March Beerness Beer Style Finale and So Cal Brewery Ranking

This week the boys rank the top 32 So-Cal breweries for next episodes March Beerness Brewery Bracket throwdown and the extreme finale of the March Beerness Beer Style is done. One beer style walks away the "Best" ... Who will it be? 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Oh, I finished my book.

SPEAKER_03 0:03

Very nice, very nice. I I which which one of the series was that? Seven?

SPEAKER_02 0:08

Uh I I've listened to all seven, but this was me reading through, so I read the first one.

SPEAKER_03 0:14

Very nice.

SPEAKER_02 0:15

Dungeon Crawler Carl. Actually physically read it. It's I think it's better to read it. Like the the audiobook is like people like say it's it's it is really good. Like the guy that does it's incredible, but I think there's something about reading it and like 100% of your focus being put onto it versus like I was working as listening to it. So I'm I'm sure there's gonna be a couple things I miss that I'll get when I read.

SPEAKER_03 0:41

Well, it never hurts to do things twice, right? I mean, so many movies you watch or anything of that sort, like the second time you watch it you'll notice something you missed before. I mean, our attention spans are you know, human.

SPEAKER_02 0:54

Um and and there's like things that were said in like the first book that like came up in like the fifth book, and I was just like, oh, we that was not even thought of twice, but that's actually let me pull up my summary report. Yeah, so no, it was cool. It was it was a good reading.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

I think doing a read, yeah. A read and a listen is a good combo. Um I do that with some Scott Sigler personally. I've done reading the books, obviously, then listening to them as a refresher.

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Yeah, no, the thing is now that I finished reading, I have the second book on the way. And it's gonna arrive on Saturday, so until then I won't have the book. But um I got two other books that are from different series that I might read before, but anyway. Yeah, I have I've encountered reading again in my my my 33rd year of life.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

Very nice. I it's important. Literature is is always important. You don't want a Fahrenheit situation.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

No, we don't. And because we said we don't want a Fahrenheit situation, that means we're here at the Beer Me Cast. You've joined us for the Beer Me Cast podcast. My name is Jackson Ramsley. I am the co-host along with Mark Zanferdino. Uh cheers. And uh we have a pack cast of Beer of Cast. We're gonna break down the top 32 so-called breweries, asterisk, the that the Beer Me Cast can speak to. And then we're going to finish out the beer style beer madness, March Beardness. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:30

Or we we might finish it out, or maybe we'll leave uh a cliffhanger for the final final. I think we'll see how it goes.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

I think we gotta finish the beer styles because the breweries they they they have to take.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

It's gonna be a big switch afterwards. I think uh I think next podcast we're aiming to bring you all brewery face-offs for the first round of 32.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

I think so. Yeah. It's gonna be intense. So, Mark, we've done a thing. We've done a thing. Uh the way that we do beer of cast, uh, if you've listened to the previous episodes, is we both have a beer that we brought to the table independently. We're not recording the same studio, we're we're apart from each other. We've brought ourselves a beer that we're gonna drink and talk about before starting into the podcast. It's always been different. We don't talk before starting to see what it is. Um, however, uh today we had Synergy and we both have the same beer. I saw him pouring it out before we recorded. I'm like, that can looks just like my can. And Mark, what are we both drinking today?

SPEAKER_03 3:39

Ah, we are drinking a crisp theory, uh Czech Pilsner. Czech Pilsner, if you may recall from the last episode, is going to be on our bracket. And uh after recording, we saw one of our local breweries, New Glorycraft Brewery, had released just the type of Pilsner we had on our bracket, a Czech Pilsner. Um, caveat, we might have a mind meld, but there might have been some subliminal cause to this, because I do believe I shared this in the chat a week ago. So right after our other cat I think it was like the day after, is when this beer was announced, and I do believe I shared it in the chat, but we had not talked about beer much or, you know, of the specific beer, uh since it was mentioned as just a you know Instagram share.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

So uh you you said you should check this out. Um no, I I I don't I don't even remember that came up in the group chat. I I just saw that a beer had been released that had a cat on the label and it was a cold IPA from New Glory, and it's a little bit more than a little bit. I thought it was a double dry hopped West. It's a it's a West Coast cold IPA. Ah that's why um that's why it's called Frosted Whiskers. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_03 4:56

Yeah. Um Glory has a beautiful brewery cat who likes to lay around and uh brewery cat.

SPEAKER_02 5:04

And um because they had like the cans on the Instagram and like the post literally said like it gave you two options to interact with was like um excited for the beer or on my way to get it. And so I was like, oops, on my way to get it. Like, you know, I haven't been in a long time, I've got a chance after work to actually swoop by. Uh I want to get a four-pack of that. I want to go to New Glory again, haven't been in a bit. You know, it just it should work out. Get there, they don't have cans of it, the cans are gonna be released on Friday. Um which was a little bit of a bummer to me, and maybe I should have read closer, but the fact that they said on my way to get it, like I didn't realize that meant like a pour of it. So I did get a half pour of it.

SPEAKER_03 5:54

But I was not sure. Oh, that's good. At least you didn't come away with with no no cap here to speak of.

SPEAKER_02 5:59

Yeah, I tried a half four of it. It was it was really good. Um and uh but I was looking at the fridge and I was stuck because there wasn't really anything jumping out at me, so the person the at work there was just walking by and was like, oh, uh, you know, we just came out this one, it's really good. I didn't even look at what it was, I just was like, alright, like sure, grab that. Um, and it was the Czech Pilsner.

SPEAKER_03 6:24

What do you what do you think of our our our sh our bracket uh contender here?

SPEAKER_02 6:30

It is it is really good. I think it's really good. I think that it is a good representation of what differentiates the Czech Pilsner from the German Pilsner from the Italian Pilsner. Um it is very light. Like it's a very pale, you know, clear, crisp pilsner.

SPEAKER_03 6:54

But with a little more yellow than your traditional pils. It's got a little bit more uh a little bit more breadiness to it, which is really nice. I do like that breadiness.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

Yeah, and it has a good malt bill. You can you can taste the malt surrounding the pilsner malt. You can you get a bite, but it's not like that as in it's not that as uh it's not as hoppy as maybe like a German Pilsner.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

No, it's very, very classic style. Very, very classic hop usage where it's not, you know, the dry hopping, it's not the in your face, it's not the West Coast extra bitter, it's it's very much the hops are meant to balance the malt, not you know, sh outshine it. It's it's uh very much not a West Coast Pilsner.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

And the hopy the hop character, like it it when you're when you're taking the sip, it's it's there, it it it hits a really good note. Traditionally solid roll roll along with the pil pilsner bitterness, which is really good. And then once you once it's gone off the palette, it it's just clean. It's just a clean finish. And I really I really like that. That's that's one of the reasons why I really like the uh the the a a good cream ale. I feel like they kind of like cut off and like the scumbag from Ghost Town, it's it just leaves you like with a cleared palette of just refreshed.

SPEAKER_03 8:12

I just I just realized that the scumbag from Ghost Town is a beer, and I was just like, who pissed you off?

SPEAKER_02 8:20

Oh no, the scumbag uh cream milk. Um Yes, that is a this has the similar kind of like it once once you swallow it, it's like it leaves you with such a light just combination of that pilsner malt with the the hop bitterness that's so light, it's just a pleasant, quenched type taste is how I explain it.

