A Twin Cities Shelf IPA Blind Tasting

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by hoeg0015, Oct 6, 2013.

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  1. hoeg0015

    hoeg0015 Initiate (0) Jul 15, 2008 Minnesota

    Three of us engaged in a blind Twin Cities shelf IPA tasting this afternoon, especially since the addition of Green Flash and Ballast Point, to see how the newer local West Coast IPA options stacked up against the national competition. Ten beers participated; we noticeably omitted Town Hall Masala Mama. Here were the collective rankings:

    1. Green Flash West Coast IPA. Interesting, because 2 of the 3 had never had it. Says a lot.
    2. (tie) Ballast Point Sculpin IPA and Steel Toe Size 7. Wow! One had Size 7 as his favorite.
    4. Stone Ruination IPA. Admittedly, this was the outlier, but at only 7.7%, wasn't that far out. Only included because I couldn't find the standard IPA as a single.
    5. Odell IPA. Top 3 on 2 of 3 ballots. #9 on the other
    6. (tie) Summit Saga, Surly Overrated, Tallgrass Ethos. One claimed Saga had the "most unique smell" before reveal.
    9. Bell's Two Hearted. Two of us were certain we had this pegged correctly, only to find it was Size 7. Interesting...Size 7 must have more bugspray than I remember.
    10. Lagunitas IPA. This was unanimous. Simply couldn't compete on aroma or flavor.

    What was most interesting to me was that the other two drinkers weren't familiar with the reputations of Green Flash or Sculpin, and those two still came out on top. Size 7! Way to represent! Personally, I had Ruination as my favorite, which surprised me, and had Sculpin in 6th, which surprised me more. All in all, an awesome, easy exercise for a dreary Saturday fall afternoon.
     
    #1 hoeg0015, Oct 6, 2013
    dougofthefuture, stinsonwbs, psychotia and 3 others like this.
  2. maximum12

    maximum12 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,686) Jan 21, 2008 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Cool. I love blind tastings! Very cool way to kill a couple of hours.
     
    #2 maximum12, Oct 6, 2013
  3. opwog

    opwog Initiate (0) Jun 16, 2008 Minnesota

    Even without a blind taste test, I knew that Size 7 stood shoulder to shoulder with the best West Coast IPAs. Of the beers that I have sent out since moving here, that is the only IPA that I have sent back to CA. It has that X factor that you can't always put your finger on or definitively explain, but you know it when you taste it.
     
    #3 opwog, Oct 6, 2013
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  4. PieOhMy

    PieOhMy Initiate (0) Feb 23, 2013 Minnesota

    Don't care about the order; you and your buddies had some damn good beers today.*

    *Competition needs more Hopdish.
     
    #4 PieOhMy, Oct 6, 2013
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  5. lonewolfcry

    lonewolfcry Pooh-Bah (1,994) Dec 7, 2007 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    What doesn't surprise me is Odell.
    Solid IPA never disappoints, plus it's clearly dated.
     
    #5 lonewolfcry, Oct 6, 2013
  6. hoeg0015

    hoeg0015 Initiate (0) Jul 15, 2008 Minnesota

    Yes, 'tis true. Ten beers is even a bit too many, and it was all dependent on what I could get as a fresh single.
     
    #6 hoeg0015, Oct 6, 2013
  7. PieOhMy

    PieOhMy Initiate (0) Feb 23, 2013 Minnesota

    Curious how some hoppy pale ales such as Day Tripper and the Ringer might fare in one of these blind tests.
     
    #7 PieOhMy, Oct 6, 2013
  8. sacrelicio

    sacrelicio Pooh-Bah (1,838) Feb 15, 2005 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    I had Green Flash WCIPA fresh the other day and was blown away. Such a good beer.
     
    #8 sacrelicio, Oct 6, 2013
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  9. sacrelicio

    sacrelicio Pooh-Bah (1,838) Feb 15, 2005 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    Agreed. It has this round melon character that is really good.
     
    #9 sacrelicio, Oct 6, 2013
  10. feloniousmonk

    feloniousmonk Grand Pooh-Bah (3,549) Nov 14, 2002 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    I assume my invite was lost in the mail?
     
    #10 feloniousmonk, Oct 6, 2013
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  11. hoeg0015

    hoeg0015 Initiate (0) Jul 15, 2008 Minnesota

    You work Saturdays! We can do it again soon...I assume you can have them all on tap?
     
    #11 hoeg0015, Oct 6, 2013
  12. feloniousmonk

    feloniousmonk Grand Pooh-Bah (3,549) Nov 14, 2002 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah

    Possible, but not likely to happen soon. Except for Over-rated, which I tried to get in kegs for my August Hop Heads Only Event, but could not. If only my bar was in the "West Bank", but, alas...Size 7 would take some begging because we're not currently Steel Toe customers. My call for a keg for Hop Heads went unanswered. Next time...
     
    #12 feloniousmonk, Oct 6, 2013
  13. McRyan

    McRyan Initiate (0) Jul 25, 2012 Minnesota

    Love to see Size 7 do well. Anyone know the hop varieties they use?
     
    #13 McRyan, Oct 7, 2013
  14. ZAP

    ZAP Grand Pooh-Bah (4,048) Dec 1, 2001 Minnesota
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Great job on this...good lineup...my brother and I were just planning on doing something similar...were going to go with the best of the best locally available...maybe limit it to 8...we've done them with as many as 16 but this time we are thinking small and specific...

    Isn't it funny how everyone thinks they can identify this beer or that beer and when you get in a blind tasting it isn't always that easy....some you can if you are good at this sort of thing but there are always surprises...or usually I should say....I just did a 13 beer blind ofest taster that I need to post results to...guessed about half right but I had one in the top 3 that I would have never guessed....more to come...
     
    #14 ZAP, Oct 8, 2013
  15. mnstorm99

    mnstorm99 Initiate (0) May 11, 2007 Minnesota

    Nothing seems too out of the ordinary here, my thoughts on your experiment:
    - I have never done a blind (so homerism can play an effect), but I have said Size 7 is the best IPA brewed in the state for a while, glad to see it can hold a candle to some of the more well known "top" IPA's
    - Were dates checked? Lagunita's being unanimous and Two Hearted near the bottom surprise me, but they both fall off quickly when not fresh.
    - I am not impressed with Sculpin or Ruination, but will honestly say price is a major factor...which is also a reason I buy a lot of Saga :slight_smile:

    Thanks for doing this, and for sharing.
     
    #15 mnstorm99, Oct 8, 2013
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