60 Minute Gets More Time, Advances 2-1
Today continues our week of phenomenal battles, but some breweries just have gigantic followings which makes their fan component very solid, and today was no exception:
John: I’m a huge fan of both of these beers, and have been looking forward to today’s match since day one of this bracket. Both beers are phenomenal, and both beers get my easy recommendation. There aren’t any major flaws in either of these beers, so in the end it comes down to whether the Dogfish is a better IPA or the Harpoon a better imperial IPA. This is a tough call, but at the end of the day my vote goes to the Dogfish 60 Minute IPA. Of course, I’ll be happy with either of these two well-deserving beers advancing.
Brad: I felt today the DogFish Head was a more consistent beer, but once the Harpoon opened up it was just an incredible beer. My vote goes to the Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA because to me this was the kind of beer we had in mind when we started the tournament. A beer that may be overlooked for one reason or another, that could be easily dismissed, but when given a chance it opens up a world of incredible balanced flavor and taste that almost anyone can enjoy once tuned into it. That said I’ll be content with whichever beer advances.
Fans: You love your IPAs, regardless of time span. Once this match hit Twitter and the fanbases came out, DogFish just ran away with the fan vote in that match that was, until then, very close. After the fans were done it was a pure 3 to 1 ratio in favor of the DogFish Head 60 Minute IPA 75%-25%.
These were a couple of fantastic beers. In the end, for me it came down to the flavors underlying the hops – toasty and nutty for the 60 minute, and a lot of sweetness/syrupy notes for the Leviathan. Both very unique, but my preference went to those toasty flavors, which I adored. I agree with you both, though, that these really are both wonderful.
I have to say that like Brad I gave my vote to the Leviathan. After having Harpoon’s regular IPA which is more in the British style, I found the Leviathan a pleasant hoppy surprise. The Dogfish Head 60 minute is a very solid beer, but as a hop head I just had to give the nod to the extra kick the of the imperial IPA.