imperial stout final 4 to start this Monday March 30!!!!

pooriggy said:
@wonderturtle, is there going to be a competition next week as well? To be honest 4 beers, m-f is a lot for me but if is only for one week I think I can imbibe. Its bike training season for me, I'm trying to moderate beer intake. This contest is 2 months too late:)
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Come Iggs you can be the drunken master of NJ mtbing:confused:
 
wonderturtle said:
I am sensing little participation in this one.
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I kinda like stretching it out a bit.
I think more peeps would be on board with this, just need to give more notice maybe?

Also it would be nice to get together for a backyard beer contest over the summer. We could get together for the finals and hash it out.
 
Okay- all stocked up.
Took the month's beer budget, but it is in the name of science, so that's okay.

To be efficient, @soundz and I are going to do all possible brackets in one sitting.
Then go ride CitiBikes.
 
I picked up supplies at Total Wine on 22 in Union.
I got the last 4 pk of Founders Stout. If someone wants to buy 2 bottles off me I'm willing to sell them. They had ample stock of all other stouts.
Also, I'm willing to sell off 2 Tenfidy's if anyone wants them. The bottom line is I just don't drink that much beer and besides stout season is coming to an end.

I'll be at Short Track at Allumuchy tomorrow or I can meet up if someone wants beer.
 
These should be shared with friends - we opened 6 total between the 4 of us.....the last two were because we did our own finals!

one does not need a whole can/bottle of these babies! they were epic....
 
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I kinda jumped the gun, but drinking beer tonight worked into my schedule. I'm a fan of stouts and didn't want to miss this opportunity to drink some great beers and give my input about said stouts.
So, here is the 1st match up. To start off I'll say they are both great stouts and you won't be disappointed in either. However since this is a contest I'm going to analyze and compare these two head to head.

At first sip I liked the Storm King better because its more carbonated, sharp and crisp. Its easy to like this brew at first taste with the traditional roasted malty flavor of a stout...however I found myself reaching for the Tenfidy more after a few quaffs. While the Storm King had a lot of flavor up front it could not match the long complex finish of the Tenfidy with flavors of anisette, black cherry and dark chocolate. The Storm King was simpler with an expresso flavoring. I will say that Tenfidy has 10.5% alc. which adds to the complexity as compared to the 9.1% of Storm King. But whatever, I'm voting Tenfidy on this one hands down.

I'm looking forward to the next match up later this week. Drink up Johnny!
 
ok - since Iggy jumped the gun, as hinted, we played - we (roadie + spouses + me) dug in last week.
and put the Victory up against the heavy hitter of the group - TenFidy. We did not blind taste, but
only I knew the price tag on these babies. The feeling was unanimous, that Victory gave the classic, this
is a stout, reminder with its small bubble carbonation. it is always available, it is "localish" - the tenfidy
was almost a different class of beer! it isn't a classic at all. it is a nouveau flavor that is not limited by the stout label.

Tenfidy takes the round for the four of us - if there was a price weighting, it probably would go the other way.
 
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Damn, I was sure to back down for this one
Who's stocking these in either the warren or bedminster areas?
 
pooriggy said:
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I kinda jumped the gun, but drinking beer tonight worked into my schedule. I'm a fan of stouts and didn't want to miss this opportunity to drink some great beers and give my input about said stouts.
So, here is the 1st match up. To start off I'll say they are both great stouts and you won't be disappointed in either. However since this is a contest I'm going to analyze and compare these two head to head.

At first sip I liked the Storm King better because its more carbonated, sharp and crisp. Its easy to like this brew at first taste with the traditional roasted malty flavor of a stout...however I found myself reaching for the Tenfidy more after a few quaffs. While the Storm King had a lot of flavor up front it could not match the long complex finish of the Tenfidy with flavors of anisette, black cherry and dark chocolate. The Storm King was simpler with an expresso flavoring. I will say that Tenfidy has 10.5% alc. which adds to the complexity as compared to the 9.1% of Storm King. But whatever, I'm voting Tenfidy on this one hands down.

