The fans came out in overwhelming support these past few days and really made the difference in this match overwhelmingly so for our winner, but I’ll get to that in a moment.

Brad: Today was really difficult because I didn’t know whether to vote for the old friend or the mysterious new beer. Looking at it objectively, the Longboard Lager is a great beer. It does everything a complimentary lager should do and it has a subtle balance as well. Where my vote goes today is to the more complex beer that is almost equal to the Longboard in terms of balance and compatibility with food, the Smutty Nose Star Island Single. I can’t put my finger on exactly why it is more complex or even “better”, but I just like this beer and I think it is a great all-around brew that can be very strong in this contest.

John: I really enjoyed both beers today.  One was very difficult to really figure out, while the other was a smooth flowing lager.  Both beers a great drinkability.  Smuttynose put up an excellent fight in this match, but I have to cast my vote for Kona Longboard Lager – the terrific balance from start to finish and the crisp, smooth nature of this lager put it over the top.

Fans: You all seem to agree with Brad, as the support was overwhelmingly in favor of the Smutty Nose Star Island Single. Early on in the voting, I recall the Star Island having something of a 80% lead over the Longboard Lager, and that kind of surge at the beginning is hard to overcome. Fans of Kona did their best to recover, but they seemed to fall just short today, giving the final vote to Star Island, 65%-35%