Head to Head: Mikkeller Stateside IPA vs Terrapin Hop Shortage Ale

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: India Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Mikkeller Stateside IPA	Terrapin Hop Shortage Ale
Brewer	Mikkeller	Terrapin
Country	Denmark	America
State (if Applicable)		Georgia

Appearance: Winner – Mikkeller

Mikkeller – This beer has an amber color with a medium slightly off-white head. The head leaves little lace on the glass.

Terrapin – This beer also pours amber with a smaller white head that leaves little lace.

Aroma: Winner – Terrapin

Mikkeller – There is a lot of sweetness in the aroma. There is also some resin from the hops.

Terrapin – The aroma has lots of citrus and floral characters from the hops. This definitely has more hop aromas of the two beers.

Taste: Winner – Terrapin

Mikkeller – The flavor seems to be lacking the bitter characteristics normal to the styel. Some of the resinous character is there but the sweetness seems to be a bit high which stops the beer having a good balance..

Terrapin – Well this is more like it. A sweet start is quickly replaced by a good dose of bitterness. This gives the beer a great balance.

Body/Finish: Winner – Tie

Mikkeller – This has a good medium body and finally has some bitterness appear in the dry finish.

Terrapin – This has a medium body and a nice dry long bitter finish that is full of hop flavors.

Overall: Winner – Terrapin
This was a bit of a closer match than most of the earlier ones. The Mikkeller while not on top form was not totally outclassed. I am convinced that this sample was lacking its usual hop character. It was well crafted I just think it was a bit passed its prime. The Terrapin was not and thus wins due to its great hop aroma and flavor. The only thing I can count against it is that it was a seasonal and I can’t get any more. But that has no relevance to the outcome. Quite simply it is a very good IPA and deserves to fight another day.

Head to Head: Weyerbacher Hops Infusion India Pale Ale vs. Lagunitas IPA

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: India Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Weyerbacher Hops Infusion India Pale Ale	Lagunitas IPA
Brewer	Weyerbacher	Lagunitas
Country	America	America
State (if Applicable)	Pennsylvania	California

Appearance: Winner – Lagunitas

Weyerbacher – This beer has an amber color with a small white head that leaves amost no lace.

Lagunitas – Pours a amber color with a medium off-white head. Some lace is left on the glass as the head quickly recedes.

Aroma: Winner – Lagunitas

Weyerbacher – The aroma is very subdued with a small amount of sweet caramel and a trace of floral hops.

Lagunitas – Lots of hops in the aroma. There are definite smells of flowers, and resin along with a slight candy undertone.

Taste: Winner – Lagunitas

Weyerbacher – For an IPA this is lacking hops and the accompanying bitterness.

Lagunitas – There is a sweet flavor to begin with but then the bitterness from the hops starts to build. The floral character of the hops is very evident in the taste.

Body/Finish: Winner – Lagunitas

Weyerbacher – This has a medium body, a short and not to bitter finish.

Lagunitas –A medium body is accompanied by a long dry and bitter aftertaste.

Overall: Winner – Lagunitas
This was a real surprise. Seeing as last time these two beers met the Hops Infusion was the clear winner with nice robust hop flavors I struggled with the result. After some checking to verify which was which it was the Lagunitas that came out on top. Both bottles had come from the same six-packs and the tasting was only a few weeks apart. The fact that the bottles varied so much was a shock. But that does not change the fact that the Lagunitas on this occasion was excellent. Everything I could want from an IPA. Good hop aromas and flavors with a delectable bitterness and finish that left me wishing it would go on and on. Of course there were other beers to drink so I could not linger to long. Now that Lagunitas is available locally I will source some more of these two beers and have a run off to settle the score.

Head to Head: AleSmith IPA vs. Weyerbacher Hops Infusion India Pale Ale

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: India Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Ale Smith IPA	Weyerbacher Hops Infusion India Pale Ale
Brewer	Ale Smith	Weyerbacher
Country	America	America
State (if Applicable)	California	Pennsylvania

Appearance: Winner –AleSmith

AleSmith – Pours the lighter color of the two but has a large and frothy white head atop a rich gold color. The head leaves a good lace on the glass.

Weyerbacher – This beer has an amber color with a small white head that leaves little..

Aroma: Winner – AleSmith

AleSmith – This is dominated by hops. There is a wonderful flower aromas along with some citrus and there is a touch of malt sweetness can be found.

