I make no bones about this beer being one of my favorite in the tournament and basically the benchmark for all other IPAs, the Fort Collins Rocky Mountain IPA. A floral hoppiness, a malted sweetness that has a baked note to it almost like cookies. The taste was very similar with a prevailing malted note of baked goods, specifically cookies. Throughout the taste was a floral note that kept this IPA hoppy and honest. What makes this beer so great is that the taste does not go in one way or the other and maintains a well-rounded crispness that anyone could enjoy, but someone who has tasted a lot of beer can really appreciate. The well-rounded nature of this beer makes it able to stand on its own, yet the crispness and complex flavors make it able to pair with any food without being overly filling. If you could only try 1 beer in this tournament, make it the elephant and you will not be sorry.

It’s competitor today is another beer that I am particularly fond of, and despite being labeled as strong, the Victory Golden Monkey is very crisp and delicious. The Strong label doesn’t mean that its bitter, or that its malted and heavy, the strong in this ale refers to the amount and complexity of the flavor in this Belgian ale. The flavors in this beer are mainly hoppy and rapidly changing so that almost every sip gives the drinker something different to enjoy. Considering we have tasted over 70 beers by this point, I appreciate and really enjoy this evolution and it makes for a fun drinking experience. That said, this beer could be a harsh one and actually turn off first time tasters because the flavors change so much that they wouldn’t be able to put their finger on the flavor and get frustrated the first time. Even after 40 or as many as I had tried I couldn’t quite figure out the Golden Monkey, which could be this classic beer’s downfall.

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!