Ok, so technically it isn’t October until tomorrow.  But with that whole time zone turn-of-the-Earth thing considered, it’s already October in the some places of the world.  And October means beer.

Oktoberfest, Märzen, pumpkin, cool weather, college football, the glorious return to Chili, the changing of the leaves.  I love October, and October makes me want to return to beer.

It’s been a long break from the regular routine here at Brewlimination – far too long.  It turns out that running two consecutive 64-beer brackets, tasting two beers a day, day in and day out for the better part of a year is quite exhaustive, and was somewhat responsible for our hiatus.

But, the hiatus is coming to an end.  We’ve thought long and hard about the future of Brewlimination, and we have some great things in store for the future.  You’ll see some changes coming to the site in the coming weeks, as we resume our Quest for the Ultimate Beer!

So, I’ll kick things off with an impromtu review of the brew I’m currently enjoying – the Dogfish Head Punkin Ale.  I’m not overly experienced with a multitude of pumpkin beers under my belt, but I’m setting out to change that.  Having had a number of Dogfish brews in the past, and almost universely enjoying them all, I figured the Punkin Ale was a great place to start.

The Punkin Ale pours an intriguing off-copper color, with a combination of tinted orange and burnt red.  In the center of the glass, a tiny stream of almost microscopic carbonation bubbles rise to the surface.  The head isn’t overly large, maybe about a quarter inch is all, with a light brown to off-white coloring.  It settles at a comfortable pace, leaving a thin layer of froth behind on the surface, almost compelling a taste.

I was almost tricked by the appearance to dive straight into tasting this brew, but was able to pause long enough to take in the aroma.  The aroma packs a punch, with malty, spicy notes – nutmeg for certain and perhaps some allspice as well – and you can’t forget the mandatory pumpkin (although it is much more subdued than the more-overpowering spices).  The taste is similarly spicy up front, yet sweet and almost savory at the same time – a combination of mostly nutmeg and brown sugar.  A stronger hint of pumpkin comes through toward the finish, which is light on the tongue with a near-perfect length.

The Punkin Ale is a wonderful beer for relaxing, kicking off the fall season, and ending this unexpectedly long hiatus.  Cheers!

Well, in what can only be termed an upset SweetWater has cemented its place as one of the elite beers in the tournament if not the overall favorite. It seems to have captivated our judges and rallied all of you in record numbers, here’s how today’s votes went:

John:  Balance and an unexpected complexity.  Those were the two deciding factors today in determining which beer gets my vote.  That beer?  The SweetWater IPA.  My reviews earlier said what I think they needed to: the SweetWater had the balance of sweetness to rival the hops overload, and the pleasant and surprising complexity of hop characters.  It goes down smooth, and that’s why it earns my vote today.

Brad: Like I said in my review, if I don’t vote for a beer in a round, it absolutely must blow me away in order to change my mind. The DogFish Head could not satisfy the test. Not only that but I am incredibly high on the SweetWater IPA today as its flavors are fruity enough to be a summer beer but rich enough to be a winter beer. I’m endorsing the SweetWater as much as I can, it is just that good.

Fans: What can I say other than SweetWater IPA: The beer more than 2/3rds of our audience approves! In all seriousness, High praise indeed to the SweetWater IPA that managed to roll up DogFish, 67%-33%

Sweet Water sounds better to me than a Fried Dog Fish so I’ll start today with the SweetWater IPA which, as you recall, had a very deep flavor particularly for an IPA. Beers like these are among some of the greatest around because you wouldn’t think “deep” and “pale” could be used to describe the same beer, leaving a pale to be a lighter brew but that is clearly not the case. The SweetWater moves to the next level in the flexibility that the flavors have. The fruit flavors, while rich, do not taste as acidic as, say, eating an actual fruit would, so they have a better ability to pair with a wide variety of food or even just be quaffed solo. Not a big fruit fan? Well fortunately SweetWater hit the aftertaste out of the park too, using spicier hopped flavor to temper the fruit so that it doesn’t linger, which also adds to its overall drinkability. Seasoned drinkers and newcomers alike can all find something to love about this brew, it is truly a great ale to have in the tournament.

