Today was somewhat of an oddity, as the voting essentially stalled out, at least as far as percentages were concerned.  Almost every vote cast for beer A was matched by beer B, and vice versa.  The final tally? A slim margin in favor of the Troegs HopBack Amber Ale (52% to be exact), propelling it into the Final 4.  Before we get to what the two of us thought today, let me first just comment that it’s a good thing the popular vote has been deciding these matches.  For the past week or so, these matches have been tough ones to call.  So here’s what we thought today:

Brad:  Maybe you’re psychic, maybe not, but I hinted at what would be my decision earlier today, and if you read close you saw it. The criteria for “ultimate beer” and “best beer in America” I feel has changed greatly as the tournament has gone on, but I feel like we have a proper handle on it just in time for the final rounds of… well, rounds. Two things happened today that made me able to make my decision, but I certainly feel bad as these are two more beers I will be drinking as often as possible. First, the recognizability of the Smuttynose beer gave it big points that I hadn’t realized before, and the Troegs HopBack Amber had the issue of appeal to non hop-heads. I’d love to just pick my favorite beer and be done, but the Ultimate Beer should as least be considered great by all drinkers, and the Troegs is too subjective. My point is that today I am voting for the Smuttynose Star Island Single. Thank you to both breweries, I need to learn how to make a decision without being so wishy-washy, but until then my sincere congratulations to both breweries.

John:  Like yesterday, this match was a tough one to call.  Both of these brews are great, but I’m going to have to decide in favor of the Troegs HopBack Amber Ale today.  The Star Island Single is a great brew with an amazing flavoring and a curiously compelling nature.  But in the end, the smooth, balanced, and well-rounded Troegs won out in my book today.  I could honestly keep coming back to either two of these beers over and over, but to pick the “superior” brew?  My list of descriptive words for the HobBack barely edges out the Smutty brew today.  If either one (or both) of these beers are new to you, I highly recommend them both.

We’ll see you tomorrow, for what looks to be yet another close match-up – this time between a Monkey and an Old Brown Dog!