What's the Difference? Share your side-by-side (2023)

Discussion in 'The Bar' started by cjgiant, Jan 21, 2023.

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  1. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I remember something from a few years ago when I included a can of Corona Light. The Corona had a nice feel and crisp finish, but barely any flavor to speak of. And that includes good flavor as well as any idiosyncratic 'off' flavors. I also may have speculated that's the reason why it's so popular- there was nothing annoying or controversial in that particular sample at all. I'm sure the can had something to do with it.

    I don't think I chose it as a winner, but maybe gave it some begrudging kudos for being so clean.
     
    #61 TongoRad, Mar 23, 2023
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  2. TongoRad

    TongoRad Grand Pooh-Bah (3,884) Jun 3, 2004 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I found the post :+1:
    https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...-side-by-side-2021.653775/page-9#post-7297813

    It turns out that Corona Light did win, but only because it was up against AB Natural Ice :rolling_eyes::grin:
     
    #62 TongoRad, Mar 23, 2023
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  3. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    #63 JackHorzempa, Mar 23, 2023
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  4. cjgiant

    cjgiant Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,584) Jul 13, 2013 District of Columbia
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I can make myself available for the right price.
     
    #64 cjgiant, Mar 23, 2023
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  5. augustgarage

    augustgarage Pooh-Bah (2,703) May 20, 2007 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    [​IMG]

    One of the best WC Imperial IPAs around, alongside a variant of the same brewed with Nectaron in addition to its namesake. Both canned on 3/8 - I assumed these were from the same batch of base beer, but Citra clocks in at 8.5% ABV vs. 8% for Citra w/Nectaron, so I'm curious how that happened...
    • Appearance is very similar - both are decent, if lacking in clarity and head retention.
    • Aroma is more tropical and complex with Nectaron, though they are both slightly subdued.
    • Flavor is immense in both cases, though I find Nectaron a bit sweeter with more pineapple notes up front and more lingering complexity (passion fruit, some residual minerality). Both leave a dank hop-forward aftertaste with hints of menthol (as if I've been brushing with a hop toothpaste).
    • Mouth-feel is excellent and nearly identical - medium-full, rich, creamy, oily, yet cutting. Warming yet refreshing.
    • While I prefer Nectaron slightly here, I've had batches of regular Citra in previous years (including on tap at the brewery) that were superior in aroma. Clearly there is significant variation in hop harvests year to year.
    An abundance of riches!
     
    #65 augustgarage, Mar 24, 2023
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  6. cjgiant

    cjgiant Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,584) Jul 13, 2013 District of Columbia
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Drizzly, cloudy day here, so I decided to start the day with a bourbon barrel coffee imperial stout comparison. I didn't do this blind, as I am pretty certain that Hardywood's Kentucky Christmas Morning (11.5%), with its ginger addition, will be easy to pick out. However, I wanted to see what it has in common with Lagunitas' Willetized coffee imperial stout (13.1%). The descriptions, from the brewery sites:
    [​IMG]
    So reading through the descriptions (Lagunitas site has a bit more than quoted, Hardywood has an ingredient list and other specs, so pretty nicely done by both there!), it seems Hardywood treats their beer with coffee after barrel-aging and Lagunitas adds coffee to the beer before barreling.

    Let's compare (the GF has already sampled and chosen Hardywood as her favorite, picking it out between the two).

    Lagunitas holds its head better, making it the better looking beer. There's a chocolatey bourbon aroma coming from Lagunitas before I take a sip. Hardywood's beer brings the ginger up front; it has a bit more of a coffee vibe behind the spice than Willetized had behind the rye/bourbon. Perhaps its the rye specifically or the extra spirit and beer ABV, but I note a little spice in Lagunitas as well after sniffing both - just nowhere near as strong as I get in Kentucky Christmas Morning (KCM).

    KCM looks flat, and has a low carbonation, silky feel - probably aided by the milk sugar it has in it. Ginger, a medium coffee, and a light wood (and/or lactose) tang in back make up the beer, but the feel is a bit off. I mean this in general and against many previous pours of this beer, and am thinking it's not putting its best foot forward for this comparison.

    Willetized isn't too carbonated, either, but definitely has more fizz than KCM. Though it starts about as full and creamy, that aspect perhaps turns the beer a little thinner in the middle. Chocolate and rye with a hint of earthy spice that fades into a wood tang in back.

    The two are about equally sweet, with KCM being a little more sticky. Interestingly, the alcohol components of Willetized parallel the ginger in KCM a little bit more than I expected. Going in, I thought I'd get more coffee from the Lagunitas beer, but neither really showed off that ingredient to me too much today (and independently both have in the past).

