What a match, what great brews, and what great rationale behind the voting. Our reviewers can spin it however they want but at the end of the day, SweepWater takes home the gold!

John: What a fitting match to wrap up the second tournament!  I can still see reasons why both of these brews deserve to be on top of the podium. At least we can all have comfort knowing that the “loser” today still walks with silver!   I’m voting for the SweetWater IPA. One of the primary deciding factors for me was its well-rounded nature and “anytime” drinkability.  Congrats to both beers today!

Brad: To me, today’s match isn’t voting for a winner because that would be nearly impossible, it’s just putting in order the top two beers in this tournament. And for me, the number one beer is the Sweetwater IPA because of its superior drinkability and broader appeal, combined with a fantastic taste and great overall beer experience. It feels good to have tournament #2 behind us and thanks to you, the fans, we couldn’t have done it without your record fan support!

Fans: You came out in droves and you came out for SweetWater mostly. The guess is that more of you identify with the beer you can snag at the bar with the game on, as you have come out en masse for this brew all tournament. Anyway, with a near 3:1 ratio, the SweetWater IPA takes him the gold with a 74%-26% victory. Thank you for voting early, voting often, and mainly coming back! Your support keeps us going and your voices are certainly being heard by the breweries!

Starting with the beer I didn’t vote for in the last round, as well as stating it’s full name for the first time, the Allagash Tripel Reserve is a great beer despite my record. As I taste today I realize that this beer is like the Founder’s in terms of sophistication. Last round I voted for the blue-collar option but that wasn’t to say that this beer isn’t amazing with its organic sugar flavors blended with earthy hops to create an overall impression of a very natural beverage that doesn’t feel trumped up with synthetic sugars or flavorings. There is something truly special about a beer that has this unique earthy quality all the way through to the smooth mouthfeel that just lets you know that Allagash methodically selected the hops and barley and yeast specifically to create this particular natural beer experience, and they have hit a home run with this one.

And we have the final beer with a chance to make the Fermented Four, the Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold. You all have had a large hand in getting the Dortmunder to this level as it hasn’t swept every round, but there’s a reason you love this brew. Like I said in the last round, you have to have a passion for this particular style of brew to make it, as Wikipedia shows that this beer is one of the only Dortmunders crafted in the United States. Speaking to its weakness, I basically retract what I said about its inability to pair with food. Allow me to clarify by saying that it doesn’t fight food, but it doesn’t do anything special to bring out the flavors of food beyond what your typical beer would, which makes it ok not “bad” as I had previously said. The passion exhibited by the brewers today is very apparent and I consider us here at Brewlimination privileged that we had the opportunity to see this match as we have really the only big name Dortmunder crafter putting their brew against a very well-crafted Tripel from Allagash. It’s anyone’s guess as to who will win but you will certainly have a huge hand in the decision today.

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!

John and I went to the same college in northern Ohio so we are very familiar with the Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, which is why I’m starting with this beer today. It is tough to review objectively because this beer looks, smells, and tastes like beer to me. It was the only non-lite brew on tap in a lot of places so its what I got used to as “real beer”. Anyway, allow me to review it nontheless. It pours to an orange-yellow color with a carbonated head that dissipates at about an average speed. The smell itself is rather doughy, it has a barley malt quality to it but the heaviness is offset by the carbonation leaving a grassy citrus hop scent. The taste takes me back to a younger time of Lounge Stacking and Basement Flipping, but objectively it is similar in nature to the smell. More of a thicker barley taste initially that is met with carbonation and ultimately a citrus-spice finish. What I enjoy most about this beer is it didn’t have to sacrifice malt to try and fit a genre as some beers in this division have a tendency to do.

I used the “full circle” play on words because this brewery is rebounding from a first round loss to come today with the New Holland Full Circle Kolsch. The beer poured to a straw-yellow with hints of orange, lighter than the Dortmunder, with a thicker head that dissipated slowly which I don’t think was due to a bad pour today. The smell is very summery and not overly complicated, aromas of grass, straw, citrus, and even a little floral/pine aroma. Like the Dortmunder the taste on this brew doesn’t vary too much from the scent (which would be hard given the complexity of the nose), which was fascinating. This beer is pretty hoppy and seems like it should be one-dimensional but throughout there is a thicker quality that I don’t know if it is the yeast or a barley flavored malt but it (bad pun time) brings the beer around full circle and keeps it well-bodied despite being hoppy. This beer was impressive and I enjoyed it thoroughly, which is disappointing because I didn’t want to have to vote against the Dortmunder but I’m in a pickle now.

UPDATE: Click Here for Match Results!