Just from looking at the bottles one can tell these beers are going to be quite different stylistically. We’ll start with the “tamer” of the two, though there is little tame about it, the SweetWater IPA. As we recall, SweetWater managed to pull of a huge sweep of a DogFish Head Timed IPA and it is looking to ride that momentum to the Fermented Four and beyond. I don’t know how to describe this beer but I can tell you I am a fan. I may not know words but I know beer, and I love beer. The SweetWater is flavorful yet tempered, like a fruit but not as sharp as an actual fruit would be. I said that before but I’m trying to elaborate on it here because it is the key to this IPA’s excellence. The SweetWater IPA and the folks at SW remember that they are first and foremost making a beer, not flavor jambalaya, so through all of these flavors this beer still tastes like a beer. That is so critical because, after all, this is the quest for the ultimate BEER. The flavors accentuate the beer itself and make it better but the incredibly strong base that the flavors build on makes this beer truly a classic. I say “go SweetWater, keep on rollin!”

Of course I say that without yet trying the behemoth, the Stone Arrogant Bastard Oaked Ale. I’d better like this beer, my vote combined with the fans’ put it here. Where SweetWater remembers it is a beer first, the Arrogant Bastard is a tour de force of some of the best flavors in all of the alcohol world, compacted into a brew so that if you can’t do shots or wine gives you a headache, its only a sample in a beer. The deep fruits remind me of a nice merlot, the wooden flavors a well-aged scotch, with an overall crisp and clean body that rivals the finest lagers. This brew simply has everything and I am struggling to find a better or more in-depth way to describe it but this beer has everything in the world of alcohol rolled into one. It does pack a punch though, so I guess it may not win in the broad appeal category. And the flavors are a hidden underneath the surface a little so the novice taster may not enjoy the flavors as much but my goodness, once you unlock the potential of this masterful oaked ale… I don’t know which to pick today. It is such a difficult call with two stylistically different beers that each may be the best in the bracket at what they do.

Tune in at 4:30 to see how the votes come down!

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!