    In the end, I disagree with the GF and today I am enjoying Lagunitas beer a bit more, though I expected us to favor the beers we chose. I also found something I didn't expect - that these beers seem more similar than expected to me.

    So, yes of course I combined them. And odd things resulted. The opening was an odd and not very appealing conflict of bitterness, spice, and cola; the back end flipped the script and there was a nice mix of ginger and rye grassiness. Overall, I should've left them in their own own lanes, where they were likely happy to have stayed without my interference.
     
    #66 cjgiant, Mar 25, 2023
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  7. Beersnake

    Beersnake Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,884) Aug 17, 2013 California
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Alright, time to compare the 5 and 1 year-old Orvals! The 5 is on the left and the 1 is on the right.

    Although it's tough to tell in the photo, the older bottle did have a slightly darker color to it.

    Nose: The newer bottle is a bit "sharper" and the older version is a bit sweeter. Both have a nice spicy note, but the older bottle has more dark fruit. The newer bottle leans a bit more towards lemon and orange. The fresher bottle is a bit more bready on the nose as well. Not as different as I might expect. Winner: fairly close on this one.

    Taste: The newer bottle is what I'm used to. Slight hoppiness, leather, light fruit, biscuits, some yeast. The older bottle is quite different. Plums, oak, citrus peel, some malts. The bitterness is harsh - at least that's the best way of explaining it. Some bad red wine sneaks in. Much lighter on the newer bottle, with more light fruit. Winner: newer bottle for sure!

    [​IMG]
     
    #67 Beersnake, Mar 26, 2023
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  8. ATL6245

    ATL6245 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,984) Aug 16, 2018 Georgia
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Great side by side. Orval different vintages is perfect for these types of comparisons. The beauty of the beer is you can age it to the point where you prefer it - young or older.
     
    #68 ATL6245, Mar 26, 2023
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  9. thebeers

    thebeers Grand Pooh-Bah (5,837) Sep 10, 2014 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    3 Sheeps Veneration vs 1792

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    More accurately a back-to-back than a side-by-side, but deal with it. The original Veneration is a quad with fig and molasses aged in rye whiskey barrels. The variant still has the fig and molasses, but is aged in 1792 bourbon barrels.

    LOOKS: The original is almost blood red in color with a fatter head that has better retention and even left some lacing. The 1792 is darker, ruby colored, with a thinner head and worse retention.

    AROMA: The original showcases fig, vanilla custard, dark molasses and hints of leather and rye spiciness. The 1792 has most of this (sans the rye), but with a vegetal quality added, plus hints of peanut skins and cocoa.

    TASTE: The OG is less intense tasting than smelling, although pretty much with the same characteristics. There’s more pronounced peppery rye character in its taste, and some nice booziness. The 1792’s taste thankfully doesn’t carry over the vegetable and peanuts from the aroma. It’s similar to the original, but with a little chocolate replacing the rye pepperiness.

    FEEL: The original is oily and slick feeling, maybe a touch thin, with some restrained zippiness in the carbonation. The 1792 is overcarbonated, which masks the feel’s other characteristics.

    OVERALL: The original Veneration is an all-around excellent beer. The rye character tempers some of the sweeter elements, making it highly drinkable. It’s just plain delicious. The 1792 is a good beer on its own, but honestly a let down in comparison.

    Thanks @azuelke for both of these. A real pleasure to try them. :beers:
     
    #69 thebeers, Mar 26, 2023
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  10. unlikelyspiderperson

    unlikelyspiderperson Grand Pooh-Bah (3,966) Mar 12, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Slacking off at work and comparing a couple of new to me california brewed helles lagers.

    Happy Hour Helles from Almanac and Helles Lager from Cooperage
    [​IMG]
    Both beers were brewed last October. I just saw them for the first time about a week ago, but only at one shop that I rarely stop in. Might have to pop in their more often.

    Almanac is much more aromatic, strong aroma of biscuity malt that verges almost into a touch of corn. Not a lot else. Cooperage is not quite as loud but it's got a great complexity with a nice herbal/floral noble hop character to balance those biscuit notes.

    Taste comparison is similar, Almanac has a full biscuit/grain flavor with little hop character where Cooperage has enough noble hop character to impress as more balanced.

    Both are light and drinkable. Cooperage is my clear preference, but I could see how some people could prefer the almanac version. The cooperage definitely pushes up against the edges of pilsner but I think it's just right. Plus the head on cooperage is far superior.

    Love to see more of this style though, and both are well done and not at all "innovative" takes on the style. Now, gimme this shit in $15 12 packs por favor!
     
