What’s The Difference? Share Your Side By Side (2024)

I’m glad you finally grabbed some Silver Queen and you are spot on. A lovely incredibly well made beer with an amazing price point.

 

@cjgiant you have me even more excited for my Bigfoot revisit, that was a fun read.

 

Yes! It's damn near perfect. I've already restocked .

It's interesting to me how they're marketing it. I had to read the whole box to sense that a Golden Ale wasn't some kind of Belgian Pale Ale. In the end, I wish them success and hope it works for them.

 

It does it on label: "This golden ale or cream ale is based on South Jersey corn"

I guess it is a smart move on them cause most people see cream ale they may assume something else?? creamy, vanilla, lactose, etc.

We've got a lot of great beers here in NJ these days and beers like Silver Queen I think easily get overlooked by a lot of craft consumers here.

 

Well, Piels and Trommer's flagship beers (along with larger and better known Brooklyn brews like Rheingold and Schaefer) were hoppier than many other AALs of the post-Repeal era but those 2 brands did not use corn as an adjunct - Trommer's Malt Beer was perhaps the largest selling all-malt beer in the US with it's famous slogan being "It's All Malt & Hops" while the Piel Bros. initial flagship, Pielsner, was brewed with rice (later switched to corn).

 

Yeah, but in smaller print and you'd need to pick up the box to see it. I happily bought it once I read that part, mind you.

 

Very interesting

Somehow I probably erroneously remember an old article about the Bushwick brands mentioning both corn and Trommer's, so made the connection.

 

Thought that comment might be based on the brewer's promotional material.

Yeah, I know the article (had a few errors, IIRC) and certainly it was the higher than average IBUs that made the so-called Bushwick pilsners unique, rather than the use of corn or rice (or not). Rheingold also used rice (at times, like all AALs, the recipe was probably tweaked over the decades) while Schaefer was well-known to use corn - to the point of even listing it above malt at times. (And, unlike many brewers, Schaefer even owned its own malt house in Buffalo).

The 1970s version of The Practical Brewer, from the Master Brewers Association of the Americas, said this about adjuncts:

I recall suggestions that the underlined portion above referred in part to Schaefer.

 

Been waiting a long time for this: Zombie Dust (l) vs PseudoSue (r), world-class Citra single-hop American Pale Ales. I thought for sure that one would stand out. Not so. If I'd been blindfolded, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Big aromas and flavors of grapefruit and light malt up front, bright and citrusy, excellent hoppy bitterness, clean finish. As they warmed, the slightest of differences began to emerge. The PseudoSue was a touch lighter in body, with flavors that seemed a bit less intense. The grapefruit character also seemed less pronounced, giving way to notes of orange zest. The ZD maintained that grapefruit intensity to the bottom of the glass. Overall, it was ZD by the slimmest of margins. Neither ever disappoints, although I prefer bottled ZD over canned by a mile. (I haven't seen bottled PseudoSue in years. Believe it or not, it used to be a around here.)

 

I recently did this comparison too, and both were also in cans. But, to my surprise from relying on 2-3 year old memory of each but not side-by-side, I got the opposite result. The ZD was 6 weeks old, and the TG was around 10 weeks. Both are definitely world class! Different strokes for different folks.

 

PseudoSue has been my go-to for years. It's widely available, great with bar food, and consistently outstanding. It pushes all the right buttons for me. While I rated ZD a smidge higher, I prefer PseudoSue as a food beer and an everyday drinker. If either came in 7-ounce brown glass bottles, I'd get rid of all the food in my fridge and fill it up with beer.

 

Do those 2 pals prefer stinky cheese!?!

 

Side-by-side of OG Jai Alai IPA and the newcomer Jai Alai DIPA.

Jai Alai is nearly impossible to find fresh in this part of the world, so to have both at less than two months old is a gift. In fact the Jai Alai was at six weeks when I purchased. Let’s see what’s going on here…

Jai Alai IPA-Canned 12/20/23
Appearance: Orange, slightly hazy. One finger of off-white head. Ok Retention. Good lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy juice with a nice pine backbone.
Taste: I had forgotten how juicy this was until revisiting recently. Nice citrusy juiciness with a solid bitter pine balance. Can't stress how balanced this beer is.
Mouthfeel: Low carbonation, smooth drinking , full-bodied. Slight stickiness. Bitter aftertaste.

