IPA vs. IPA
| Sequels, love em' or hate em', they exist. Some are amazing and tie up the loose ends from the beginning, others just pale in comparison to the original masterpiece (Predator 2). This is the second installment of Beer Up's Beer KO in which we pitted two very niche'y beers against each other in a style vs. style comparison. While I loved the original UFC spectacles, I do think beers compare best within their style or genre similar to fighters within a weight class. So the most recent battle features a match-up within the very popular IPA style. So in the word's of big John McCarthy, "let's get it on!". |  |
Round 1- Battle of Two Celebrated IPA's
This comparison pits two IPA's that placed high in Paste Magazine's double blind test of 116 different IPA's. The Cigar City is one that I was introduced to on my trip to Savannah during a beer swap and all of their beers have proven to be solid. This beer ranked 10 in the double blind test while Brew Kettle's White Rajah took the first prize. Being an IPA lover, we made sure to grab some of these on our Beer Up Cleveland Trip.
Cigar City Jai Alai IPA-
Drawing on a rich heritage of Tampa Brewing tradition, Cigar City was opened in 2009. Most famous for it's notoriously unattainable Hunahpu Imperial Stout, Cigar City boasts a solid lineup of excellent beers. Jai Alai is actually its best seller and carries a rating of 93 on BeerAdvocate.
Brew Kettle White Rajah-
The Brew Kettle is a taproom and smokehouse in Strongsville Ohio. Founded in 1995, this brewer allows patrons to brew their own beers on premise in addition to providing a lineup of its own beverages. A much smaller operation, Brew Kettle mainly distributes to Ohio so this was definitely a destination beer that you have to travel to purchase. This beer scores similarly with a 95 score on BeerAdvocate.
Head to Head-
The first exposure I had to each of these beers was separately. I had tried the Jai Alai back in June and loved it's citrus fresh hop taste. The White Rajah, was then tasted in September upon returning from Cleveland. This beer had a fruity profile as well and a great west coast IPA vibe to it. It also passed the acid test when the biggest hop head I know, who happens to be my wife, tasted it and would not give the bottle back to me.
Luckily I held on to some bottles of this as I was preparing to share with some fellow beer enthusiasts on a business trip. Just as fortunate, was that Cigar City finally made it's way to Virginia and I was able to score some of these for the comparison. The three of us sat down with both beers and tasted them side by side. Going into the test, I was swayed by the hype of the Rajah and was expecting it to win out. However, much to our shock we found the Jai Alai to be more juicy in taste and less bitter. It truly was a surprising upset of one fantastic beer over another.
Luckily I held on to some bottles of this as I was preparing to share with some fellow beer enthusiasts on a business trip. Just as fortunate, was that Cigar City finally made it's way to Virginia and I was able to score some of these for the comparison. The three of us sat down with both beers and tasted them side by side. Going into the test, I was swayed by the hype of the Rajah and was expecting it to win out. However, much to our shock we found the Jai Alai to be more juicy in taste and less bitter. It truly was a surprising upset of one fantastic beer over another.
Treehouse Haze vs. The Field
Remember what I said about liking comparing beers more similarly to the current UFC model? Well in this case we had to put this one to an old fashioned UFC 1 style gauntlet test. At Beer Up we hate over hyped beers, but even more upsetting is when a beer actually matches the hype. This beer was the latter. We have all heard of the legendary beers and people going to rash extremes in order to get them only to find out the beer was just ok. I was able to score some Tree House Haze through one of our Boston Beer Up Correspondents and could not wait to try it out as I was sure it would not live up to the hype.
Haze Round 1-
My first instinct was to try it up against the Lagunitas Sucks Double IPA. This is my go to Double IPA and one that I have found to be an amazing measuring stick. The Lagunitas Sucks had scored 4th overall in the Double IPA category in a similar test of over 100 other doubles, scored higher in the test than many of the legendary Vermont DIPA's and carries a 96 BeerAdvocate score. This was appearing to be a classic case of a regularly available beer holding its own against one with higher billing.