    #70 unlikelyspiderperson, Apr 5, 2023
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  11. cjgiant

    cjgiant Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,584) Jul 13, 2013 District of Columbia
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Ok, this day as I sit around I decided to do a comparison I had hoped to do for the Duvel tasting, but did not get to it that weekend. I've had the two bottles in the fridge until now, and asked the GF to hand them to me blind. I wanted to see if there were any differences I could note in a large format bottle compared to a small bottle; I thought of this as a sideways extension of the bottle versus can comparisons done with various beers in the forums here.
    [​IMG]
    (Ha! I just realized I cut the pic of the the bottles to hide the formats, but I think you can still get it - 11.2oz vs 25.4 oz)

    When purchased, I was surprised the dates were the same on these two, allowing for this to be a closer comparison than it otherwise might be. The beers looked quite similar, and I would argue no difference could be determined in the bodies, especially when considering the slightly different constructs of the glasses. The stemless Duvel might have a little more resilient fluffy head and lacing, but again, it's way to close to make an definitive argument.
    [​IMG]

    A bit more obvious is the nose, where there's a little extra wet grass funk from the red Duvel glass compared to the green Duvel glass. I am not sure if it's a more potent hop punch or the yeast that is giving it the extra "funk" - or maybe both. I have an idea of something, though.

    Before I say, I give them a taste. The red Duvel is a little less dry and maybe... just maybe a little more fruity. The stemless glass has a slightly softer feel, as well. The beers are quite close, and I'm actually surprised I am noticing as much contrast as I am. I am trying to find differences, but when I ask the GF to do the same, she noted "more of a smell" in her equivalent of the stemless glass. She also found it "more mellow" but didn't find much taste difference - so very similar to my thoughts.

    Ok, my theory is that the stemless is the smaller bottle and the dregs made their way in a little more than the taller bottle. I didn't tell/remind the GF to decant the smaller bottle, and even if she did, it would still be hard to get enough of near equal amounts into glasses when doing so.

    So.... unlike my surprising correct guesses of AALs, I incorrectly picked here, despite the increased odds of 50%. I can't say the difference of decanting is not in play here, just not as I expected. That said, the GF's small-bottle glass (the second half of the 11.2oz) didn't reallt taste any different than mine.

    If I had to pick, I would end up going with the big bottle pour today. The GF seconded my vote. I really didn't expect this. Maybe there needs to be more large format bottles? :thinking_face:

    ---
    So I had a follow up ready for this, a small bottle that is a month newer than either of the compared bottles. Briefly: the body is similar, but there seems a little more rockiness to the head dissipation. It's nose is more in line with its fellow small bottle; its taste is in line with the others, though it seems to have a little pepper edge that is accented by a little more effervescence.

    I continued to find much more similarity as I sipped all three; however, when focusing specifically on the differences, the format seemed to be the outlier more than freshness (as small as that difference was), for whatever reason <<scratching head emoji>>.
     
    #71 cjgiant, Apr 9, 2023
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  12. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Craig, it would be interesting to know if the Duvel brewery conducts bottle conditioning (i.e., bottle orientation) differently between the large bottles vs. small bottles.

    Saison Dupont bottle conditions their large bottle (750 ml) horizontally while choosing to bottle condition their small bottles (330 ml) vertically. The owner/brewer of Saison Dupont, Olivier Dedeycker, states that the larger bottles have more flavor complexity due to bottle conditioning horizontally. You can hear him discuss this topic at around the 17:44 mark of the below video.

    Cheers!

     
    #72 JackHorzempa, Apr 9, 2023
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  13. cjgiant

    cjgiant Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,584) Jul 13, 2013 District of Columbia
    Society Pooh-Bah

    That is interesting. This little experiment made me curious enough to try it again, if the situation presents itself, either with Duvel or Siason DuPont. I can see if I agree with myself or Dedeycker.
     
    #73 cjgiant, Apr 9, 2023
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  14. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    The tricky part (and unfortunate part IMO) with Saison Dupont is that they do not provide an understandable code on their bottles. I still have some small bottles of Saison Dupont and those bottles lists "L22009A" and I personally do not know what that means. Do you have a decoder ring that cracks that code?

    Cheers!
     
    #74 JackHorzempa, Apr 9, 2023
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  15. ESHBG

    ESHBG Pooh-Bah (2,099) Jul 30, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    The battle of the Troegs Hop Cycle beers! I have these both on hand so giving this a go. I am pouring a half of each and putting the rest in the fridge for sometime later.

    Hop Horizon - poured from a bottle (FB 05/24).
    Field Study - poured from a can (BB 07/08 or 18, smeared and hard to read).
    *Yes the FS is the fresher beer, as it was just released for this season.

