In the third of four matches in Round 4, it would seem like the majority of us are in agreement – in favor of the Smuttynose Old Brown Dog.  To be honest, though, I wasn’t expecting unanimous agreement for any of the matches in these last several rounds.  With beers this good, these pairings are just too close to call.  This wasn’t an easy match by any measure with two very solid brews, but in the end 52% sided with Smuttynose.  Here’s what the two of us thought today:

Brad:  Now that we are down to selecting beers for the Fermented Four as it were, I feel like I should be using some sort of high and mighty measuring stick to divine these beers that are both excellent, both deserve to be in your fridge, and both deserve to advance, but at the end of the day it comes down to the simple category of completeness. The Golden Monkey almost fits this bill, but its reliance on overly hoppy flavors in particular, without a malted sweetness to help the spices go down, so to speak, leaves it vulnerable to a much more complete beer, like the Old Brown Dog. Smuttynose gets another of my votes with the Brown Dog, which has a hoppy spiciness to compliment the brown sugar sweetness which makes it feel more well-rounded. Once again, I love both of these beers and I’m trying to avoid going overly in-depth on any of the reviews because I don’t want to badmouth either beer, as both are outstanding. Thank you Victory, and I’m pulling for the Smutty as going 0-2 in the Final 8 would be rough, especially when this one in particular deserves to move on.

John:  I really loved the taste and drinkability of the Golden Monkey, and regardless of how this match plays out I shall indubitably return to it in the future.  Having said that, I will have to cast my vote for the Smuttynose Old Brown Dog.  In my opinion, the unique and compelling nature of the brown ale in this match slightly edges it over the top in this match.  I wish I could be more in depth in my decision, but these beers were so very well matched, it was difficult to find a reason to name one over the other today.

The Old Brown Dog makes the third of four beers to advance to the Final 4.  After the Star Island Single lost by a narrow voting margin yesterday, it’s good to see their other brew advance on today.  Make sure to cast your votes and tune in for the final Round 4 match tomorrow to see whether the Yeti or the Hennepin will be named the fourth division champion!