Jai Alai DIPA-Canned 12/18/23
Appearance: Slightly hazy, darker orange, three fingers of off-white head. Great retention-much better than the OG. Good lacing.
Aroma: Very faint citrus. Kind of disappointing. Some mustiness shows up on warming.
Taste: Ate a couple crackers in between. Light citrus up front with some light pine in the back. Noticeable alcohol (not surprising at 10% abv) and some malty sweetness. Not as juicy or piney but still pretty balanced.
Mouthfeel: Low carbonation as well and also smooth drinking, Full-bodied. Drinks a lot thicker than the OG. Bitter aftertaste.

A complete aside: I thought the DIPA name was kind of lame. I mean you couldn’t even play on the Jai Alai name? Like, how about Jai-er Alai or something?

The appearance and nose are obvious differences but don't contribute to the overall enjoyment of either brew. They're both good!

Which is better? Man, this is a tough one. They're both solid and enjoyable. Not much needs to be said about the OG-it’s a classic. But the newcomer holds it’s ground. Surprised by how drinkable (dangerously so?) both brews are, especially the DIPA. I find that IPAs above 9% abv get tricky-they either trend malty sweet or boozy. this DIPA seemed to thread the needle well even with showing the maltiness and alcohol.

Bottom line: I’d probably side with the OG because, well, it’s the OG. A little more drinkable and less boozy. Wouldn't pass up the 10% abv gas station beer though. Especially at $3 a can.

 

BIG Bock vs. Mini Bock (?)

I inserted a question mark in the title above since the term “Mini Bock” is a bit of an oxymoron. There are a number of Bock substyles, the below is a list from the BJCP style guidelines:

· Helles Bock

· Dunkels Bock

· Doppelbock

· Eisbock

· Weizenbock

What the substyles above have in common is they are stronger beers (e.g., > 6% ABV). The new beer that will be part of this side-by-side tasting is a new seasonal beer from Troegs. A description of this beer from the Troegs website (with emphasis in bold by me):

“Little ‘Nator Springtime Lager

Springtime Lager

We taste: crusty bread, stone fruit, delicate floral hops

Dive into the marvel that is Little ‘Nator. Simple but complex. Contemporary and classic. The rascally cousin of our revered Troegenator. We built this beer using the best malts and techniques for a crisp finish with a touch of hops. Layered with notes of crusty bread, stone fruit and delicate floral hops. It’s a lager-lover’s way to usher in the changing seasons.

ABV: 5.5%

Availability: Seasonal

Color: Light Bronze”

So, at 5.5% ABV this beer is a too little to be a bock per se. Troegs decided to describe this beer via “Springtime Lager”.

And likely by now you have guessed that the other beer in this side-by-side tasting is the BIG cousin: Troegenator.

Served in small tulip glasses:

Appearance:

Little Nator: Light amber with a thin khaki colored head.

Troegenator: Dark amber with a slight reddish hue and a thin khaki colored head.

Aroma:

Little Nator: Faint aroma of caramel.

Troegenator: Mostly sweetish toffee/caramel but with some fruity tones as well.

Taste:

Little Nator: Sweetish caramel flavor. A low – moderate bitterness.

Troegenator: Follows the nose with some toffee/caramel but there is more here: some toasted grains, the fruitiness (e.g., stone fruits) is more noticeable. A low - moderate bitterness.

Mouthfeel:

Little Nator: Light body with an off-dry finish.

Troegenator: A light-medium body with an off-dry finish.

Overall:

Little Nator: This beer is good. The flavor profile is one dimensional.

Troegenator: This beer is very good! This is the Doppelbock I drink the most since it is of high quality and reasonably priced.

If I was served Little Nator blind and asked what beer style it was I suspect my response would be a Vienna Lager. I much preferred the complexity of Troegenator.

Cheers!

 

Yeah another missed opportunity like Jai Low was, where Low Alai would have been a nicer play on words and then you would have Jai (High)) Alai and Low Alai.

 

Is that what Jai Alai looks like now? It used to be a clear beer. I have been drinking Jai Low but from the can so I don’t know what it looks like. I passed up the mix pac k with Mango and some other fruity variants.

 

In all honesty, I was a little surprised by the murkiness on the pour myself but it's been a while since I've had it. FWIW, it did get a little clearer with some time. I'll pay attention next time I pour one. Tasted ok. YMMV and all those other disclaimers.