SPEAKER_03 8:46

Um very good beer. Um if you have not had a Czech Pilsner compared to, you know, your standard West Coast, your Pivot's, your German, Italian, your Dale's, your uh mama's little pills, you know, any any uh any of the common California, not California, but US macroberies, pilsners, um, I would say this is definitely different than any any standard pilsner you're gonna find on a store shelf in America. It's it's definitely something you want to look for a German label typically, but um I do believe New Glory's done a very good rendition of this.

SPEAKER_02 9:22

Yeah, at 5% um, you know, yep.

SPEAKER_03 9:26

Um confirm sawz hops on the can.

SPEAKER_02 9:29

Yeah, yeah, and it look the can itself says the finish is crisp, dry, and refreshing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:36

That's basically what we'll do.

SPEAKER_03 9:37

Crisp theory is uh is a a good name.

SPEAKER_02 9:40

I like the city. Yeah, and it makes me um happy that I stopped in at New Glory that day. Um it's nice when a beer redeems.

SPEAKER_03 9:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

I haven't had a beer from them in a long time, and uh seeing what the type of beers they had on on on uh on the tap list also was just cool to see. They they had a uh a chili mango sour, which is so new glory to still do that. They had the key lime ghost uh ghost on on top.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

I did I did get a four-pack of that because Brie loves uh a good fruit and beer.

SPEAKER_02 10:12

I was so close to getting it. I was like, I I don't need to be getting eight like two four packs right now.

SPEAKER_03 10:18

Um and I was gonna say who beat the ghost out in our bracket, and I had to take a peek, and it was uh it was Saison that beat out ghost.

SPEAKER_02 10:27

Yeah. I mean, it makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 10:29

Even if even yeah, phenomenal. I yeah, I mean New Glory had one of their original flagship beers was a Saison. Um they have done a variety of Saisons in their uh I want to say career, their tenure, their existence.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Um but I give this. I feel like I did I did last week as well, but I give it a nine and a half out of ten. Nice.

SPEAKER_03 10:58

Yeah, I would definitely say um it's it's on the the cusp of uh you know eight or nine for me. Um but yeah, definitely, you know, I I've had Pilsners I've enjoyed more, but um to style, I I couldn't name you one greater than this, but um I would say a solid nine.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

And I'm rating on the on a scale of like Czech Pilsner, I feel like. I don't know if I'm rating on my fair. Fair I guess I'm rating to style if I'm rating my enjoyment of it, it's it's gotta be I mean it's close. It's like yeah, nine, nine and a half as well, but like I think to style specifically. I couldn't give anything to ten that's specifically Czech Pilsner because I haven't been to the Czech Republic and had a Pilsner that was actually made by the Czech Czechians or whatever.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

Chechnya.

SPEAKER_02 11:48

Chechnya? The the Czech folk. Um but can our Czech listeners chime in here? Pretty damn good. Yeah. Uh check in really quick. Oh yeah, it's so good.

SPEAKER_03 12:01

Um yeah, I'm glad we uh we we shared a beer of cast today because uh Yeah, we haven't done that in a while. Yeah, that's this is a nice, nice little nice little treat. It's uh been really hot here in Sacramento as well, which is just I mean, I'm in a tank top. It's it's they just just skipping right past spring.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

So it's gonna be raining next uh Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

Well good. I'll have to remember to turn off my drip system on the uh tomatoes and peppers we just planted because as much as I hate drip systems, they are worth the labor. Keeps them nice and watered.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

Um Beer of Cast. We did it. We talked about now it is time for Oh man, my cat is just going crazy. Um do you want to talk about uh what we're doing next really quick here? Uh the SoCal brewery list. I'm gonna um I guess let my my cat out of this room.

SPEAKER_03 12:58

The cat out of the bag. Uh the cat of the bag is the fact that we have a whole lot of breweries from SoCal. A little background on your your hosts. We are NorCal residents, uh Sacramento specifically. And uh we do travel our state a good bit, so we have had a chance to hand taste many of these breweries, but we have not nearly visited all of the SoCal breweries that are gonna be on this list. So we will go ahead and go off of name, off memory, off, you know, introductions to it via cans in our local tap rooms. We are gonna go at this with again, a beer me cast approach to this bracket. Um the more you guys chime in, the more you can give us information wise, you know, make your case, plead your plead your cases, uh tell us your favorite local, you know, small microbrewery that we're never gonna see a can of here that just does awesome things. You know, bring us bring us as opinions. I want to know because the next time I travel to the southern part of the state, um I would usually just hit my San Diego regulars and try a couple new ones, but uh we would love to try what you like to do.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

Something to the top of that list. We need we need some some feedback.

SPEAKER_03 14:15

Yeah. So but we are gonna go through these and get us a set of 32. I don't believe 32 will be hard to achieve considering how much beer we have drunk in our respective adulthoods. Yeah, I was gonna say I beer bigger.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

I thought just thinking SoCal and the fact that we have a hundred and nine SoCal breweries to pick through, I was like, oh man. I've not been to that many, but looking here, I'm like, ah, but I've had some beer from a lot of them. So it's gonna be interesting. So we're yeah, let's go. I think we should go through quickly say like e either yes, no, so why or an or or why or an N on our list on our little thing here, or split maybe.

SPEAKER_03 15:01

Yeah, I mean we we could we can throw some S's and then we can filter and then you know check our check our totals. I guess maybe not even S. I don't even think we need S's because like You know, if it's something that one of us has had, I think we can put an S on it and use that as a as a filler if we don't reach our capacity. I do think we will reach our capacity, but never hurts. We can always auto auto-check off the S's.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

True. So 8 Bit Brewing Company is the first in Marietta name sounds cool. Experience never had it. Does sound cool.

SPEAKER_03 15:28

Uh AilSmith is a hard yes. Uh phenomenal beers. They'll be probably discussed in our uh beer style rankings coming up here.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Um Alvarado Street. Um I have a a bottle of Alvarado Street beer at my side of all times. Chopping street.

SPEAKER_03 15:45

Ambitious Ales have not had. Amplified is a yes.

SPEAKER_01 15:50

Okay, I've never had 'em.

SPEAKER_03 15:52

I have, so we'll call S.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

Um, I mean like you can put a Y, just i if if you feel strongly.

SPEAKER_03 15:59

Uh I mean it's been a long time, so I'm down to S it. I think we're gonna have plenty of Ys. But uh Angel City, I do believe we talked about them having had closed recently.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

That sounds right. Yeah, let's put an an N on that 'cause we're not sure.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

And and I don't have a strong you know opinion otherwise Art X I haven't had anything of theirs. The name rings a bell, but sounds fun.

SPEAKER_02 16:28

Arts District Brewing Co. Downtown LA. I've not heard about. Have not.

SPEAKER_03 16:33

Uh Bell of Point Point. Um they are an interesting case for craft beer, right? They were sold to, I believe it was Constellation brands. Then they had their distillery branch purchased and they were sold in different parts, and I think now they're under a smaller ownership group. But uh for me I'm gonna put an S because they did a lot of fun things for craft beer in their time. They might be craft, quote unquote, again, but maybe they make the bracket under some some uh it's a their and back again story.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

They're they're a good S, I would I would say.

SPEAKER_03 17:12

Uh Beechwood, I have had it. No. Have you? No. No? Alright. Uh Black Market have not had.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

No.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Boomtown have not had, but also Boomtown in downtown LA seems like a weird motif. But then again, California did have a lot of boom towns, so not gonna judge.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

Border X. I've had Border X.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

I've had Brewery X. Interesting. So we'll we'll S your brewery X on because I have not. Um bottle logic is a hard yes. Yeah. Uh Brukaypa?

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Brukaya uh Vukaipa?

SPEAKER_03 17:48

Yeah, never know what I have no idea.

