What’s the Difference? Share your Side-by-Side (2021)

Geez, thanks for ruining the ironic mysticism of my tasting

Now that you mention it, I recall seeing the idea of year/week/day thing before. I think you reminding me will help me next time I'm checking out imports and the whole "day of year" thing doesn't seem to work. Cheers!

 

If you have any of the Port City beers left maybe your next opportunity is a side-by-side with Schneider Weisse Tap 6 Aventinus?

Cheers!

 

Unfortunately this was my last bottle. I agree that would have been interesting, especially after experiencing the similarities in the beers I had.

That said, since I now know Port City’s has held up decently, I may see if Total Wine has any packs hanging around.

 

Figured this thread could use a NEIPA showdown especially from a couple heavy hitters. Both are <3weeks old and utilize Citra and Mosaic primarily. Yet there is not enough information about grain, yeast (probably mutated 1318), or hop lot, for a true comparison. Some nuggets about both brewers using high chloride water live within forums and interviews,... Despite one being a single and the other a double I figured there has to be flavor overlap. Let's dive in.



Aroma:
Weldwerks

Cheery and spritzy come to mind, still has weight and complexity, but certainly doesn't leap out of the glass. Tangerine flesh, grapefruit zest, floral pear lotion (not artificial at all, just kinda prickly). Some ripe mango adds to the juicy quality and ever so often under ripe blackberries with lemon poke out.

Equilibrium

Holy cow, so different. Attacked my senses the moment I opened the can. This brew is rooted in earth and mushy fruit. So much warmed cucumber, none of the snap left, but not quite in the savory celery camp, similar to some Four Quarters I've had. Melon rind that morphs into raw pumpkin flesh dominates as the temp comes up. Tomato? Has all the tropical notes one would expect, mashed fruit cup with more pineapple than expected, and guava fruit leather.

Palate:
Weldwerks

The zesty and prickliness continue, definitely pear driven here. Kiss of the dankness, especially as it comes up to temp. Texture is soft, blood orange, but I cant help feel the beer can't decide if it wants to be a kiss sweeter or a touch more bitter. Finish is pithy and reminds me of Fiddlehead

Equilibrium

Silky oat milk (malt profile?), not pillow fluff, insanely well integrated alcohol. Getting a similar mango and blood orange note here, more bass though. Guava gelato enhances the tropical aspect and leads to an earthy, and quaffable finish. Did I mention the texture on this beer is incredible? I do disagree with the profession of "firm and pointed" bitterness, but it is a little spicy, and the can is empty, usually meaning balance for me.

Conclusion:

Yet another example of how brewer intention and ingredients can steer two seemingly similar beers into different flavor realms. Pear, mango, and grapefruit zest vs Melon, pumpkin, and guava leather, get out of here. If we as consumers are supposed to equate Hop varietals with Flavor, this comparison underscores how tough it is to pick a beer, get what you're looking for, and affirm your understanding. Both cans are empty.

 

Enjoyable read. I've had Juicy Bits and enjoyed it pretty well for the style (which I am admittedly fairly critical of in general). I've been iffy on Equilibrium, but now I'm a bit curious.

 

I would pull the trigger just to see what the fuss is about, even if if doesn't knock the socks off, i've always finished the can (unlike TH and Trillium). Their use of galaxy impressed me in the past, and "Galaxy Fare" is available maybe spring for that. Truth be told the few Aslin beers I've had were just as impressive.

Apparently the cucumber and melon thing is really apparent in their latest stuff according to some browsing of untappd reviews.

 

Dave,

Do you happen to have more cans of Scrag Mountain Pils left?

When I drink this beer I pick up a hint of lemon on the nose and palate that I enjoy in this beer; I detailed this beer in a past NBS thread (see below with emphasis in bold by me this time):

“Aroma:

A vibrant and pleasing combination of bready malt & herbal/spicy and even a hint of lemon hop aromas.

Taste:

The flavor pretty much follows the nose with a bready malt flavor dominating but there is a notable herbal/spicy flavor from the hops (and a bit of lemon as well). There is a low/moderate bitterness.

Overall:

This beer is very good/excellent! I am a BIG fan of the aroma of this beer!!”

I suppose it is important that I caveat that I drink these beers in my Polish Pilsner glass which as a ‘cup’ shape to it which likely concentrates the aroma/flavor aspects. I am a firm believer that which glass is used can influence the aroma/flavor aspects of a given beer.



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-756.621270/#post-6599777

Cheers!

Jack

P.S. FWIW I am of the opinion that Scrag Mountain Pils is a German Pilsner vs. the brewery’s branding of Czech Pilsner.

 

Permit me to suggest for the next Scrag Mountain beer(s) you drink it out of a glass that can accentuate the aroma/flavor. Do you have any tulip glasses?

I suspect that if I drank my Scrag Mountain Pilsners out of a tumbler glass I would have a differing opinion/perception of this beer.

Cheers!

 

That will work. You just need a 'cup' shape which has the feature of 'concentrating' the aromatics.

I have been sorta thinking about buying a stemless Teku glass to add to my beer glass inventory.