Then there’s the powerhouse, the DogFish Head 60 Minute IPA. As I will recall for you, I did not vote for this beer in round 1, I like it as a measuring stick for newcomers, but the seasoned drinkers may find this beer not as polarizing as they would like. This beer has a wealth of hop and malt flavors that each are very pronounced which does make for a good beer, I’m just missing the qualities that would make it a great IPA. I want this beer to change my mind because it has the potential to be a great brew in either direction: there is so much malt potential and hop potential, but I feel like they are sacrificed in favor of balance. Ultimately, the 60 Minute IPA will not step on anyone’s toes and will not blow anyone away with bitterness or molasses, but I think to become a truly classic beer it needs to take the risk of scaring some off in favor of stronger flavor (like the 90 Minute does with its malted sweetness).

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!

Today started with an hour for me, the 60 Minute IPA from Dogfish Head.  From what I remember from the initial round (as well as the several times before my first round tasting), this beer is a quality IPA.  The visual appearance was exactly as I remembered it – clear, copper colored with a red hue, with a rather large, bright-white head that slowly recedes.  The aroma is packed full of hops, both citrus and pine, and invites you in with the full expectation that this beer will be a straight shot stylistic definition of an IPA.  The taste verifies that claim, with delicious hops notes packing a punch from start to finish.  Speaking of the finish, it’s neither overly dry nor overly bitter – simply a well-rounded conclusion, which makes for a very memorable IPA.

The SweetWater IPA comes into this match as somewhat of an underdog in my mind.  After all, this is only my second ever tasting of this beer, and I am well experienced with the competitor.  But, that’s the point of this competition isn’t it? To objectively review brand new brews in hopes of finding the ultimate beer?  I love the visual appearance of this IPA.  It displays very similar to the beer above, except with the increased level of carbonation which I mentioned last time.  I’m a huge fan of the sweetness in this beer, as it works very well to balance out the expectedly high dosing of hops.  Speaking of hops, the complexity of hops in the aroma is incredibly inviting, adding a new dimension to the typical IPA style.

This match isn’t easy, but I think I have my mind made up.  Stay tuned for Brad’s thoughts a little later, and remember that you can vote until 3PM!

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!

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%.

It can’t be a United States craft brew competition if this brewery isn’t invited to the party, and after what I thought would be a title run ended all to abruptly, they are back with a vengeance with the DogFish Head 60 Minute IPA. Of the IPA series this is one of the less continuously hopped ones, with the 90 Minute and 120 Minute IPAs often stealing a lot of the thunder of this brew. It pours to a nice orange-brown color with what I call a clumpy head that indicates the hoppy nature of the beer. The smell is hoppy though not nearly as strong as its brethren with some citrus, pine, and floral scents that have a doughy back. On tasting this beer it delivered on what I hoped it would. Because it is not as continuously hopped the doughy malted flavors come through in addition to the hoppy floral, pine, citrus, and spice flavors. The time limit keeps this beer from being a runaway hopper and almost makes it a more formidable competitor than the bigger beers as it appeals to more people. This beer still is a little bitter and hoppy, but it is balanced. A good intro to a good brewery and a good genre in the IPA. Think of this like the “medium” buffalo wing. It will tell you if you can go hoppier or need to scale back, and it is a delicious brew at that.

Harpoon comes back today after a close match yesterday to hopefully advance its second brew, the Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA. This beer pours to a bright orange hue with a more carbonated head than the 60 Minute, and as such it dissipates much quicker and bubblier. At about $2.50 a bottle I’m hoping this beer is as Imperial as its name suggests. Without being too harsh of a critic, I didn’t get much from the smell of this beer. It was hoppier, but a lot of it was carbonated. I let the beer sit for a minute and picked up darker fruit aromas and a hoppy spice, that’s better! Not as strong as I’d like, but I’m splitting hairs here. The taste blows the smell out of the water and gives me the satisfaction I look for from a more expensive retail beer. The hop flavors prevail bigtime in this one but not the hop flavors you’d expect. The spices and citrus generics are not there, instead floral flavors and deep fruits like grapefruit and plum make this beer simply astounding. It’s one downfall is it is a hard hitter at 10% ABV. It is worth the cost and worth the buzz, and I suggest you grab one to relax with a great beer after a long day. You won’t be disappointed.

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!

Okay, campers, rise and shine!  What?  You didn’t think I could pass up such a perfect opportunity to quote an amazing movie did you?  A movie I may or may not have already watched today?  Well, let me first take this opportunity to remind you that we’re heading quickly to the end of Round 1, which wraps up on Friday.  As such, the first poll of Round 2 opened for voting yesterday, and is available on the Current Matches page.  Keep an eye on the second round schedule and shopping list, which will be updated throughout the remainder of the week, and which we first told you about here.  Now, on to the match on hand!

