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

I agree with you here.They are both AAAL style beers IMO.

Cheers!

 

Thanks for giving me the excuse to do a side by side on a long weekend.

Breweries: Oliver Brewing Company (Baltimore, MD) and North Coast Brewing (Fort Bragg, CA)
Beers: Speed of Darkness (8.5%) and Old Rasputin (9%)
Style: Russian Imperial Stout (Non-BA)

I decided to try these together to compare a local imperial stout to the classic Old Rasputin. I also had both currently in my beer fridge and didn't need to make any special trips to the store. Both beers were about the same packaging time frame.



Appearance: Both beers poured a thick dark black with mild hints of red. Initial pour produced a thick khaki brown head with tight bubbles. The carbonation seemed a bit more with the Speed of Darkness. Overall they both appeared similar enough to not see much of a difference. The Old Rasputin head did go down pretty quickly.

Aroma: SoD had a strong roasted coffee/malt with hints of dark sweet chocolate. Old Rasputin also had the dark roasted malt aroma and more of a bitter chocolate. The aroma didn't appear sweet. There were some floral aroma that I couldn't quite place.

Taste: SoD was a smooth sweet roasted coffee. Dark espresso and chocolate. Old Rasputin was a strong roasted malt flavor. More bitter than SoD. Hints of raisins or dark fruit.

Mouthfeel: SoD was medium carbonation with a thin mouthfeel. Old Rasputin had medium to maybe low carbonation with a thick mouthfeel.

No winners or losers with these beers. Both were good examples of the style...SoD was a little sweeter than Old Rasputin, but not cloying like a pastry stouts. I did try a "blind" tasting. The flavors and aromas were so different it was easy to tell them apart.

 

Nice read! I wonder if we'll see enough "new vs classic" comparisons of stouts in this thread to see if there is a general trend towards the sweeter from the bitter or not, even in non-pastry stouts.

 

Yeah definitely hard to choose here. Both are solid RIS. I think I would lean more towards Old Rasputin because I prefer the bitter dark roast/ chocolate character over the sweetness.

 

You should try Hibernation on draught! Pretty amazing.

 

If it were so easy...

I'd love that. As a complete side note, I'd also like an Old Foghorn vs Bigfoot (vs Hibernation?) comparison at some point, though it's been a while since I've had Anchor's beer to know if that actually makes any sense.

 

It's been going on 6 years since my last Old Foghorn but I reckon that it would fit in nicely.

 

I’m thinking I will do another side by side this weekend. One of my own that I’ve compared SNPA to Yuenglings Chesterfield in the last. Not sure if I’ll do it. But chesterfield ive had more of surprisingly and I voucher for it any day. Although right away my thoughts on this snpa will probably be so much hoppier in comparison and the whole English/ American thing too

 

Ok, today I have a side-by-side that I wasn't anticipating doing and also happens to be mildly timely given the Jacks' Abby Red Tape amber vs Dunkel thread.

I recently bought some von Trapp Dunkel (with a best by of March). Today at the grocery store, I saw one of my favorite local brewers (Port City) had a new lager series brew out - which style you could probably guess by now even if it wasn't similarly simply named Dunkel. Can my local knock off a much beloved beer of mine?

Both cans state that the beer within are "dark lagers" with Port City's (PC) being 5% and von Trapp's (VT) being 5.7% and an additional mark of 22 IBU.


PC describes its color as chestnut on the can, although I'd say it's a bit lighter than that. VT's Dunkel is very similar in color, though it has a bit of haze involved giving it less shine than the damn clear PC brew. VT's head is spongy. longer lasting, and a lighter beige than its comparison pour.

Nutty, toasty grain bread comes from VT, with PC's being fairly similar with a little more nutty note. Comparing them immediately, VT seems to have a hint of coffee where PC has a mild floral accent.

Both beers follow their noses pretty well. PC has a bit more depth to me, as a dry grass to hay-like bitterness ends up bringing out a bready note from the toasted malt. PC is a little fuller and softer, with a carbonation level that keeps my focus on flavors compared to VT's carbonation that seems to get a little in the way.

I'm sure the von Trapp is older, perhaps by a few months. I still quite like it but up against both my old review and a fresh beer from the respected folks at Port City, it doesn't gain my favor. Regardless, I have 10 combined Dunkels in the fridge to enjoy over the next few weeks.

Prost!


As a silly aside - I took this comparison thing a bit astray this morning when I decided to try some oat milk for the first time today:


Joking aside and if anyone actually wonders, the oat was pretty evident in the "fake" stuff - like someone had poured too much milk on some oatmeal.

 

I've somehow overlooked this thread until just now! I would have cross-posted THIS from yesterday's WBAYDN sooner if I'd known. Here are just the images...

 

Welcome - the thread's only been up about a week, so it'd be easy to miss. Feel free to add any other comparisons like that one in the future to bump the thread and help make any other BAs that might be interested aware of it

 

Had the PC Dunkel at the brewery last weekend and it is awesome. Perhaps I should have picked Wheatland Spring's Dunkel up yesterday and side by sided it with VT, PC, and others available at retails (e.g. Oxbow Dusky).

Side by side-ing Wheatland Spring's Italian Pilsner (Alberto) with Oxbow Luppolo later. I'll share my thoughts.

 

You definitely should

Actually, I'd really love to have someone else do the same comparison and give their notes and opinions. This is meant to be a fun thread, but it can also an informative one that I and others can possibly learn from.

 

I went to Wheatland yesterday - did not pick up any of the Dunkel. I got more of their Altbier, which I absolutely fell in love with from the delivery I had gotten earlier in the week. An oversight on my part.

 

After a soon to be grocery run I want to submit - Founders FBS vs Terrapin Wake-N-Bake. Sipping on a WnB currently in my mind I think it’ll be a too close to call slug fest.

 

I’ve done that one before. Both great but if I recall correctly I liked the FBS a bit more.

 

Side by side local Ashton dry hopped pilsner and VT Zero Gravity fave Green State Lager while watching AFC championship game. I had another dry hopped pilsner from Jack’s Abbey earlier so I guess I should’ve done those two. Drinking these two now. The Zero Gravity very clear, while the Ashton is a bit cloudy. Both beers are light and refreshing. The dry hopped pilsner has a bit more aroma and hops flavor. The lager is more crisp. Honestly, not sure which I prefer but I’m enjoying both.