SPEAKER_02 17:50

So Brewery X out of Anaheim, they they they have um an IPA that is um distributed up up here, which I didn't realize because when I was down in SoCal and I saw it, it was the only craft beer I saw when I was like near Joshua Tree. I got it because I I just wanted to craft beer, and it wasn't good enough for me to ever think it should be in a top um list, so I want to put an N on that one, even though I've got a great it was it was a it was just not a good showing.

SPEAKER_03 18:19

Uh Brewyard beer company, no, but I like the fact they use beer company instead of brewing. I appreciate when breweries use a different, you know, different quote.

SPEAKER_02 18:27

A little different like mindscape fermentations, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:30

So Browry West, um, I have a very vivid image of a silver can with this fox that is being deconstructed where you can see its like skull and brain kind of like splayed out. Like a scientific type thing or like an interesting artistic, scientific, uh like exploded, you know, anatomy kind of deal. Cool artwork, don't remember the beer. I'm okay with an N.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Yeah. And and yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:58

Birge and beer is a hard yes, they do phenomenal IPAs. Uh Cassagria, not sure. Celador Ales, Torrents have not really been to Torr ooh, wild ales and says. Um I'm gonna put an S just because I would like to look that up, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

Um spruing. I I've been there before a few times. Okay. They do they do some pretty decent stuff, enough to be uh at minimum an S. I'll throw them I'll throw them in Y if you if you've got some good Yeah, and and they do uh I know that uh Cooper of Addi is really likes them.

SPEAKER_03 19:34

Nice. Chapman, haven't heard of.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

No.

SPEAKER_03 19:38

Claremont, have not heard of. Common space.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

Common space, I know the owner of the owner of.

SPEAKER_03 19:48

Dionysus, I have not been to in years, but when I had been there, I loved them. Um that's a big yes for me, also.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Um I'll put a Y on them, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:57

Yeah, great, great stop if you're uh you know about to go to the grapevine. They're a little off-the-beaten path between the freeway convergence before uh before you hit the grapevine going into SoCal. Um good little middle of the California stop thing.

SPEAKER_02 20:10

What what what's a uh a beer that we had for them a number of times?

SPEAKER_03 20:14

Like, do you do you remember the I could I could picture their logo, you know, it's kind of green columns with the fig leaves or whatever. It's it's been a long time since I've seen them around NorCal. I don't know how much their distribution has fallen off from up here, but uh they were very popular at CapTap for a long time in our. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Alright. That's all.

SPEAKER_03 20:36

So I just don't know if they just don't distribute up here anymore or you know, what hap what have you. But um we did check. It looks like they're still running, and I'm glad they are because again, great, great middle of the state stop if you're you're driving the long the long five and you just want a beer. Um Dosent. Docent. I don't know it.

SPEAKER_02 20:55

No. Duckfoot's a yes, right?

SPEAKER_03 20:57

Hard, yes. I have two Duckfoot shirts in my closet. One purple, one black, both that don't quite fit as well as they used to. Trying to work on that.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

I think I think Dust Bowl's a Y.

SPEAKER_03 21:09

Oh yeah. I mean, the again, this is um, I believe Turlock was their original location. They had a downtown location, then they opened a very large, uh, you know, kind of farm style uh brew house down there, and they actually recently expanded to NorCal. We did not include them in NorCal because they were originally a Central Valley, which we consider to be SoCal.

SPEAKER_02 21:31

And also they brew SoCal. They don't brew in NorCal.

SPEAKER_03 21:34

Yeah. I mean, yeah, I don't believe they brew anything at their Oak Grove Taproom restaurant. Um Eagle Rock, I have not heard of, but you know, I like Eagles.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Sounds cool, but no.

SPEAKER_03 21:45

El Segundo. The only thing I can picture from El Segundo is a Stone Cold Steve Austin inspired can with a skull on it. That vividly comes to my brain. Um I'm gonna put an N But uh yeah, I do do specifically recall like a stokical Steve Austin related beer from El Segundo. Oh, that's a I'm sure if I Google it later I could send it to you. Uh Enigrin. Don't know it.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

No.

SPEAKER_03 22:15

Not Epic. Epic Epic Big E P P I G. What an epic brewing. I kind of want to try it just because I like the name. But um Escape Brewing Uh Fall Brewing, not sure. Uh Figaroa Mountain Brewing is a yes. Uh, what's a beer? The lizard? The the spiny lizard? Something lizard? They have a very famous beer with a lizard on it.

SPEAKER_02 22:42

I know that they have a um like a it's like an orange cream IPA or something that I know a lot of people really like. I can't think of the name of it either.

SPEAKER_03 22:51

They're they're one of those uh been around before the boom kind of breweries and still are kicking, so you know, props to them. Uh another also before the boom. Uh Firestone Walker is a hard yes.

SPEAKER_02 23:05

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:06

Yeah. Full circle is a yes. You may notice them from their um kind of cartoonish skull logo with the sprout coming out of its head. Uh they did a lot of fruited sours that were big on shelves for a long time in Northern California. Um, but also cool brewery, uh, down kind of the Fresno area. Gamecraft brewing is also a hard yes. Uh if you are a gamer nerd, you like retro games, you like the whole aesthetic, that brewery is very fun. It's if you walk in, yeah, it's it's you walk in and it is very true to its name, and also has a phenomenal selection of beers, uh including you know, rice lager style PAs. Uh Greencheek Beer Co. I have seen their cans a million times. I'm gonna put an S for me being a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Yeah, put an S I know I've had Green Cheek before, but it's not to the point where I'm like, oh man, so good.

SPEAKER_03 24:00

My memory of Green Cheek is a can that poured like just a thick amount of yeast and sediment.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

That's that's my wonder if I like it then. Let's put no one, let's just put an N on that. Let's not even put up for debate. That's not gonna be.

SPEAKER_03 24:12

I mean, I I'm sure they have a lot of great beer, but from what I've had here in Northern California, it was not the best memory. Green Room, no idea. Grit Cycle, also no idea. Gun whale, like the name. Just picture just picture a whale with biceps.

SPEAKER_02 24:30

Someone's out with gunwheels out.

SPEAKER_03 24:33

Hangar 24. You know, uh I'm gonna go with uh I don't know their ownership situation. I believe they'd been bought at some point at some time. Uh, but I do have very fond memories of early beer drinking before I was ever into IPAs or anything bitter. They had a chocolate porter and an orange wheat. That kind of sucked me into the beer game. They were a very early player in my uh my my drinking something that isn't, you know.

SPEAKER_02 25:01

Give them a why. Give them a why just because that that that's that's touching.

SPEAKER_03 25:06

That is. I mean they very, very, very early memories of my uh of those chocolate porters. Phenomenal chocolate porter.

SPEAKER_02 25:13

Helix cool name, not heard of it.

SPEAKER_03 25:16

Yeah. Highland Park is a yes. Um, so Highland Park brewing, fun story. I had gone to LA to visit my cousin, who is um very artsy, does phenomenal work, um, and had lived in LA for a while, uh, specifically North LA if I recall. And Highland Park had a bunch of really fun beers, uh, good selection, good quality. I mean, all the things you look for in a brewery, fun aesthetic. Um, very positive LA experience.

