Double IPA Taste Off – Round 1

Double IPA Line-up

The Judges: Myself, Ryan Turner, Chad Meindl (@chadmeindl), and Phil Harrel

 

The Competitors: Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA, Bell’s Hopslam, Great Divide Hercules Double IPA, Founder’s Double Trouble and Stone Ruination IPA

The Rules:

Each of the judges were asked to pick their favorites brews based solely on personal preference. Each judge ranked the beers in order 1-5 and then points were assigned in reverse order based on the rating (e.g. 5 points for favorite beer, 4 points for second, etc.). Here is the blinded lineup:

 The Results:

1. Stone Ruination IPA – 17 points

2. Bell’s Hopslam – 16 points

3. Founder’s Double Trouble – 13 points

4. Great Divide Hercules Double IPA – 9 points

5. Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA – 5 points

Personal Reaction:

Very close at the top! I have had very little exposure to Stone Brewery up to this point, but they definitely lived up to their reputation. There were three tiers on this one, the top two were clearly the best and the bottow two were clearly the worst with Double Trouble being the line that divided the two sides.  I actually thought Founder’s would stand up better in this competition. Also, a little surprised Great Divide performed so poorly because I remember enjoying this beer a lot in Texas.

The first two Double IPA Blinded Taste Offs have now been conducted, you will see the second posted tomorrow.  My goal is to put together a super lineup of the great Double IPA’s to crown a true champion.  If anyone would like to suggest a beer for the final face-off, I welcome the input.  Maybe something from our Dogfish friends?