Weyerbacher – The aroma is similar but more subdued with a small amount of sweet caramel and a trace of floral hops.

Taste: Winner – AleSmith

AleSmith – The taste is full of hops just like the aroma. You can taste the floral, citrus an d pine that is imparted from the hops beautifully. The bitterness is kept in check and while strong does not overpower the beer.

Weyerbacher – While the aroma had a decent hop smell the flavor is lacking the bitterness of the style. There is some bitterness but on the low side for an IPA.

Body/Finish: Winner – AleSmith

AleSmith – This finishes with a long dry bitter finish to accompany the medium body.

Weyerbacher – This has a medium body, a short finish with little bitterness.

Overall: Winner – AleSmith
This turned out to be a bit one sided. This is a real shame for the Weyerbacher. I know it is better than this but what can you do? The AleSmith pushes all the right flavors. In all honesty it is one of the best IPA I have had and it will take a special beer to beat it. The aroma is wonderful, the flavor is yummy and the finish makes me just want to start all over again. The biggest shame is I cannot get it locally. Maybe I need to move. Or take a beer roadtrip.

Head to Head: Weyerbacher Hops Infusion vs. Terrapin Hop Shortage Ale

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: India Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Weyerbacher Hops Infusion India Pale Ale	Terrapin Hop Shortage Ale
Brewer	Weyerbacher	Terrapin
Country	America	America
State (if Applicable)	Pennsylvania	Georgia

Appearance: Winner –Tie

Weyerbacher – This beer has an amber color with a small white head that leaves amost no lace.

Terrapin – This beer also pours amber with a small white head that leaves little lace.

Aroma: Winner – Terrapin

Weyerbacher – The aroma is very subdued with a small amount of sweet caramel and a trace of floral hops.

Terrapin – The aroma has lots of citrus and floral characters from the hops.

Taste: Winner – Terrapin

Weyerbacher – For an IPA this is lacking hops. There is little of the bitterness usual in the style.

Terrapin – Well this is more like it. A sweet start is quickly replaced by a good dose of bitterness.

Body/Finish: Winner – Terrapin

Weyerbacher – This has a medium body, a short and not to bitter finish.

Terrapin – This has a medium body and a nice dry long bitter finish that is full of hop flavors.

Overall: Winner – Terrapin
Well this is more like it. The Hop Shortage is sure not short of hops. It has some great hop aromas, flavors and bitterness. Everything a good IPA should have. The Weyerbacher is really struggling compared to earlier tastings and I must conclude that it is not in its prime. A real shame really as it might have been a closer battle. My hat goes off to Terrapin though and there use of hops during this growing crisis. Hopefully when hops are plentiful again they will continue to brew such good beers.

Head to Head: Mikkeller Stateside IPA vs. Weyerbacher Hops Infusion

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: India Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Mikkeller Stateside IPA	Weyerbacher Hops Infusion India Pale Ale
Brewer	Mikkeller	Weyerbacher
Country	Denmark	America
State (if Applicable)		Pennsylvania

Appearance: Winner – Mikkeller

Mikkeller – This beer pours amber with a medium sized slightly off-white head. The head rapidly diminishes leaving little lace.

Weyerbacher – This beer has the same amber color but a smaller haead that leaves amost no lace.

Aroma: Winner – Mikkeller

Mikkeller – The smell is mostly sweet but also has a touch of resin.

Weyerbacher – There is not a lot going on in the aroma of this beer. There is some sweetness but little hop aroma.

Taste: Winner – Mikkeller

Mikkeller –The sweetness from the aroma is carried over in the taste. There is a definite caramel sweetness and while there is some resin from the hops it lacks the usual levels of bitterness I would associate with a good IPA.

Weyerbacher – Like the other beer this is lacking bitterness usual to the style.

Body/Finish: Winner – Mikkeller

Mikkeller – This has a medium body and a dry finish that finally has a bit of bitterness.

Weyerbacher – This has a similar medium body but a shorter and less bitter finish.

Overall: Winner – Mikkeller
Well I had been looking forward to this tasting. Two undefeated India Pale Ales going Head to Head was sure to be a great tasting. Well it did not really turn out that way. Yes the Mikkeller won but it is not the beer I remember from earlier tasting. It was quite bland compared to my memory. The fact that it still beat the Weyerbacher reflects that both bottles were not in their prime. There were three other beers that were a part of this large tasting and if not for the presence of the Lagunitas IPA I could of put this down to these beers simply being overshadowed by better beers. But I am getting ahead of myself. So in this comparison the Stateside IPA wins. I have no doubt that a rematch will be called for with two fresh examples.