SPEAKER_02 25:46

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 25:47

Homage. It rings a bell, but I'm not sure about it.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

I feel like you've talked about it before, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 25:53

I may have made made some homages before, but I don't have anything that's popping in my brain. So I'm like, oh no. Hop non is a hard yes. This is a smaller San Diego brewery. Um great, great logoing. You know, it's the classic anonymous mask. Um, really great range of beers. Um yeah, it's a yes for me. Um I know you haven't had it, but uh I'm strongly enough, go for it. If if you if you were in San Diego, you would enjoy their beer. Uh Indie Brewery Arts gonna be a good one. So I think that's Indy Brewing Code. Too many buzzwords, yeah, too many buzzwords. Uh institution ale rings a bell, but I don't think so.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Ironfire. Ironfire, no.

SPEAKER_03 26:39

Carl Strauss.

SPEAKER_02 26:40

I will say Carl say yes. I was gonna say I would say yes if for no other reason, but because uh on a hot day in Disneyland, being able to go up to their their their beer truck was clutch, and now I know they have like a better like tap situation in California venture there. But just from having so many of their beers there, um, in a good environment, I I have to say I have to say yes to them.

SPEAKER_03 27:06

Yeah. Um King's Brewing Company, I have had a lot of their collaboration beers. I don't know how much I've had. Oh. You know what? Was it King's Brewing that did the collaboration beer? Oh, it was not New Belgium. Um, it's a gold can. It was a collaboration with uh one of the larger breweries. No, no, no, a bigger one. I I wanna say it's not New Belgium. It's it's one of those of the New Belgium caliber. Gold can dun dun dun dun. Oh, it's gonna bug me because uh it was for a long time, I believe if it's the one I'm thinking of, it was one that was at Whole Foods. And it was a mix of um Pilsner and barrel age something. If it comes back to me, I will say it and I will share it, but it is eluding me currently. Um regardless. Yep, sorry, wrong wrong button. Uh yeah, no, I've had a few different Kings Brewing collabs, always enjoyed them. Um LA Aleworks, lazy name. I want to say no. I do like the Aleworks though. No last name brewing. It sounds like you got divorced and had to change your plans last minute.

SPEAKER_02 28:37

Um Yeah, that seems that seems a little iffy. Uh Libertine, I I say hard yes. They're so good, they're awesome. They're they're a slow brewery. You've been there, right?

SPEAKER_03 28:49

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 28:50

Other sours of next level. Phenomenal.

SPEAKER_03 28:53

Lost Abbey. Lost Abbey is a hard yes. So fun story, again, back to my early drinking days. Um one of Stone's original brew houses had been taken over by it was not Pizza Port, but Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey. Uh, two very dramatically different art styles in the same brewery, and it was like split 50-50, you know, half the board on one side, half the board to another, and both were phenomenal. Um, which leads me to remember we have to look up if port is still in business. But uh port brewing is also a very good brewery if they are still around, which I hope they are. But yes, uh Lost Abbey, um, Belgian styles, uh, you know, whatever you can think of, they do a phenomenal brew.

SPEAKER_02 29:37

But where are those um those crazy monks brewing up? They got it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:41

Um crazy monks want to enjoy some good weather, is what it sounded like. Um, yeah, nah. I've no experience.

SPEAKER_02 29:51

Made West growing company. Made West. It sounds like it should be like Made West should be like I don't know, like floating.

SPEAKER_03 29:59

Mike Hess is a yes for me. Um most known for their fancy cans that open at the whole top of the can. Uh remember you're talking about just some good good brewing. Just some just some good classic stuff. Uh Mission Brewery, phenomenal brewery. Uh I might be biased because my uncle had done collaboration uh Golden Strong or Trapel with that brewery from uh his home brewing. But um also longstanding brewery, very cool location, nice motif. Um it's in old, I think, cereal factory or something. But when you go in, there's like these giant round holes in the ceiling where there used to be like silos of some sort. It's cool. Cool location.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Throw them in there.

SPEAKER_03 30:45

Um yep. Modern times, yep. Uh put one of them as in the OSOE filter.

SPEAKER_02 30:52

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 30:53

Uh Monkish, yes.

SPEAKER_02 30:55

Yeah, we're gonna have a lot of yeses. Um uh, we've known a lot too. True. Mumford, I don't know. No? Noble airworld. Noble rings a bell. I don't know them though. Yeah. Same with same with North Park, I don't know them.

SPEAKER_03 31:09

I have had some actually, funny enough, I have a North Park uh Party Cup mosaic lager on my fridge. On my mini fridge, so I'm gonna put him as an S just because it's a split and I haven't had that much. Yeah. Nova Brazil. Yeah, they are on my they are on my fridge. Uh Nova Brazil, I have seen logos of, but I don't know them. O'Kale's not familiar with their game. Oka pogo.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

Not familiar with their game, but I do like the name. Paperback Brewing. I like that name too.

SPEAKER_03 31:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:42

Uh they got a couple things on here. Um, Phantom Eles, don't know it. Pizza port.

SPEAKER_03 31:48

Pizza port, is it yes? Phenomenal. Poseidon. Sorry, we're gonna sync that one.

SPEAKER_02 31:56

Hey, um Pure Project. Is it yes? That's the yes. Yep. Radiance. I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 32:04

I have had some of their beers. I'll throw an S on it. Um good stuff from what I've had. Resident Rings of Bell, not sure.

SPEAKER_01 32:14

Ringone.

SPEAKER_03 32:16

No. Not sure. Ritual, not sure. Sandbox, not sure. Second chance. You know what I'm gonna give them an S. They gotta have one more chance.

SPEAKER_02 32:27

Second Salem. I've never heard of that. I like that they're expecting burned witches.

SPEAKER_03 32:34

Is that just the cover for we burn people? I guess. Slow brewery. Uh I had a good experience there, nothing really stood out. Uh down to S it for now.

SPEAKER_02 32:46

Yeah, it's it.

unknown 32:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:47

Smart City. Uh cool artwork. Haven't had their beers in a long time, unfortunately.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

But uh I'll leave it in the email from yeah, let's put an N.

SPEAKER_03 32:58

Society's a hard. Yes. Phenomenal. They're like uh almost like a Russian river. They have, you know, the two sides of the board, the more American styles, the more traditional and funky styles. Uh just a great range of beers. Solario. Solario, not sure. Stone brewing. Stone's a yes. Obviously.

SPEAKER_02 33:16

Tarantula Hill brewing, I don't like it. I'm gonna put no because uh I don't like tarantula.

SPEAKER_03 33:22

Ten mile brewing, no, because I don't want to run ten miles or bike ten miles right now. Uh the brewery slash offshoot is a big yes. Um I just for some quick history for our listeners. The brewery was a very funky uh subscription-based brewery that did weird stuff. I love weird stuff in brewing, and they did weird stuff well, and then they opened they didn't do IPAs when they were originally the brewery, so they opened up a new brand, offshoot, which was an offshoot of their brewery, to sell basically IPAs. Um I had done some deliveries offshoot back in the day, uh, all phenomenal quality, just just good stuff. Um, we will lump them in as one individual combo because they are essentially the same brewery.

SPEAKER_02 34:07

Yeah, like Starmaker and uh and uh Yeah. Yeah. Uh Brewbrill. Uh Dew's brewing. Um the dooys aren't gonna make it. Sorry, dudes. There does not exist as a no for me, dog. No, really.

SPEAKER_03 34:21

I thought you had spoken highly of them.

SPEAKER_02 34:23

I've been to the brewery. Um so the first for me, the first beer that I had from them I liked. And then every beer afterwards, I'm like, ah man, I really like this. Then I went to the brewery, and I just didn't like the beers I had there. I also didn't like the experience I had there. I feel like the people that were a little too snobbish that were like boring, I just I gotta I so that's enough for me to just say no.

SPEAKER_03 34:52

Yeah, they're standing in our list, does not exist.