During the last tournament, I will admit that I was somewhat disheartened when the 90 Minute IPA lost a heavily contested Final 8 match.  So, I figured I would give its little brother first shot today, and began with the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA.  It pours a clear, copper-amber coloring with a slight red tint, which I find very inviting.  A large, white head accompanied the pour for quite some time, leaving an excellent lacing around the glass as it dropped.  The aroma is everything I’ve come to expect from a quality IPA – and a quality Dogfish IPA at that – citrus, pine, and an all-around awesome serving of hops.  The taste is more of the same, but even better than the aroma let on.  Drinkability and memorability is very high with this quality IPA, and the mouthfeel only helps in those departments.  I’ll admit that this is my first Dogfish IPA since the 90 Minute lost, and after having this one again I can truly see the relationship.  Furthermore, it may just be possible that this is a slightly better overall IPA, as the 90 Minute seems almost barleywine-esque after returning to this beer.  Of course, I realize that last sentence may be blasphemy to the 90 Minute faithful.

Now, onward to the Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA.  (Note: not to be confused with the Leviathan Imperial Red, which was in the previous tournament and eventually lost to a Fermented 4 brew).  This imperial IPA presents with an impressively similar visual display, with an equally clear copper coloring and a slight red tint.  In fact, these beers look almost identical.  The aroma is similar in composition, but is slightly more herbal with noticeably more grapefruit.  At the very trailing end of the aroma, I picked up on what could either be described as a very minor alcohol scent, or a very minor spicy character – it was very mild, and very difficult to place, and somewhat intriguing.  The taste is powerful from the start, with a clear cut pine and grapefruit hoppiness.  But, the malts in this beer aren’t to be outdone, and a wonderful sort of semi-balance ensues.  The taste of this beer truly is delightful, and leads to an impressive memorability factor.  But, the drinkability isn’t left far behind, as even though this is one powerful brew (both in all around presence and especially ABV), it still finds a way to go down smooth.

This match is a tough decision for certain in my book, and I can’t wait to hear what Brad has to say later on today, as well as any of your thoughts!  Make sure to cast your last vote over in the Current Matches page, and stay tuned!

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!

I think John did a pretty good job of laying out what we are trying to do with these awards. Its like any other tournament where there are surprise teams, duds, and the teams that kill your bracket. Obviously we weren’t allowed to show favoritism (except for when we picked which we like more? Um… Nevermind) before the match starts but that doesn’t mean that in looking back we can’t be surprised by some results. I think things shook out really well and the best beers definitely rose to the top, but that doesn’t mean we can’t give out bonus awards to beers we got hooked on during the tourney, so here are my awards:

Surprise Beer of the Tournament – Spoetzl Shiner Hefeweizen

I came into this tournament not knowing a whole lot about some kinds of beer, the Hefeweizen being one. Little did we know a couple matches into this tournament I would find my favorite Hefeweizen. I was expecting nothing from this cloudy beer that looked a lot like Miller Lite but murkier, and the flavor contained within was great. I still love this beer as a flavorful beer that won’t fill you up so you can have a couple on a lazy afternoon.

Left Us Too Soon – Fort Collins Rocky Mountain IPA

Simply put, the best IPA I’ve ever had, and the thought of this beer was what caused me to vote against the DogFish Head in its Elite 8 match with Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale. I’d get into why I think this is so great but if you get me started it would take up the whole front page. This beer was also in the running for most surprising because I certainly wasn’t expecting from the Rocky Mountain elephant this beer to come out. Do yourself a favor if they sell Fort Collins in your area: Pick up a 6-pack and enjoy, you won’t be sorry.

MVB (Most Valuable Brewery) – Southern Tier Brewing Company

Furthering the rivalry between Smuttynose and Southern Tier, John picked the former so I have to go with the latter. Southern Tier is the most valuable brewery because IT HAS YET TO LOSE A MATCH! You can’t really get more valuable than 5-0, though Smuttynose comes close at 6-2. It really is an argument to be had in another tournament where both breweries can send their best 2 beers instead of just our random choosing, but right now it’s Southern Tier.

