Today had the first poll that went into overtime in the history of Brewlimination. We allowed for a 30-minute extra time and the votes flocked in. Unfortunately for the champion brewers, their record has one blemish as they stand at 7-1 now.

John: I was torn in deciding my pick for today’s match.  On one hand, I really wanted to vote for Southern Tier’s 422 – this brew is balanced, refreshing, and a quality beer.  But, I have to vote for the Goose Island Honker’s Ale.  The Honker’s Ale is also balanced, refreshing, and a high quality beer, but it also brings an added “something” to the table.  Call it a complexity or an added depth – whatever it is, it earned my vote today.

Brad: So the 422 is a crisp good beer, a beer that would replace a light beer at a bar for me. Unfortunately, that’s about it. The Goose Island Honker’s Ale is a better beer in most of the major categories: stronger malted flavors, easily discernible flavors, and a stronger body. Don’t get me wrong, I would drink both of these, but when it comes down to the tournament to decide the Ultimate Beer as this is, the overall construction of the beer must be taken into account, and the Honker’s Ale is simply a well-constructed and well-rounded beer that deserves my vote to the next round.

Fans: As was expected, this match lead all thus far in terms of votes far and away, and at the end of the voting period it was a dead 50/50 tie. We made a spontaneous decision and figured a special overtime would be the fairest way to break the tie and decide this vote, though our reviewers were enough to advance the Honker’s Ale. At the end of the overtime, the Goose Island Honker’s Ale moves on 51%-49%