SPEAKER_02 34:56

No, there does not exist. It holds up, you know. Thorn Brewing. I haven't had it. Uh stacks in a rock. Um they are they're a fun brewery, they're right on um the the Barkadero, the main wharf street of Morrow Bay. They have a fantastic view into the bay. Their beer I've had there was pretty pretty okay. I went I went right home about it. I I think it's enough of an S on it. Um what I think is really cool is that they survived um an attempt of being uh removed from their location like falsely. Like they had a um they're they were meeting their their their payments for things and they were trying to be screwed out of their place. The people of Morrow Bay stood up and supported them and kept them in business and around.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Gotta love a community. Good community brewery. You know, it's just for that.

SPEAKER_02 35:47

Their brewery old location, it used to be a um rescue for uh sea lions.

SPEAKER_03 35:54

Very nice.

SPEAKER_02 35:55

Which is the first time I've ever seen a rescue turned into a brewery. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:01

Sold. Uh, how do you feel about three weavers, Jackson?

SPEAKER_02 36:05

I wish I had a hat from Three Weavers. Um I did uh I've done the brewery tour at Three Weavers. Nice. Um and it was. I believe it is it woman-owned? Yeah, it's woman-owned.

SPEAKER_03 36:18

Um I always see their food truck notifications on Instagram. I'm like, I wish I lived in LA right now.

SPEAKER_02 36:24

They've they have good beer. I think they're worthy to be on here. Um I don't I'm not gonna defend them too long uh because uh good beer fashion. I've already heard some stuff, so I've heard the I've heard some stuff that are is not so favorable, but I don't remember what it is. Uh but yeah. So Tygo Tayoga Sequoia Fresno.

SPEAKER_03 36:42

Yeah, um you know, Fresno's not a place you think of when you think national parks, but Big National Park motif for uh Tigasquoia.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

Um branding Fresno, Merced, Modesto, they all claim to be the gateway to Yosemite.

SPEAKER_03 36:59

So just a roadside stop to Yosemite at best, but uh yeah, yeah, we're no disrespect to uh our essential valley, but uh it gets really foggy and it gets really hot and it gets really arid. Um but they do have some awesome breweries. I don't know about the Topa Topa. Trustworthy, um sure they are I don't believe 'em.

SPEAKER_02 37:23

Um Unsung Brewing, I can't hear 'em.

SPEAKER_03 37:26

Um I prefer the East Lake to the West Lake brewing. Yep. Uh Wicks Wix Wix Wix Wix Wix Wix. Um That rings a bell. But I don't can't place it. I think I've seen them at CapTap. Uh and then I have to check on this one to make sure they're qualified. They're closed. Uh R.I.P. Port Brewing. I enjoyed you while you were here. That's that's the end. Uh honorable mention, um, R.I.P Council Brewing in San Diego. They were a phenomenal brewery. Um I think a year or two before they closed, I was given a growler of theirs from my cousin John, and I still have that growler to this day. Um, R.I.P. to, you know, all the all the lost breweries. RIP to the Angel Cities, the councils, the all the fun ones. Um, your your art will be missed. And your beer will be also missed.

SPEAKER_02 38:24

Alright. We've got the most sorted. We have 33 Ys. 33 yeses. We need we need to eliminate one yes. I want to take a quick look and just see if there's one where my I want that one off.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

You know, I think for me, it's gotta be between this is hangar 24 is definitely an elimination candidate.

SPEAKER_02 38:55

Uh if I were to pick one. It's it's hard. I mean I might pick three stacks on a rock just because their beer. I I wouldn't I've been to Morrow Bay and not made it a point to go get their beer and bring it back. Um I think it when it comes strictly to beer, as much as I I love the brewery, I think if you are in Morrow Bay, you should go to Three Stacks and a Rock. I think it is worthy to go and have an experience there. I think their beer's good. I think their food's good. Um but I don't think this is a beer bracket. I don't think it gets them into the uh the big dance. Um and actually, uh, I'm gonna have you do something really quick. Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Um add them back in real quick, give them a Y. Okay, three a rock. Because uh line one is is SoCal Brewery, so that's not a brewery. So we had 32 perfectly already.

SPEAKER_03 40:03

Damn it, where's my S.

SPEAKER_02 40:05

But at least we know um that they're at a disadvantage to start three stacks in a rock.

SPEAKER_03 40:14

Maybe the matchup leans their way.

SPEAKER_02 40:16

We'll see. Yeah, they made it in by the skin of their teeth. So uh do you want to do the do you have the randomizer set up so we can know?

SPEAKER_03 40:21

Let me verify. Oh, did I have the randomizer on a random sheet? Sweet.

SPEAKER_02 40:28

I was gonna say if you want to look at that, I will start talking about what we're moving into once you if you want to just kind of look at that. Um so while he's getting the randomizations we know what the the bracket's gonna look like. Let's talk about beer styles. Let's do a little review of our March Beerness, beer styles, uh, bracket, where we're at, what it's about. If you are just now hearing about this for the first time, this is all about beer styles. We got them uh into four different categories and uh started off with a total of uh 64 beer styles. We had the lager category, the dark category, the hoppy category, and the fruited other category. And any beer style you can think of for the for the most part made it into this bracket. Uh we had heavy hitters like the German Pilsner going up against the California Common we had to start things off with. But uh after deliberation in the last episode, which if you haven't listened to, I highly recommend going back and listening to to see how we got to these final sixteen beers. Um, yeah, i it's worth the worth the time if you're at all interested. But the final sixteen beers are in the lager style, Dunkel, Chuck Pilsner, Martson, and Doppelbach. In the dark style category, we've got Imperial Stout, Barley Wine, Scottish Ale, and Coffee Stout. In the Hoppy Ales, we have hazy IPA, single IPA, pale ale, and triple IPA. And then our wildcard fruited other categories, pastry stout, bread beer, ceison, and barrel age sour. We deliberated in the last episode, bringing it down to that point in time, and did a little bit of foreshadowing. There's a couple matchups here that are gonna be hard fought. And um I I've gotta say, I'm excited to get into that. How are we doing on the randomization for our soap?

SPEAKER_03 42:42

So we are ready for randomization. I am going to spin my randomizer, aka refilter my Excel sheet. One, two, three, four, five. We are going to paste this into our bracket format. And I will be pasting it very shortly. Sorry, let me just doing a little copy paste work here.

SPEAKER_01 43:12

Um copy paste.

SPEAKER_03 43:17

Oh no, we're good, we're good, we're good. Sorry. Um I have been staring at spreadsheets for my day job all day, and I am just might might be having uh just a slight slight brain fart on how uh you know how how this all works here. So as I copy and paste here, we're gonna do a little little drum roll mentally. Uh Jackson, do you want to talk about who you think has a leg up in our bracket here?

SPEAKER_02 43:50

And the the the brewery bracket. Um If I'm looking at NorCal right now, which I am, there's a couple that pop out. Just if you've if you've ever listened to the Beer Me Cast before, you've heard us talk about breweries. You gotta know Urban Roots has a has a good shot. Urban Roots has a great shot. And if I'm looking uh through at some Cinderella stories that might go further than you'd expect, I'm going to fight for Jackrabbit because I think they do a good variety of beer. I don't know if they're going to make it all the way to the end, but I will definitely sing their praises for quite some time. A new brewery, Geist House. We've already, on multiple occasions since the relaunch of the podcast, talked so highly about them. They do loggers in such a way that is uh scary good. Um but man, you got your you got Russian River in there. It's hard to go against them.