Thank You Sir, May I Have Another (Beer) – DogFish Head 90 Minute IPA

Helping DogFish Head with this category is that my favorite sports bar (Blues), has this beer on tap. Availability was a category I didn’t find it fair to judge on because distribution has nothing to do with the quality of the beer, just look at the macrobrews. But when it comes to this award, its pretty crucial that the beer is available or it’d be impossible to order another. Anyway, this IPA pairs great with bar food, or is a good beer to sip on its own, and I highly recommend it as a gimme another.

A little update for those who like this sort of thing: we will be posting breweries here before too long (a couple days-ish) at a pace of a couple/day. Your goal, if you feel like helping us out, is to comment with 2 beers you’d like to see in the tournament from that brewery. That way we can get a better sense of what to put into the tournament and some breweries won’t get ripped off through random selection. So nominate your favorites and we’ll see what happens!

Over the past week, we’ve seen the quick progression of the Final 8 match-ups that were Round 4.

On Monday, in what could be considered an upset, Southern Tier Phin & Matt’s Extraordinary Ale took down the DogFish Head 90 Minute IPA with a very narrow 2-1 margin.

Tuesday, Troegs, the silent brewery advanced as the Troegs HopBack Amber Ale defeated the Smuttynose Star Island Single by a 2-1 margin with massive voting

Then Wednesday, Smuttynose avoided being swept out of the round as the Smuttynose Old Brown Dog advanced over the Victory Golden Monkey by a hair, 2-1

And Thursday, the powerhouse Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout took down the overmatched Ommegang Farmhouse Saison, 3-0

Now, we’re left with four “division champions” to head into the Fermented 4! These matchups are interesting, pitting 4 beers of very different styles against one another. This definitely seems to be grounds for debate, so think of it somewhat like a dog show – the best of each breed has been selected, now it’s time to compare them side-by-side and pick a Best of Show.

Here’s the schedule for next week, keeping in mind that these match dates were selected to allow for one full week of voting:

On Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 – Southern Tier Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale vs. Troegs HopBack Amber Ale!

On Thursday, October 21st, 2010 – Smuttynose Old Brown Dog Ale vs. Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout!

We’ve already seen some impressive voting efforts for all the beers involved, but a big lead now doesn’t mean a secured victory! If you’ve been following Brewlimination long, you certainly know that last-minute voting efforts and come from behind victories are more common that one would expect. Remember, you can vote daily!

Let me first begin by apologizing for the delayed “winner post” today.  I unexpectedly went without computer access for the majority of the day, thus making it unexpectedly difficult to check the final poll results.  I expect the delay has caused mass anticipation and near hysteria while awaiting the results, so here’s what we thought today:

Brad:  To think that today’s matchup could be boiled down to and ultimately decided by something as fickle as beer genre or other beers from the same brewer is crazy, but that’s how good these beers are. They are well-balanced, unique, have a very wide appeal, and this is my dream championship match as both of these beers are my two favorites, bottom line. That being said, I’d have to pick a winner in my dream title match, wouldn’t I? The winner of this match as far as my vote – and if you told me when this tournament started that this match would a) happen and b) play out this way, I’d have thought you were crazy – is the Southern Tier Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale. At the 11th hour, on my final evaluation, the one thing I had separating these beers was the power of the brew and the appeal. The 90 Minute IPA is complex, tasty, and something hop heads and most beer aficionados could be very proud of, but unfortunately there is a slight tasting curve associated with this brew. Phin & Matt’s has everything the 90 Minute has and it’s noticable from the first sip to those who may not drink all the time. It gets my vote, though both of these breweries have earned my respect for making two damn fine beers.

John:  I compared my list of descriptive words a number of times, trying to find out which list would come out on top.  At first, I thought I would try to come up with a list of “cons” as well, to help decide this match.  But let’s face it – the remainder of these matches will be decided by which is the superior brew, doing the better best.  I am casting my vote out for the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.  I simply couldn’t turn my back on what I deemed earlier as a “go-to brew” and a stylistic example.

Fans:  This was by far the most active voting match since we started Brewlimination in July.  I wish we had been counting the total number of lead changes in the last week, and those of you here to vote daily know what I’m talking about.   For the most part, it seemed impossible for either beer to gain a substantial lead – any tiny percentage lead was immediately countered by the opponent. But, in the end, the Southern Tier Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale wound up on top, winning the popular vote – and the match – by a slim 53% – 47% margin.

Stay tuned for the rest of the week to see which beers join Phin and Matt in the Final 4.  The next match up tomorrow is between the Smuttynose Star Island Single and the Troegs HopBack Amber Ale!