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

Quite right. Unlike what I did tonight, that one should really be blind.

 

Here's one I just did comparing imported Stella to US brewed Stella in the relevant news thread.

 

I haven't had Stella in forever and had it in an 11.2 oz. can at a wedding this weekend. I was pleasantly surprised at the malt character in it. I really enjoyed it. I don't recall enjoying Stella in the past, but it's been years.

 

When I entertain I usually get it for my cousins to enjoy. As a result I've consumed the extras and been pleasantly surprised by it. My issue is more about the price for what it is, and there's got to be comparable beers for a lot cheaper. Or better even (my gut tells me that DAB is cheaper, but I'd have to double check. )

 

You're right. Anecdotally speaking: You can get two 4 packs of DAB in 500ml cans for the price of one 6 pack of Stella in 11.2oz containers. If you go up to 12 bottle packs, Stella is just a few bucks more than DAB.

 

Can't remember my last DAB but it's certainly inexpensive. How would you stack it up to other euro macros Heineken, Zywiec,Peroni, Harp?

 

I'd take it over any of those. In the similar price range Konig and Radeberger are superior, imo, although they are also proper Pilsners.

 

Just over lunch today I noticed a "quart" can of Stella within that section of the deli fridge; so now I'll keep in mind that singles are available if an opportunity for comparison comes up. Easier to bite the bullet that way.

 

I think doing another in a month...
or more if you're willing to "risk" it, which I believe Kimmich would argue isn't really a risk, you'll just get a different great beer, as objective as he is, I digress...
would be fun.

Either way, every point of data is useful - even if it isn't as "exciting" or expected as we'd hoped. Cheers!

 

If it's not the ambient lighting or your camera that causes it, but I can see why Kimmich prefers that consumers drink the beer from the can. That's a boring, ugly color for a beer.

 

Do they date the cans now?

 

As mentioned upthread I picked up a can of Stella and a 4-pack of DAB for a blind tasting, and value is the main concern here. I have also included a blend of the two to help keep me honest.

The biggest surprise to me is just how incredibly similar these beers are, with a near-identical noble hop presence.


Once everything was set up I rotated the glasses to reveal the numbers and sampled them in numerical order.

1- Deep malt with bread crust flavor; rounded yet dry. Slight lime peel/grassy hop aroma. White raisin on the finish. Bitterness is moderate but present. Full flavored and really nice.

2- Similar aroma as #1 with lime peel/grassy hops. Deep bread crust aroma but doesn't translate as well to flavor. Drier and crisper with a toasted cornbread finish (DMS). There seems to be a tradeoff of flavor for drinkability. Nice overall.

3- Again that lime peel/grassy noble hop aroma alongside bread crust and dried apricot. Awesome silky feel with a solid snap of bitterness. Toasted cornbread comes out after a few sips, while the finish is bread crust and dried fruit. Pretty great stuff.

For me I'd enjoy drinking all of them, and I really had to work to parse out differences, but that silky feel of #3 puts it ahead of the other two. 3-->1-->2

Reveal:


3 (DAB)
1 (Stella)
2 (Blend)

Lesson learned- if you know any Stella drinkers maybe push them to try DAB. The flavor is very similar while the price is way better.

Cheers, BA!

 

I skipped your more detailed notes (initially), jumped to the line above and thought to myself: "That's DAB." That isn't the first time I was able to guess your blind beers based on your condensed reaction. Either we are both doing something right or we both suffer from the same delusions.

 

Ok, been meaning to do this since the end of the wheat beer tasting with the beers I had for that tasting. Various causes postponed it until now., but here is Blind Battle Leftover Wits, with Hoegaarden, St Bernardus, and Port City offerings:


So, we have Old Ox, Flying Dog, and Lost Rhino glasses:
Flying Dog is the most "white" with some haze while the other two are more pale golden, with Lost Rhino being a little darker (and flat looking). So looks has this in order of:
> Flying Dog > Old Ox > Lost Rhino

Smell
Old Ox is the most classic, and cleanest smelling, I am enjoying its nose quite a bit and if I recall properly from the tasting, that would point to it being the tried and true option.

Flying Dog is next in expected aromas, but there is a slight note of skuniness also. These were all in the (presumably) unlit fridge since the tasting, so I'm not convinced this indicates its from the bottle - although it could be an explainable counter my statement last paragraph.

Lost Rhino has the least going on, and I note the GF's glass of the same beer has a thing ring of bubbles mine is lacking. Unceremoniously sticking my nose into her version doesn't really offer much new.
> Old Ox > Flying Dog > Lost Rhino

Taste / Feel
Lost Rhino doesn't redeem itself in the taste. The beer in this glass is fairly lifeless, and I don't recall thinking that of any of the options in the tasting (will research after conclusion of this). It's more like a slightly citrusy, light pale ale; it is fairly tasty, but doesn't jump out as a witbier to me.

The slight skunkiness prerceived in the nose of the Flying Dog glass presents itself in the taste as well. The GF doesn't really get it, so I'm still not sure why I'm getting it. It's quite distracting, though. Pushing through it, there is a nice, soft feel and the banana/bubblegum I expect from a wit (though not much citrus or spice.

The Old Ox does the best job with the expected flavors, but only because thre isn't anything off. The anticipated wit notes aren't as bold as in the FD glass, but there's also nothing in the way, at all. This one has the second softest, nicely rounded feel.
> Old Ox > Lost Rhino > Flying Dog

Outcome
Ugh - so this is a dreaded side-by-side fail, IMO (I'd argue more than your's @jonphisher). At least one, maybe two of these beers are not putting their best or same foot forward from the tasting that brought them all together. Either that, or I am not bringing my best palate to the game. But I'd have to say Old Ox takes this one for being the most even keeled.

Not that picking them was the goal, but I actually fear that Flying Dog is the local beer, and I think Lost Rhino is St Bernardus, making Hoegaarden the winner - but that is a guess I have no confidence beyond the 16% random chance I have of getting the three correct.


Reveal:
Old Ox = Port City
Flying Dog = Hoegaarden
Lost Rhino = St Bernardus

So, yay! to the home team. Of note, it was the one in the bottle that came across as skunked to me. If it weren't for this off nose, I'd have guessed FD was Hoegaarden, based on my initial guess from the look.

Anyhow, time to take the worst two, combine their remnants, and through some sauce over them (Lindemans Framboise) - it definitely helps. Cheers!

(Edit: the GF liked St Bernardus the most - but enojyed all with Lambic the most )

 

Thanks, this was great!

To dissect the issue even further, does anyone have a sense of how likely it is that these two beers (brewed about 2 weeks apart) would have been made using the same purchased batches of malt and, especially, hops?

It seems like brewers typically buy a lot of hops at once but I have no idea whether they tend to last days, weeks, or months. And while I'm sure there's variability even within a given lot, I have to imagine the variability between lots would be higher.

 

For the record I've always found Heady Topper super consistent as well. The only difference I tend to note is sometimes it seems danker than others, but I generally assume that's more of a palate issue. Your wavering impression on that note would seem to support that a bit.

It would be interesting to tease out the ability of a brewery to stay consistent process-wise across batches with the same ingredients vs. the ability to adjust for differences across separate batches of ingredients though.