.

 

There wasn't much debate in this battle as the Elysian was the clear winner for both of us. It's just the kind of IPA that appeals to us — big, juicy, citrusy grapefruit aroma with a solid malt profile and a smooth bitterness in the finish. Unfortunately it is not a year-round release for Elysian, rather it is part of their Manic IPA Series and will be available through August. If you're a fan of IPAs this one is certainly worth your attention so hurry up and get some before it's gone!

 

Side note: The Prometheus ended up in second place in our IPA blind tasting event behind another great IPA, 10 Barrel Brewing's Apocolypse IPA.  

 

Winner by Unanimous Decision: Elysian Prometheus IPA 

Imperial IPAs — Pyramid vs. Oakshire

Pyramid
Outburst Imperial IPA

ABV 8.5%

Oakshire
The Perfect Storm
Double IPA

ABV 9.3% 

Ever since our friend Geoff posted a glowing review of the Pyramid Outburst last year we've been wanting to feature it in a battle. Imperial IPAs tend to be a bit spendier than most beers so finding one that is good and inexpensive is a worthy pursuit. Fighting against the Outburst was an Imperial (or Double if you'd prefer) IPA from Oakshire in Eugene. We've enjoyed many of Oakshire's beers in the past so we were excited to try this offering. As usual, my lovely wife did the honor of pouring the beers out of my sight so I could taste them blind. 

 

Right from the get-go it was a mighty duel. Both had a bold hop presence and a solid malt backbone to temper the bitterness. It was a see-saw battle. Just as one seemed to be rising to the top of our list the other would have us second guessing. After much deliberation the one we both chose was the Pyramid Outburst. It had a funky, earthy hop aroma and a sweet (yet still bitter) honey malt flavor followed by a solid bitter finish. The Perfect Storm featured a sharp, herbal, floral aroma along with an intense and long-lasting citrus rind bitterness in the finish. As usual, we chose the one that had the least bitter finish. We are nothing if not consistent.

 

Both are worth your attention. Go with the Outburst if you're looking for a solid double IPA at a great price and splurge for The Perfect Storm if you are looking for a double IPA that will sock you right in the taste buds and make you feel good about it. 

 
Winner by Unanimous Decision: Pyramid Outburst

Chocolate Chile Beers — Elysian vs. New Belgium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elysian Peste

(Chocolate Chili Ale)

ABV 7.5%

New Belgium Lips of Faith
Cocoa Mole

(Ale with Cocoa and Spices)

ABV 9% 

Here at Bottle Battle headquarters we both love chocolate, we both love chiles and we both love beer. Throw them all into a 22 oz. bottle and you've really got our attention. So it was with great anticipation that we popped the cap on these two contenders.

Elysian is a fantastic brewery from Seattle and the Peste is one of a line of 12 beers they are releasing in their 12 Beers of the Apocalypse series. The Cocoa Mole is made by New Belgium brewing in Colorado as part of their Lips of Faith series of limited release experimental beers. Interesting to note that these two breweries partnered up a few years ago in a move that allowed Elysian to increase distribution and New Belgium to brew more experimental small-batch beers. Wonder if it was just coincidence that they both released chocolate chile beers within a few months of each other?

 

The Peste was a no-holds-barred chile beer with spice dominating the aroma, flavor and finish. The fantastic chile spice lingered in the back of our throats long after each sip. Fortunately it had a nice base of chocolate malts and cinnamon notes to tie everything together. Great, great beer that could pair with anything from BBQ and tamales to rich chocolate desserts.

 

The Cocoa Mole was more of a dessert beer with sweet malts and milk chocolate taking center stage. The chile presence was more flavor than spice but every now and again we detected a subtle kick. They did a great job getting it to taste like a sweet mole sauce however, it seemed a bit too sweet to actually complement a mole dish. We think it would be best saved for after dinner with a cinnamon shortbread cookie.

 

We really liked both beers but ended up awarding the decision to the Peste because of its amazing spice and versatility. We really wanted to get another bottle but alas they were out at the bottle shop. Feel free to invite us over if you've got one. We'll bring the tamales.  

 
Winner by Unanimous Decision: Elysian Peste

Pale Ales — 10 Barrel vs. Alameda vs. MacTarnahan's

10 Barrel Brewing Co. ISA

(India Session Ale)

ABV 5.5%

Alameda Brewing Co.
Klickitat Pale Ale

ABV 5.3%

MacTarnahan's Sling Shot
Extra Pale Ale

ABV 6.2% 

Featuring guest tasters, Peter & Susan.

Eventually the weather is going to get better here in the Northwest and when that day comes we recommend celebrating with a nice craft-brewed Pale Ale. We recently had some friends over and put three such beers against each other for a battle. Note: the 10 Barrel ISA is essentially a Pale Ale. ISA stands for India Session Ale, which implies that the beer is a lower alcohol (session) India Pale Ale. Since Pale Ales are usually lower in alcohol than their India Pale Ale brothers, we think it is fair to categorize the ISA as something akin to a Pale Ale.

