IPA Taste Test Tourney Febraury 2015 PART IV - Semi-Finals and Finals

Below are the results for the IPA Taste Tourney 2015 Semi-finals and Finals.

Previous 2015 Installations: Part I, Part II, Part III

Results: Semi-Finals

Captain Lawrence IPA vs.  Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

 

Tough, challenging semi-final. The captain transitioned from bottler to glass much better this go around. Both Captain and Sculpin exhibited hoppy, aromatic, deep flavors. The balance of those attributes is just a tad higher in Sculpin. Sculpin as a more holistic brew, more together. In boxing terms, Captain Lawrence IPA is more aggressive while Sculpin is a counter-puncher. Cap throws a sharp jab and Sculpin slips and lands with a beauty of a counter. After this round of drinking, Sculpin gets the decision victory.


Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA vs. Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA
Another tight decision. Both beers really open up in the IPA glass. A strong bouquet of flavors. Deep and aromatic and flavorful flavors (I'm running out of ways to describe these things) with the correct amount of hoppiness. Monkey Fist provides a smooth balance while Celebration abound s with deep balance. Deepness beats smoothness. Celebration to the finals.


Finals

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA vs. Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

One thing I am learning from this fourth IPA taste Test Tourney is that it is almost useless to set these beers against one another in competition. As can be detected in many of the previous matches, it is very difficult to choose. This Final proved no different. Alas, choose we must.

Both have solid transitions from bottle to IPA glass. The IPA glass adds body and fullness to the beer. Sculpin has more of an citrus aroma, more overall fruity. Celebration, while bold also exhibits a tenderness of craft. That boldness form celebration allows it to leap out to an early lead over Sculpin. The more I imbibe Sculpin, the more of its nuances I realize. It's slow and steady but begins to win the race. The powerful hops in Celebration makes their case and a last minute sprint to the finish line falls short due to the almost perfect mixture of hops and flavors within Sculpin.  Sculpin is the beer  which I could always have another one. Sculpin wins!