SPEAKER_03 44:55

I mean, just the heavy hitters in a tournament, right?

SPEAKER_02 44:58

Oh yeah, there's the heavy hitters that you just can't really go against. You're Nevada. You know? Um and and the thing I think is gonna be interesting, what I think will be exposed, are gonna be the breweries that you hear at first, uh, or at least we hear at first, and our knee-jerk reaction is, oh man, they're so great. But are they just one-note breweries? Is Moon Raker anything more than their hazies? You know, um, is uh field work? Do they have the legs? You know, they've got some some seasonal releases that are fantastic, and they've got a good set of you know regular beers, but are they gonna be going the distance? Can we defend urban routes long enough to make it all the way to the end on beer alone? Because this is this is gonna be talking about their beer. Um it's it's fascinating. Um I see we have the SoCal breweries in the bracket. Do you mind if I go through these, or do you want to go through them?

SPEAKER_03 46:02

Nah, nah, go ahead. Let's uh let's let's walk through this bracket.

SPEAKER_02 46:05

Alright, so SoCal. And this is gonna be going not in order of like one, two, three. This is gonna be going in the order of their matchups to start.

SPEAKER_03 46:15

So you can't help with we might mention a seed number, but the seed numbers really don't have a bearing considering this is kind of a randomized approach, right?

SPEAKER_02 46:22

Well I'll just I'll just go through saying the matchup. So we've got Highland Park Brewing versus the Brewery Offshoe. We've got Gamecraft Brewing versus Pizzaport. We have Burgeon Beer Co. vs. Dionysus, Figueroa Mountain against Ailsmith, Hangar 24 versus three stacks and a rock. That that's a they got here, they got they got lucky that matchup. I'm gonna say that right now.

SPEAKER_03 46:46

That's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 46:47

Uh Stone versus Alvarado Street. That's crazy. Uh Duckfoot versus three weavers, Mission versus Carl Strauss, Central Coast vs. Dust Bowl. I see those as being very similar to me, just in my my my head, my head canon. Common space versus modern times, Mike Hess vs. Lost Abbey, Tyuega Sequoia vs. Hop anonymous, Society versus Bottle Logic, Firestone Walker versus Libertine. Oh, you gotta be kidding me. Uh I love both of those. Uh King's Brewing versus Full Circle and Monkish versus Pure Project.

SPEAKER_03 47:29

That is a battle of the hype, a battle of the Oh, the beer Instagram, the battle of the Haze. I mean, that's that is just as tough a matchup as you can get, because those are both breweries that could run far.

SPEAKER_02 47:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:45

And uh that that one thought I mean these these these 15-18 seeds, you know, on the north we have North Coast vs. Ghost Town. And on the south, we have Monkish vs. Pier. I mean, those are you know two two that just really pop when you look at this bracket. And we will be sharing the bracket, obviously, on the socials for you to uh debate, enjoy.

SPEAKER_02 48:08

You know, that's some that's some crazy some crazy matchups. So yeah, um join us next cast, next cast uh for the uh the big brewery battle.

SPEAKER_03 48:23

But send us send us your your your stat analysis, send us your matchups and predictions.

SPEAKER_02 48:31

Tell us you give us your filled out bracket, tell us who your number one turns out to be. Um but hey, we're gonna talk about beer styles.

SPEAKER_03 48:42

Um getting into our the let's let's start with lager.

SPEAKER_02 48:47

Let's do let's do the the the same route we've been going, the counterpart.

SPEAKER_03 48:51

We're gonna jump in here. Alright, alright.

SPEAKER_02 48:53

So Double versus Check.

SPEAKER_03 48:56

Before we start, um, you know, just a little beer mention. I had to pour myself something to uh prep for for a said bracket. This is a West Coast Paleo from Cellarmaker. Um Paleo being one of our finalists on this bracket, Cellarmaker being a contestant on our other bracket. I I think we're uh we're just gonna this is what this has really done is just let us enjoy the different styles that you have of craft beer. Yeah, and you're gonna pop for this bracket?

SPEAKER_02 49:29

To really consider what you drink and if that's actually your favorite or just what's available. Do I have what? A favorite for this bracket?

SPEAKER_03 49:36

No, did you did you pop a second beer case, so to speak?

SPEAKER_02 49:39

You know, um I I did not. I'm gonna keep it at one. I'm gonna be uh I'm gonna be a uh Yeah fair, fair.

SPEAKER_03 49:45

Um I had uh I had a two beer day today between work and responsibility, so we're gonna we're gonna enjoy this pale ale and get down to the lager style.

SPEAKER_02 49:53

So I would have probably popped a Geist House lager of some kind. I think I have a uh I don't know what I have there, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:59

Um Loggers and pales. It's the weather it's the weather for it.

SPEAKER_02 50:03

Yeah, Dunkel versus Chuck Pilsner, though.

SPEAKER_03 50:07

That's hard.

SPEAKER_02 50:09

That is last week I I was absolutely Team Dunkel, and after having this greet Chuck Pilsner, I'm thinking more about it. I think you know it's I think I'm still Team Dunkel, but Chuck Pilsner has made a case to me. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 50:24

I I would argue the merits. I believe Chuck Pilsner deserves to be the last Pilsner standing on this bracket. It's bread, it's refreshing, it's delicious. However, I think Dunkel's just got too strong a game. It's got a little bit more complexity to their game. It's uh got more more recognition, in all honesty for me. Um I reach for a dunkel more than I'm reaching for a Chuck Pilsner. Yeah. I I believe Czech Pilsner belonged here in the Sweet Sixteen, but they just had a tough matchup with a slightly more complex and uh approachable beer here in the Dunkel.

SPEAKER_02 51:04

And and they were a fourth seed, so pretty interesting stuff. Dunkel being a nine, and these did matter. We did rank these out of uh sixteen for each category. So this is a Cinderella still. Now Martson versus Doppelbach.

SPEAKER_03 51:19

This is tough because these to me are uh two slightly different seasons of beer, right? Martson, you're talking your beer fest, you're talking March's yeah, you're you're I mean you're gonna see a Martson every fun drinking event that is German inspired. However, the Doppelbach, that's how you rain in those cold months. I mean, you want to talk about a lager with with body, with the A B V content you want to give yourself that kind of warm feeling on a cold uh, you know, be it European or cold American night, uh, or cold wherever you can find yourself a Doppelbach. Uh I I will say when it comes.

SPEAKER_02 52:06

I'm gonna spit something out. It's gonna sound real stupid. Are you a tits or an ass man? Is how this looks. Martzen versus Doppelbach. That's how I'm seeing it. I think it's really sexist to say, but you know, the thing is, that's what you're telling me.

SPEAKER_03 52:20

Right? You you picture the big tray of uh Steins held by uh a German beer waitress walking toward you.

SPEAKER_02 52:28

That wasn't where I was I don't even know where I honestly don't even know where it came from. It wasn't from that, but I mean I guess you make a point.

SPEAKER_03 52:34

But that's the imagery you get with Oktoberfest, right? Yeah, Ice Beer Maiden.

SPEAKER_02 52:41

But Doffelbach, I mean I feel like Martin, I feel like it's like the party beer, you know, obviously. It is and the Doppelbach is is this the the the one that that sits in the coffee shop reading a book? Are they are they are they legit or are they just kind of like Doppelbach's kind of you know, just kind of family beer, a hibernation, a winter a winter warmer almost in some aspects.