Belgian Stouts. The experiment.

With the recent increase of beers with the words Belgian Stout on the label I started to think I had found the Holy Grail of beer. I mean what beers are better than a good Stout or Belgian ale? Combine the two and it sounds like heaven to me. So after a bit of research (ratebeer.com and beeradvocate.com) I was left a bit bewildered. There is no such category as Belgian Stout. The beers exist so why not the category?

What else was I to do but buy a few and do some Head to Heads and create my own little table for Belgian stouts. Sounds easy. Well the best laid plans…

So armed with three beers I was all prepared to sit down and do my normal tasting. Things started to go wrong immediately. I usally open the beers then let my wife pour them as I sit outside geting my self focused for the job at hand. Well from the second I opened the De Dolle Extra Export Stout I knew something was up. It began to spew forth. Quick pour it in a glass. Ok another glass. Ok a bigger glass. Lets just say that this was a bit carbonated. By the time I seemed to have things under control (paper towels everywhere) I realized any blind objective tasting would not happened. SO I opened the Allagash Black and the Podge and took the glasses outside to do some tasting.

The first thing to note was the color. In front of me I had one beer with muddy reddish color and a huge gushing head, one black beer with a small tan head, and one black beer with a very large tan head. Well no consistency there.

The gusher smelled very sour and yeasty and at this point it was clear that it was probably a bit passed its prime. The Allagash on the other hand had a wonderful coffee, smokey and roasted smell that I would expect of a good stout. The same was true with the Podge but even more so. It added some sweetness and some dark chocolate. What a shame about the De Dolle being off as at this point I had two really appealing stouts and one that tasted nothing like a stout. The crazy thing is at this point my wife was starting to warm to the sourness of the De Dolle. Usually she can’t stand sour beers. But here I think she was able to taste some of the underlying flavors that should have been more prominent.

So on to the taste. The De Dolle had the sourness but there was a hint of sweetness but little stout flavors. The Allagash on the other hand continued to taste like a stout. It had the nice roasted coffee flavors along with some roasted flavor and some good sweet undertones accompanied by a dose of bitterness. The Podge upped this with more roasted flavors and a stronger bitterness. I was really warming to the Podge. It was reminding me of the Yetis with its big strong flavors, full body and strong bitterness. The Allagash seemed more like an Oatmeal stout in comparison but was really yummy (not the most technical term but who cares).

The finish continued the trend. Sour for the De Dolle, smooth and sweet for the Allagash and finally bitter and chalky for the Podge.

Were there enough similarities to consider these in the same style? Probably not. The exclusion of the De Dolle means there were really only two beers here. Both tasted like stouts. But one seemed to be close to an Oatmeal Stout and the other an Imperial Stout. Neither had much Belgian Character. So do they deserve there on style? Should they be lumped in with Belgian Darks or various Stouts? For me I will think of it as two new categories. Belgian Stout and Imperial Belgian Stouts. As more Belgian stouts appear I will try to do some more research and I suggest you do the same. For the Allagash Black and the Alvinne Podge Belgian Imperial Stout are both great beers no matter what the style. As for the De Dolle Extra Export Stout I will just have to try another and hope for better luck.

Head to Head: Oscar Blues Dales Pale Ale vs Bells Pale Ale

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: American Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Oscar Blues Dales Pale Ale	Bells Pale Ale
Brewer	Oscar Blues	Bells
Country	America	America
State (if Applicable)	Colorado	Michigan

As usual the tasting was done blind and to style.

Appearance: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues – Pours a light amber color with a good sized head of slightly off white color. The haed leaves an attractive lace as it slowly disapears.

Bells – This pours a much lighter golden color with a small white head. The head quickly disappears but leaves a slight lace on the glass.

Aroma: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues – This has some really nice aromas. There is a hint of grain, some strong citrus and a touch of resin in the nose.

Bells – Has a good floral hop aroma along with a trace o sweetness.

Taste: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues –This has a really full and robust flavor. It is not to strong there is just a lot going on for a relatively light beer. There is some initial bitterness that is then joined by a hint of caramel sweetness. The hops dominate but not like an IPA.