Cheers!

 

Buy? Just have the eBay seller and their poor packaging make them for you!

 

Wife and I did side by side of Sloop's flagship Juice Bomb and their DIPA Juicier Bomb

Both of us could tell the difference and picked out which was which after tasting, although by looks they were similar as expected. Wife said she liked Juice better, but mostly due to lower ABV. It was the first IPA she ever liked so not big surprise. I like Juice bomb okay, but I enjoyed it's big brother a bit more. Hop aroma a bit stronger on nose, and tasted increased bitterness and slightly different flavor profile that I liked. Reminded me a bit of Crusher from Alchemist

 

@Apathetiq beat me to the punch. But I also did a side by side for the NEIPA style. I went with a couple of local offerings.



Big Cush from Cushwa Brewing in Williamsport, MD. ABV 8% and Swishy Pants from Dewey Beer Co. out of Dewey Beach, DE ABV 7.5%. Both canned in late January.

I couldn't find much information on Big Cush (BC), but Swishy Pants (SP) listed the classic NEIPA hops of Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy.

BC:
A: Pour a deeper orange than expected especially compared to Swishy Pants. But not too dark...no sign of oxidation. The beer was hazy/cloudy and pour produced a thin white head.
Aroma: Tons of citrus and orange upfront. Hints of pineapple, mango, and papaya. Fruity and tropical.
Taste: Followed suit with the aroma. Lot of citrus orange, followed up with the tropical papaya. A slight pine bitterness, but did not dominate the flavor. Just enough bitterness to mellow out the sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Medium body and carbonation...creamy
Overall: Good example of the style. Balanced the sweetness/bitterness well. The can did no last long.

SP:
A: Poured an opaque light orange and a huge white head that settled down after a few minutes.
Aroma: Bright citrus/orange that popped out initially followed by a papaya or mango and peach.
Taste: Like Big Cush the taste produced similar flavors as the aroma. Orange, peach. Seemed less bitter than Big Cush, however, a slight earthy dankness to it. Had a moderately dry finish.
Mouthfeel: Again Medium body and carbonation with a creamy mouthfeel.
Overall: Another good example of the style. Good flavor and aroma.

For this side by side, I'm giving the slight advantage to Big Cush as the winner. I thought the flavor and bitterness were a little more spot on to my personal preference. And, ultimately, I finished Big Cush a lot quicker than Swishy Pants.

 

@beergoot

Thank you so much for this Scrag was a great choice to orient everyone.

@GoatmanBrewsMD

Honestly, I need to drink NEIPA side by side to tease out the differences these days. Not just specific notes, although that is fun, but more of the aromatic intensity, texture and weight. Also, the color on the Swishy Pants always makes me nervous, like the beer is teetering on the edge of oxidation or all the suspended matter crashing out.

 

Well done!
I'm jealous.

 

Both Fruited sours from Urban Artifact courtesy of BigTimeADL.

Left: Mixing Machine...
3.61/5 rDev -7.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Looks like thick opaque cranberry juice with pink head that fizzles off. No lace.
Smells like musty berries. Cherries, Rhubarb pie.
Tastes like like muted berry water/juice. No booziness.
Thick and dry.
Overall: Taste is a letdown. Hiding 8% is an accomplishment though.

Right: Stabbur Stones
3.92/5 rDev -1.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Looks like mango juice with minimal white head that fizzles off.
Smells like plum, wine grapes.
Tastes like plum skins, apricot, white wine. No booziness, but some unpleasant astringency/metallic character.
Medium-thick and dry.
Overall: Taste is a letdown. Hiding 9+%is an accomplishment though. (I’m not even sure how yellow+green plums should taste though.

what stood out for both was...
1. Pretty muted flavor.
2. No alcohol presence despite high abv.

 

Ok, a follow up to one of my comparisons from late January. This is also a side-by-side including a beer our host had earlier this month - Ayinger's Altbairish Dunkel. I am having it with von Trapp and Port City Dunkels.

First thing I noted is that Port City's color and clarity was damn near the German brewer's version. von Trapp still has a sort of haze to it compared to the other two. von Trapp's head more resembles Ayinger's, however, with a bit more thickness and sticking power than Port City's.

Ayinger had the lightest nose, but only by a little. von Trapp's Dunkel had a more bitter edge than the lightly sweet Port City, with Ayinger sitting between the two in this respect. There's a toasted bread note to each, with von Trapp seeming a little more toasted than the other two. Ayinger had a slight mineral note the other two did not.

The additional bitterness of the von Trapp carries over to the taste. It and Port City have a toasted grain bread. Ayinger has a bit more of a pumpernickel aspect to it.

The Ayinger has an edge of caramelized brown sugar. Going back, I get the slightest note of it in the Port City as well - something I missed coming from the von Trapp. Moving from Ayinger to von Trapp seems to accentuate the relative bitterness of the latter a bit more than previously noted.


If I had to guess based on best by date, the Ayinger and von Trapp are about the same age with Port City being a few months younger. I actually like the Ayinger a little more than the other two in this sitting - the leaning towards pumpernickel in the bread notes being the kicker today.