SPEAKER_03 53:08

It's I'm it's just got way more body. And it's it's wet are you, like you said, um I'll I'll put it a little differently. Are you uh are you a summer, are you an autumn? Are you a winter, you know? Um if you love to just sit down with a complicated beer and you want to enjoy a little bit of that heavy alcohol buzz you get from drinking a nine plus percent beer, a doppelbach is your way to go.

SPEAKER_02 53:34

I love a doppelbach, but I think I'm going Martin personally.

SPEAKER_03 53:37

I will say from popularity, from general acceptance from the number of people who brew one, Marzen would be the winner here. I think Dolphbach, you know, they've got a great paint presence, but Marzin, they've got speed, they've got shooting, you know, they they they're gonna they're gonna score on you from all all angles here. Love a Dolphin.

SPEAKER_02 53:59

I will say, but I think Martson, yeah, I think that's what we're moving with it, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:03

Uh my my comparison um is uh Sudwork. Sudwork had both a phenomenal Marzin and Doppelbach. Uh the Ultimator, I will say, is a beer I prefer over there, Martson, just from that single brewery. Um the Ultimator uh out of Sudwork out of Davis, uh if you see it seasonally, do pick it up. Phenomenal beer. But um if you're at any other given German or even American place around fall, around Oktoberfest, uh get yourself a nice Stein of Mars and drink it in a Stein. Don't sell yourself short.

SPEAKER_02 54:43

Yeah. Half Stein if you're, you know, moderate. If you can. If you if you got a if you got a can to frame you, crack it open and go to town. But now we're moving. Slightly edge now. Yeah, it was close. That's gonna be how it is. I mean, next one's Imperial Stout versus Barley Wine. I am surprised at myself. I am I'm Barley Wine on this. I'm Team Barley Wine. I love an Imperial Stout, but I reach for a Barley Wine more often. I think that they are phenomenal when done right, just like any beer style, but man, they they just got that sweetness, they've got that complexity of of of flavor. I don't know how how I the last barley wine I had was uh was at um was at the uh uh the the beer garden off of uh like near uh what's it called? Uh Hopgards. Um and I just on a whim like you know I'll try that barley wine. And it was by Cellarmaker. So good. Just just incredible. Um what what are you thinking? Where you're where where you mind This is this is tough, right?

SPEAKER_03 56:00

Because we have so many phenomenal California Imperial stouts. I mean you talk about obviously, you know, North Coast brewing. You've got the old Risputin, you've got the narwhal, you've got all these dark thematic, deep, complex, roasty, sweet, big beers, uh, and other adjectives I could probably throw in there. Um all phenomenal. All all top of the class. I think California probably brews some of the best Imperial Stouts in our country. Um I'm sure there's other really great ones from other countries as well, but I mean California specifically phenomenal Imperial Stouts, yeah. Um however, you know, they're they're the team that's gonna be in the dance every year. If I see a barley wine on a menu, and Imperial Stout on a menu, I'm reaching barley wine. The one I had the most recent uh memory of is from Wonders Brewing out in uh I want to say Oakland, it might be Emeryville, you know. Sweat and hairs here. Um Wonders Brewing had one on tap that was just just phenomenal. Barley wine is something you walk in, you see it on a brewery's board, and you s you're just drawn to it. It's it's special, it's celebratory. I mean historically it was a beer brewed for celebrating big events. Uh it's big, it's complex. You've got a lot of hop in a you know, there's a West Coast um I do believe that early brewing utilized hops as a way to preserve these super heavy beers, which are more akin to our modern barley wine, from what I'm remembering from my research. Uh feel free to chime in and chide me if my histories are muddled. Um but barley wine.

SPEAKER_02 57:51

I remember, yeah, I mean higher BV for for transport with a lot of hop. The hops would would help preserve the flavor. Um yeah, no, and it's it's a celebratory flavor.

SPEAKER_03 58:03

It is a classical complex beer.

SPEAKER_02 58:05

It's a classical, timey and it's unlike so many other beers in the category. It really is. And not in like a way that like just because you're different means that you're gonna be good, but it's always a welcome taste. You know, at least the taster when you're somewhere if you see it. Like you gotta at least give it a a shot if it changes everything.

SPEAKER_03 58:28

Just just famous, like you had mentioned Sierra Nevada has their their narwhal and their Bigfoot. Uh again, you know, you you can swing either way. Historically, I've been a narwhal person, um, just because I find their Bigfoot a little too on the West Coast side for a barley wine. Um but then you look at say a Firestone Walker, who has their um, you know, their barrel-aged parabola, their uh barrel-aged sukuba, which is more of the English barley wine style, so a little sweeter, less hops. Uh also both phenomenal beers. Um, you know, the barrel aging adds even another layer of complexity to both those beers, but um sukubo for me would be a Firestone Walker beer I would have any time I saw it. It's it's a phenomenal beer. So when you're talking about you're talking about the matchup, uh and Imperial Stout probably wins nine times out of ten, but the barley wine is gonna come on and just make a strong run. Uh it's it's rare, but when they hit, they hit harder.

SPEAKER_02 59:28

Uh barley wine was a fourth overall ranking versus bar Imperial Stout of one, so not a crazy underdog story, but you know, taking out the number one. We got the number one gone again. Um which is uh which means that we only have one number one left currently. Um but next, Scottish Ale versus Coffee Stout. I I know you're gonna fight for Scottish Ale. You know I'm fighting for Coffee Stout. Am I wrong?

SPEAKER_03 59:59

Alright, name me the most famous coffee stout.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:04

Why does it have to be famous?

SPEAKER_03 1:00:06

No, no, just just as a thought experiment. Because I can actually name one. Um I actually have one in my head. And it's a brewery that does both of these beers.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:13

I don't remember the name of it, but the um the New Glory Coffee Stout, I really, really like. That's actually my mom's favorite beer of all time. Um and then uh I mean the you know the uh the device uh I guess that was technically an espresso stout, but it was a coffee stout. Yeah. Espresso's coffee. Um I know, but if we're if we're getting to nitty-gritty, they would have called it something different. Um the Cafe Belgique, so good. I don't know. Every time I have a coffee stout, I'm just struck by loving it. I just like them. And Scottish Ales. I d I gotta say, like, I I'll drink one and I think they're decent, but I I'm not I'm not a Scottish Ale fan.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:02

So, which surprises me, because uh someone who loves a dunkel. Oh, fire for a dunkle, you love that malt complexity. A Scottish ale is the epitome epitome. Epitome? That sounds right. Epitome. Epitomy. The epitome of a malty beer. It's one of the only beers where they intentionally caramelize some of the wart to bring in those caramel notes. It's a phenomenal style, it's a phenomenal. So that there's been I don't like caramel.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:33

But what I also say is the the that caramelization at that stage of the brewing process to me brings out a bitterness that I just do not like.