Bells – There is some bitterness in the flavor but not very strong.

Body/Finish: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues – This has a light-medium body with a nice long dry finish. The bitterness in the finish is well controlled and I definitely wanted more.

Bells – This has a light body but a good dry finish with a trace of bitterness.

Overall: Winner – Oscar Blues
I can’t say I am surprised by the outcome. So far only the Nøgne Ø Pale Ale has managed to beat this mighty can. The Bells is a good drinkable beer. Close to but not quite a solid American Pale Ale. I know the style is supposed to be light and refreshing but it should also have good flavors and aromas. The Bells just begins to touch on these but you just seem to want a bit more. The Dales gives you what you want and ten some. Simply put it is a great beer and wonderful American Pale Ale. But you never know what might beat it. I will just have to try a bit harder to find it a challenge. Until then I will just continue to drink and enjoy it.

A quick aside

I found a neat little tool that can create an image like the above from an RSS feed. Go to wordle.net and give it a try.

Head To Head: Oscar Blues Dales Pale Ale vs. Highland St. Terese’s Pale Ale

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: American Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Oscar Blues Dales Pale Ale	Highland St. Terese’s Pale Ale
Brewer	Oscar Blues	Highland
Country	America	America
State (if Applicable)	Colorado	North Carolina

As usual the tasting was done blind and to style.

Appearance: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues – Pours a light amber color with a good sized head of slightly off white color. The haed leaves an attractive lace as it slowly disapears.

Highland – This pours a golden color with a small white head. The head disappears leaving no lace.

Aroma: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues – This has some really nice aromas. There is a hint of grain, some strong citrus and a touch of resin in the nose.

Highland – This has more of a grainy hop aroma along with a touch of sweetness.

Taste: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues –This has a really full and robust flavor. It is not to strong there is just a lot going on for a relatively light beer. There is some initial bitterness that is then joined by a hint of caramel sweetness. The hops dominate but not like an IPA.

Highland – This has very little bitterness, in fact it has a surprising sweetness with a slightly odd taste that I still can’t quite place.

Body/Finish: Winner – Oscar Blues

Oscar Blues – This has a light-medium body with a nice long dry finish. The bitterness in the finish is well controlled and I definitely wanted more.

Highland – This has a light body with a smooth mouthfeel and almost no bitterness in the aftertaste.

Overall: Winner – Oscar Blues
Chalk up another win for the big beer in the little can. Between these two beers it is dominate. It has more aroma, better flavor a good finish and it looks inviting with its color and head. I really like the Highland brewery. I have been drinking their beers since it opened and am usually happy with there beers. But the St. Terese’s just seems a bit to well pale. It needs a bit of character. Character is definitely something the Dales has in abundance and in a can.

Head to Head: Bells Pale Ale vs. Highland St. Terese’s Pale Ale

Welcome to today’s Head to Head challenge.
Style: American Pale Ale. View Table

Beer	Bells Pale Ale	Highland St. Therese’s Pale Ale
Brewer	Bells	Highland
Country	America	America
State (if Applicable)	Michigan	North Carolina

As usual the tasting was done blind and to style.

Appearance: Winner – Tie

Bells – This beer pours golden with a small white head. The head diminishes quickly and leaves almost no lace.

Highland – Virtually the same color and head size as the other beer. It would be hard to tell them apart.

Aroma: Winner – Tie

Bells – The dominate smell is of floral hops with a slight candy sweetness.

Highland – This has more of a grainy hop aroma along with a similar sweetness.

Taste: Winner – Bells

Bells – There is some hop bitterness in the flavor but in general it has a refreshing if bland character.

Highland – This has a slightly odd flavor I could not quite place. It detracted a bit from the grain and malt sweetness of this beer. I kept searching for a trace of bitterness but it never really materialized.

Body/Finish: Winner – Bells

Bells – This had a light body with a dry finish with a trace of bitterness.

Highland – This has a light body with a smooth mouthfeel and almost no bitterness in the aftertaste.

Overall: Winner – Bells
This started out quite even with the Bells Pale Ale pulling out the win towards the end. Both beers had a good appearance and a nice aroma. The bells just had slightly more flavor and a better finish. The Highland seemed to have a slightly odd flavor that I could not place. It did start to taste better as it warmed a bit and was never off putting it simply was a little strange. Both beers were drinkable and refreshing especially for a hot summer day although I am not sure I would seek either out.