I'm looking forward to the next match up later this week. Drink up Johnny!
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nice write up iggy!! gonna do my first match-up tonight.
 
qclabrat said:
Damn, I was sure to back down for this one
Who's stocking these in either the warren or bedminster areas?
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dont know that area but try to go to one of the larger liquor stores that have a big craft beer selection (do they have BuyRite up there?). you might have to go to more than 1 to find all four beers. I got 2 at Buyrite, 1 at WholeFoods. gonna try another place to find TenFidy.

thats always the challenge with these contests. if I only included beers that are available at EVERY liquor store (eg.., guinness) the competition would be pointless. on the other hand, I want to include beers that dont require people to drive all over the region to find. so there's a balance....they are all out there but you may need to go to 2 or 3 stores to get them all.
 
First matchup for me ...

(#2) Founders imperial stout
vs.
(#3) Old Rasputin by north coast brewing co

Going with.... Founders.
 
pooriggy said:
Are you being tight lipped so as not to sway votes? or was it just meh?
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I don't have the vocAbulary to describe why I liked it more. Not really a stout guy so just went with what was more satisfying. The Rasputin had a finish that I didnt really like. The founders seems like more of the real deal from pour (oil like) to finish

Oh and lastly I'll say that at first I really couldnt tell them apart (fresh outta fridge). But I let them warm a bit and the founders pulled away
 
wonderturtle said:
But I let them warm a bit and the founders pulled away
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Yeah, I think its really important to let these brews come to cellar temperature, not refrigerator temp. There is a lot going on in the finish, you'll miss it if you chug it like iced tea on a hot summer day.
 
@jmanic and I started off the tournament with a bang as we got through the 1st round .. Ten Fidy vs Storm King .. Founders vs Old Rasputin.

Ten Fidy vs Storm King goes to Ten Fidy. Storm King had an aftertaste I didn't like and Ten Fidy was smooth throughout and ticker which I prefer. It wasn't even close.

Founder vs Old Rasputin. This was closer but Founders had a unique taste (ticker fruity raisen, grape, liquorice) which sat well with me. Founders gets the nod.

Post drunk CitiBike ride .. It's a good thing @jmanic works in a lab with no supervision and nothing too life altering.

jtuazYCl.jpg
 
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so did the round of semis with @soundz

Its funny trying beers of this caliber side by side,
the bar just gets set so high, it almost boils down to which has a minor flaw.
I think my vote for the finals will come down to a tie breaker on which label I like better.

Victory vs Ten Fidy- this one was easy for me. Both good, but the carbonation in the victory seemed out of place to me. Too many tiny bubbles making it taste thin.
Ten Fidy was like very tasty crankcase oil. Winner: Ten Fidy

Founders v Rasputin- again, this was easy for me. Those unique flavors soundz mentioned?
Yeah, I didn't care for them in a stout, but I will say they did make it stand out from the other 3 in this bracket. Rasputin was just more what I wanted. And plus crazy back story with Rasputin gets bonus points. Winner: Rasputin
 
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This one was tough. Two really solid stouts, at first sip I was drawn to the rich malty flavor of Founders. Old Rasputin poured out a nice rich creamy head, that was sharp in flavor. As in week one I found myself uncousciously gravitating toward the stout I favored. Within 10 minutes the Founders had gotten noticably lower in my glass, while Old Rasputin was still 2/3 full.

With each sip the Founders thick motor oil stout opened up more and more, flavors of cherry and dark chocolate lingered in the long finish. I have had Old Rasputin before, and have been impressed with the quality of the stout however going up against Founders Imperial Stout it was edged out. Winner this week was Founders Imperial Stout.

Finally one thing to note is that the Founders had 10%alc, while OR had 9%. Maybe its coincidence but it seems that the 10% alc stouts surpass the complexity of 9%alc stouts. The finals will be interesting, two 10%alc stouts going head to head. I'll have to rest up my palette for that one, it will take a keen sense of taste to find the winner.
 
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