Colors: Sling Shot was clear golden, ISA was hazy golden and Klickitat was hazy amber.
Aromas: Sling Shot was simple, grainy and lager-like, ISA had funky, earthy hop notes and Klickitat was dominated by sweet, honey maltiness with some floral notes in the background.
Flavors: Sling Shot was simple and malty with not much hop presence, ISA had real nice crisp citrus hop character and Klickitat was very malt heavy with brown sugar and molasses overwhelming the minor floral hops.
Finishes: Sling Shot had a sweet honey finish, ISA had a nice moderate citrusy bitterness and Klickitat finished with a sweet and herbal roasted maltiness.

Definitely three different approaches to the style. Ellen and I were immediately drawn to the citrusy hoppiness of the ISA, finding the Sling Shot to be too simple and the Klickitat to be too malt-heavy. Our friends preferred the easy-drinking, clean refreshment of the Sling Shot. So, in the end, the battle was a draw. The Klickitat was the loser of the night but it's not a bad beer by any stretch, it was just a very malty interpretation of a Pale Ale that might surprise you if you're looking for a more traditional, hoppy and refreshing Pale Ale.
 
Draw: Ellen and I chose the 10 Barrel ISA, Peter and Susan chose the MacTarnahan's Sling Shot.

Widmer Brothers Rotator IPA Series

X-114 IPA

ABV 6.2%

Falconer's IPA 
ABV 7.0%
 

O'Ryely IPA 
ABV 6.4%

Spiced IPA 
(Ale Brewed with Tea and Spices and with Tea and Spices Added)
ABV 7.0%

Even since I read about Widmer's Rotator IPA Series I knew that it was meant for a Bottle Battle. As each IPA was released I made sure to put away a bottle for the big day. When the Spiced IPA showed up down here a week or so ago it was finally time to stage the fight.

First off let me brag. Ellen poured them for me blind and I identified them all correctly. Admittedly they all are fairly unique but it did make me feel that perhaps my palate and taste memory are improving. That's a cool little side benefit of doing these battles. We may not be classically trained but we sure are getting good with recognizing certain flavors and qualities in beer.

Colors ranged quite a bit: X-114 was clear golden yellow, Spiced was hazy yellowish orange, Falconer's was clear orangy brown and O'Ryely was hazy dark orange. Aromas differed greatly as well: X-114 was the most aromatic with big floral and grapefruit notes that bordered on cat pee, Spiced smelled herbal and perfumy with Cardamom dominating, Falconer's had the least hop character in the nose, instead smelling of sweet roasty malts and the O'Ryely had an earthy, malty aroma. Flavors didn't stray too much from aromas but as far as bitterness on the finish we agreed that the Falconer's was the most bitter followed by the X-114 and the Spiced. The least bitter was the O'Ryely which had just a mild bitterness to go along with a nice rich, malty finish.

We both agreed that the winner would have to be either the X-114 with its amazing aromatics from those Citra hops (X-114 is what the Citra hop was called before it had a fancy name) or the O'Ryely with its earthiness (perhaps from the Rye?) combined with a nice mildly bitter finish. Ellen ended up going with the X-114 while I went with the O'Ryely since the X-114 was just too citrusy for me (bordering on soapy tasting). Coming in second to last was the Falconer's. We've tried multiple beers using the Falconer's Flight blend of hops and we just don't care for them. Bringing up the rear was the ambitious Spiced, certainly a fun idea but it smelled and tasted a bit too much like a bar of soap or some detergent. Thanks, but when we're drinking IPA we like the hops to be the focus.

Split Decision: Ellen chose X-114, I chose O'Ryely

Beers with Dark in the Title — Bridgeport vs. Widmer

Bridgeport Dark Rain
(Black Pale Ale)

ABV 5.6%

Widmer Brothers

W '12 Dark Saison

ABV 5.5%

As a final farewell to the dark days of winter, here is a battle featuring two beers with "dark" in their name. Let's all raise a glass to daylight savings. As far as we're concerned the loss of one hour of sleep is well worth it for some light in the evenings so we can grill without wearing a headlamp. 

As expected, these beers were completely different. Really the only thing they share is an attempt to be dark in color. Both achieved this admirably with the Widmer showing off a reddish brown color and the Bridgeport looking a bit darker with none of the red. In the aroma they both went their separate ways, the Widmer revealing a typical Belgian yeast character (banana, clove, bread) while the Bridgeport focused on piny, spicy hops with some cedar and soap notes as well. In the flavor the Widmer asserted itself as the front runner with a sweet, dark maltiness complementing the Belgian yeast flavors. The Bridgeport, on the other hand, was a bitter beast. Sharp and clean with a harshly bitter, soapy, cedary finish. Seemed to us like the bitterness overwhelmed the chocolate malts.

Both of these beers hail from breweries that are mainstays in the Portland beer scene with a reputation for solid year-round beers and intriguing seasonal offerings. As of late, however, we have enjoyed more of the Widmer stuff. As a matter of fact, I just went and looked at the Bottle Battle archives and found that of 5 battles featuring Bridgeport (this being the fifth) they have lost all of them except one which was a split decision. Could just be bad scheduling on our part, but that's a rough record.
 
Winner by Unanimous Decision: Widmer W '12