When I opened the Haze and poured it, the first thing that struck me was the mystical hazy milky look to it, followed by it's herbaceous scent. Drinking it only got better. So smooth, so hoppy and easy to drink. This beer was not bitter in any ways and had a passion-fruit and pineapple finish. Even the non beer drinkers in the room praised the smoothness of the Haze. Surely this could not be as good as it seems so we cracked the Sucks. Always reliable, always ready for a fight, the Sucks did not disappoint. However it was still no contest, what struck us was how much harsher and grapefruit like the Sucks was. The grapefruit is a good thing, and Lagunitas makes incredible beer, but this was a clear cut knockout.
When I opened the Haze and poured it, the first thing that struck me was the mystical hazy milky look to it, followed by it's herbaceous scent. Drinking it only got better. So smooth, so hoppy and easy to drink. This beer was not bitter in any ways and had a passion-fruit and pineapple finish. Even the non beer drinkers in the room praised the smoothness of the Haze. Surely this could not be as good as it seems so we cracked the Sucks. Always reliable, always ready for a fight, the Sucks did not disappoint. However it was still no contest, what struck us was how much harsher and grapefruit like the Sucks was. The grapefruit is a good thing, and Lagunitas makes incredible beer, but this was a clear cut knockout.
We saved the other Haze despite the temptation to drink it down so we could pit this behemoth of hop bounty up against some other favorites to see if Haze could defend it's crown. Stopping by the beer store to rustle up the competition was the only logical next step. Unfortunately my other go to double IPA, Victory Dirtwolf, could not be found but Six Point's Bengali, Six Point's Sensi, and the Schafly Tasmanian IPA would have to do.
Round 2 Haze vs. Schafly Tasmanian IPA-
This is a limited release IPA from Schafly. Another beer that ranked high in it's test, I recall liking this one as a smooth drinking fruity IPA. The TIPA did not disappoint and still had the Chardonnay almost buttery quality that led me to test it. What did shock me was how bitter the Schafly offering was in comparison. A beer that I had loved and rated high, went down in this fight like Kimbo Slice in a regulation fight. Again, in Royce Gracie fashion, the Haze stood up to the challenge and was victorious.
Round 3 Haze vs. Six Point-
In an under card bout the two Six Point beers were paired against each other. Six Point Bengali is a traditional IPA and Sensi is a fresh, "wet hop" creation. The Six Point is delicious with an orange juice vibe but compared to the Sensi was not quite the same hop profile we were looking for to match up with the Haze. So it was determined that Sensi would be the best opponent for the twice victorious monster from Monson Mass.
Sipping the Sensi brought that same fruity smoothness as the Haze. Comparing them side by side was almost identical with the smooth mouth-feel and drink ability. When I closed my eyes it was hard to tell them apart but we still preferred the Haze slightly due to that more fruity finish. A virtual dead heat, you had to give the champion a "benefit of the doubt" win by the slightest of margins. The milky appearance of the Haze in the glass also made it easily identifiable at a glance which added some style points.
Sipping the Sensi brought that same fruity smoothness as the Haze. Comparing them side by side was almost identical with the smooth mouth-feel and drink ability. When I closed my eyes it was hard to tell them apart but we still preferred the Haze slightly due to that more fruity finish. A virtual dead heat, you had to give the champion a "benefit of the doubt" win by the slightest of margins. The milky appearance of the Haze in the glass also made it easily identifiable at a glance which added some style points.
Parting Thoughts-
Tree House Brewing is a destination spot and we did not want to give the Haze a win based on hype alone. That said, we are unbiased and independent. This meant putting this beer to a greater degree of scrutiny to be sure we were not buying into the mania. While the Haze is the winner, knowing that I can drive 15 minutes around the corner to get the Sensi and get a virtually identical experience is promising. The hype is real, and we plan to visit Tree House when up there to try their other beers. In the meantime, I will be making my way back to stock up on some Bengali and Sensi knowing that these are first class beers that I can get on any given day, in virtually unlimited quantity.
At Beer Up, strong opinions are encouraged! If you like what you read feel free to share or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or RSS. If you did not like it, we still would love to hear from you in the comments below.or via email.
At Beer Up, strong opinions are encouraged! If you like what you read feel free to share or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or RSS. If you did not like it, we still would love to hear from you in the comments below.or via email.
