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!

IPA Taste Test Tourney Febraury 2015 PART I

A new year and new beers. There are more IPAs out there than you can shake a stick at. This fourth tourney, with eight (8) new competitors) will bring the total number of different IPAs tasted and enjoyed to 32. Some of the brands remain the same but the variation of IPA is different. I believe this is a good line-up. But do they match up to our previous three champeens:

Lagunitas IPA
Bear Republic Racer X IPA
Breckenridge Small Batch 471 Double IPA

West of the Mississippi beers have a big edge in the tourney so far. There are some east-west match-ups in this round as well.
NOTE: Results of the first taste-off are below the introductions so keep reading and I will keep drinking.

The rules remain the same:

The beer tasting crtieria will be easy. Whichever I find tastes best. Whichever I feel like I could keep drinking. Whichever is most enjoyable. Extra points go to the IPA with a big improvement in overall taste from bottle to glass.

Onto the contenders (Note all seeds are by random number count) :

ROUND 1

1- Southern Tier IPA vs. Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

                                    

Another east-west match-up. Southern Tier from western NY and Sierra Nevada, a founding father of the west coast beer I seem to prefer.  Sierra Nevada Torpedo participated in the inaugural tourney and made it to the semi-finals succumbing to the eventual winner, Lagunitas. No shame in that loss. I actually began enjoying Celebration before the holidays although this is the type of beer that can be drunk any ole time. I haven't tried Southern Tier yet but always see their beers on the distributor's shelves and thought they would make a good addition to the tourney.

2-Schalfly Special Release Tasmanian IPA vs. Capt. Lawrence IPA

                

 Schlafly is a beer I saw at the distributor while trying to fill out these eight participants. I was intrigued by the Tasmanian in the name, so it was included. They are a brand by the St. Louis Brewery Co. and I look forward to see how they do in this tourney. Captain Lawrence is an old favorite and I'm unsure how I missed this one for previous tourneys. Glad to have them here. Midwest vs. Upstate NY. 

3- Ballast Point Sculpin IPA vs.  Long Trail Limbo IPA

                



Another east vs. west. San Diego (Ballast Point) and Vermont (Long Trail).

Ballast Point made it to the semis in a surprising run. Surprising because that was the first I had heard or tasted them.  Sculpin is a special IPA brewed by BP, that costs a pretty penny depending upon where you purchase it. Long Trail is a brewery I have always liked yet don't seem to go out of my way to have on a regular basis. My purpose was to include just the Long Trail IPA but I saw the Limbo sitting next to it with a skeleton leaning against a tree and decided this was a beer I needed to drink! It also reminded me of the sleeping bear in front of the fireplace on the Hibernator label. Limbo seemed like this beer was telling me to get ready for a much longer hibernation. That's why I drink 'em.



4-Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA vs. Founders All Day Session IPA

      



 Another Midwest - east face-off. Shipyard from Maine and Founders based in Michigan.

I have always seen Shipyard beers but never gave them a try. No time like now to toss them in this heated tourney. Founders All Day Session IPA has the distinction of being the first IPA in this tourney that comes in a can. I first had this beer during a street festival. Just walking around on a beautiful summer day with a Founders in my hand and enjoying every minute. All Day indeed.

RESULTS
As mentioned above the first bracket of this tourney is completed.


1- Southern Tier IPA vs. Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

                                    

This was a tough one. One of the closest ones we have had in the brief history of this tourney. (Or at least one of the closest we can remember!)

Both excellent beers yet different IPAs. vastly different in some ways. Southern Tier has a nice transition from bottle to glass. The glass enhances the woodiness, the earthiness in the flavor. It's savory. Nice balance and the subtlety of this beer makes it extremely enjoyable. Celebration is a bit more deep and the transition form bottle to glass really stretches it out nicely. Make sit smooth and long; like a pebble dropped into a deep well. Waiting in silence until the anticipated plunk into the water below occurs. The difference sin the beers made it even tougher. Southern Tier possess a subtle boldness while Celebration provides a bold subtleness. Southern Tier stands on its own as an alternative to west coast IPAs. In this case, the boldness of Celebration narrowly trumps the subtleness of Southern Tier.