    The HH is darker and clear, FS is lighter and slightly hazy. On the nose the HH reminds me of a more old-school beer, probably from the Munich malts. FS is lighter and more inviting on the nose.

    HH taste is okay but the darker malts are standing out for me and this is one thing I never fully enjoyed about hoppy beers that are darker, as the flavors clash for me and fighting each other and my palate can't quite get down with it. Not saying that it's bad and nothing too offensive here but if I'm going malty I want the malts to be the star of the show vs having to compete with the hops.

    FS is softer, brighter, hoppy, fruity, nicely balanced. For my palate this one is the winner by far.

    I'm surprised HH is hitting like this, as on its own things didn't stand out as much...goes to show what these side by sides can reveal. If you like more old-school IPAs go with the HH. If you like new-school hazy(ish) beers, go with the FS. This side by side revealed enough to me that I'll probably skip over HH in the future. Budmo!
     
    #75 ESHBG, Apr 10, 2023
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  16. ESHBG

    ESHBG Pooh-Bah (2,099) Jul 30, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Forgot to add that for the record, I still prefer Perpetual to both of these...that beer just hits all of the right notes and I'm glad that it's stood the test of time.
     
    #76 ESHBG, Apr 10, 2023
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  17. cjgiant

    cjgiant Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,584) Jul 13, 2013 District of Columbia
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Well, that would make it harder to find truly comparable Saison Duponts, but I may still be on the lookout, anyhow. I can at least argue that I am testing my statement that age seemed to be less important than format in the Duvel tasting; plus maybe I can find some bottles where the codes are similar enough, hoping that indicates proximate batches.
     
    #77 cjgiant, Apr 10, 2023
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  18. ChicagoJ

    ChicagoJ Grand Pooh-Bah (5,247) Feb 2, 2015 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I recently bought from a similar vintage, with mine canned on 8/8/22 (L22209B), or the 220th day of 2022, and your bottle packaged on 7/19/22, or the 200th day of 2022 (L22009A).
     
    #78 ChicagoJ, Apr 10, 2023
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  19. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    So, the code is L (which doesn't matter) then the next digit (2) which represents the year (2022) and the next three digits (200 for my bottle) the Julian day of the year. Did I get this right? Did you obtain information from the brewery explaining the code?

    Also the last two items of "9A" have no bearing on the date?

    You mentioned that you have a can of Saison Dupont. You may already know this but just in case: the canned Saison Dupont is different in that it is not secondary conditioned (i.e., not can conditioned) and the beer is shipped from the Saison Dupont brewery to another brewery for the canning process. You can listen to Olivier Dedeycker discuss canning in the below video (starting around the 8:50 mark).

    Cheers!

     
    #79 JackHorzempa, Apr 10, 2023
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  20. jonphisher

    jonphisher Grand Pooh-Bah (3,850) Aug 9, 2015 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    It’s been a while…

    It's spring break and I have two amazing pilsners in the fridge...Cape May just labels Longliner as Lager but it is a grassy bitter and dry German pils, Jever needs no intro. Longliner has been by far my favorite beer over the past year or so, partly cause it reminds me of Jever, bitter and dry...

    I found the freshest Jever I've ever come across, it is just over three months old, and, gasp, so is the Longliner...a once in a lifetime chance for some fresh import vs fresh favorite local...

    Which will I prefer...

    [​IMG]

    Well to start they look almost identical, both beautiful absolutely crystal clear, same retention...only difference is Jever is the slightest tad darker, less so than the picture implies actually.

    Noses are very similar but Jever has a little more depth to it, it carries some malt presence that isn't really present in the nose of Longliner. Both are similar in hops on the nose but Longliner carries a very subtle herbal note that Jever does not.

    Taste, very similar to nose; the difference being a more substantial, though very low, pale malt presence for Jever; Longliner is more just in your face grassy and Jever is a tad more balanced.

    Mouthfeel, both super clean and dry and both have a long lingering bitterness; however; Jevers bitterness is more mouth coating and lingers just a tad longer; but I'd say Longliner has a snappier and lighter finish. I could see some perceiving Longliner as watered down when compared to Jever.

    So both of these beers are great…normally id do blind but I didn’t want to overthink this and just wanted to enjoy them.

    I personally preferred Longliner on this night; they both have my favorite aspect of being bitter, light and dry. I actually like the less complex mouthfeel of Longliner, it adds to its drinkability for me. But really there is no losers in this battle, both are near perfect IMO.

    Price point goes to Jever 6 pack of 500 ml = 12$, six pack of 12 oz Longliner $12.

    Cheers everyone!

    See you next time, whenever that may be…

    @jesskidden
     
    #80 jonphisher, Apr 13, 2023
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