SPEAKER_03 1:01:45

Interesting. So do you have a delineation between Scottish and Scotch ale? Or are you gonna kind of lump them here? Because the Scotch ale is almost akin to an English barley wine where it's this complex, heavy, you know, beer, whereas the Scottish is more that drinkable, still slightly higher ABV, but malty and sweet and complex. And for me, that malty sweetness, yeah. The well, I think you'd probably like a scotch more if you don't like the the bitterness because the Scotch have a little bit more sweetness, obviously, from the higher ABV and the higher sugar content.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:26

I'm gonna tell you right now I'm taking a barley wine over a Scotch ale, and not to look ahead, but any day of the week, it's gonna I mean I'm Yeah, and I will say I don't believe Scotch belongs as Scottish.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:38

I think Scottish is its own lane. They're related, but you know, they're cousins. Um as far as Scotchales go, and coffee stouts go, there is a brewery that is famous. It's a national brewery, Founders Brewing.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:54

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:55

You know the coffee stout from Founders.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:58

Yes, I've had it, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:00

The KBS, the Kentucky Breakfast Stout. Um The Kentucky Breakfast Stout is a phenomenal beer, but I am picking Oh, actually, sorry, I just mixed that up. Um Old Chubb is not Founders. Old Chubb is uh is New Belgium, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:19

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:20

Yeah, I'm gonna be able to do it. New Belgium also has a coffee stout. It's uh a green oh no, that's a coconut. Wow, I just mix up two of my national breweries.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:28

Old Chubb, Old Chubb is Oscar Blues. Oscar Blues, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:32

Oh, I'm mixing up all my breweries here. Yes, so sorry. Um my my point is slightly less uh related now, but in terms of nationally distributed shelf beers that you can get, old Chubb is a phenomenal, phenomenal beer. Um would I reach for an old Chubb over a local artisan coffee stout? Probably not. I think the coffee stout does benefit from specialty collaboration from local collaboration from community. I do believe a coffee stout is different anywhere you're gonna go.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:12

Yeah, and it and it has that varying like how how coffee like will it be? Um, will it be the coffee roastiness? Will it be the coffee bitterness? Will it be both? Well are they bringing in like how how would how does it work its way in? And and for that, you know, it's always gonna be good, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:33

Uh, Eliza. Do you know it off off my naming it?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:41

Wait, a Liza.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:42

New Orleans, a New Orleans iced coffee sign that might just be the game winner there. Um but also to circle back to my earlier kerfuffle. Founders has uh old dirty bastard. I believe it is. Yeah. Also another famous Scottish Ale. I think Scottish Ales are phenomenal beers. I will say that Coffee Stout might just have the advantage in its ability to change and wiggle and adapt. So I will give Coffee Stout the uh I'll give them the edge there.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:17

But it was close, and Coffee Stout um is the number two. It's the number two, and Scottish Ale was the number six. So that's right now. Very interesting. Um, but we're moving to Hoppy L's, and we gotta we gotta talk about hazy IPA versus single IPA. I have my vote right off the bat.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:39

Alright, say at the same time. One, three, two, two, three, one, single. Single IPA. Oh. I mean, a single IPA to me is is tough to to identify. I mean, you look at any brewery in America, their flagship ID. IPA is, you know, gonna be a single IPA, right? Oak Park Brewings IPA, um, any self-titled, uh what, delicious IPA from Stone. Uh Scar Nevada is a weird one because two of their most famous hobby ales are a pale ale and then a Imperial IPA and the Torpedo, which is basically a double. I would say that single IPAs are kind of a They have they have one game, and it's it's we're the we're the IPA. We're here, it's like having still being It's like having a tall dude in the middle of the floor. You gotta have a tall dude in the middle of the floor.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:42

But it comes down to like it is for Hazy, and I know you're gonna argue it too. It comes down to the hops. It comes down to the hops 100%, as it should for a hot the Hop BL category. You can have citrusy, you can have piney, um, but it's gonna be crisp, you know, it's gonna be clean, it's not gonna be too heavy, you're gonna be able to drink a couple and not not feel exploded and just not good. Um they are simplistic, but when done right, phenomenal. And I feel like there is a way to make a bad IPA, like a bad single IPA, and it it's one of those beers that's a really good barometer for a brewery to see if they got the stuff. There is a lot you can hide behind with a hazy IPA. Now you can do a lot with a hazy IPA when it but you can do a lot of that with the single IPA. But since it is so usually just so dry hopped, just dry hopped to hell, it can hide a lot of hurt. And now that could be a positive or negative. The positive being you're gonna get a at minimum a good beer. You know, you don't get very many poor hazy IPAs. Uh poor. Um but I I think again, if it comes down to the craft of it all, I think a single IPA outranks a hazy IPA as the better beer style.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:12

So for me, and this goes back again to the hobby, with a hazy, you can create that same IPA all the way up through the brewing process that you do with the single. But then you have this palette of dry hopping schedule, of whirlpool, of means to infuse more hoppiness. You're talking cryo, you're talking, you know, the the dry hop a single IPA? You can, but it it doesn't bring that that volume, that hoppiness to the forefront. Um if we're saying hoppy ale, there's there's two sides, right? There are three technically. There are, you know, the the bitterness, the hop flavor, and the aroma. You're gonna get hop flavor and aroma more out of a hazy. Um it's it's definitely basketball terms. I would argue it's volume scoring.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:05

I would argue about the flavor. I think you can still get a lot of hop flavor in a single IPA. I think that aroma, you're not wrong, but you can still you can still get some good dry hop. Um both you can wet hop. I think the wet hop comes out stronger in a single IPA because you you're inherently getting more of that natural aroma as well. I I I I'm I'm not gonna budge from my from this. And and I I like a hazy IPA.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:32

This might be the coin flip. This might be the coin flip, then. I mean, you know, it's neck and neck, it might come down to that over time decider.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:40

Do you want to um do you want to call it?

SPEAKER_03 1:09:45

Uh sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:46

Alright, so uh you're you're going for hazy. Pick for hazy in three, two, one. Heads. Landed tails. I'm not kidding.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:59

Oh, three tails in a row? I don't like this computer program.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:03

Let me flip it again just to see what happens next. Tails again. Flip it again and see what happens next. Heads. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:12

I just want to make sure heads is possible at this point.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:14

I mean, it's done heads twice in a row so that now it's even. Tails. We had three tails in a row. The odds. Yeah. Alright. Single IPA. The number one is going to be throned in every single category. That is fantastic. Not that that's nothing to do with why I was going for a single IPA. I do believe everything else has next.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:38

I I do I do agree. To perfect a single IPA, it takes more work. I think Hazy had the volume, the volume scoring down. But uh then again, James Harden's never won a championship.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:48

So uh neither has Russell Westbrook.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:53

Yeah, but there are plenty of pure point guards who have.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:56

But he's he I mean he was the triple IPA.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:58

Single IPA, the peer point guard appears.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:01

Um, yeah, I don't know enough about basketball keep going. Um next we've got the pale L versus the triple IPA. Oh my god. Because like, man, we've had a couple of really good triple IPs in recent weeks.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:16

I mean, almost drinking a phenomenal pale right now.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:19

There's just there's uh because you got you but you got that for so okay. I'll start with pale ale for my for myself real quick. When I think of pale ale, I think of Sierra Nevada. I think of Sierra Nevada Pale ale, and I think of getting a Sierra Nevada Pale ale at Sack State at um pizza on your ground table with um some garlic knots after uh after after class and nothing hit quite like that pale ale. Um also when I was first drinking beer, when I was first drinking alcohol when I was a young young Jackson, um I did not like IPAs. I think a lot of people could say they didn't like bitter beer to start. You didn't just drink a um first time I tried a torpedo and go, yeah, this is bam. But you know, I try every once in a while and be like, I don't really like this. And maybe and this is probably the most alcoholic sounding thing I've ever had happen in my life, but it's true. I woke up one day, the day before, if you would have offered me a a pale ale, I'd be like, oh no, that's that sounds awful. I woke up, and the first thing I thought was like, you know, I could go for a pale ale today. I think today I want to get a serious pale ale. I think that flavor profile actually sounds good. And I was able to get one later that day. Loved it. And ever since then, I've the the the hot bitterness clicked. So I I I I appreciate pale ale, specifically Syrah Nevada Pale for that that that unlock of just understanding a flavor profile. But man, the triple IFEA when it hits, it hits, and it usually does. Not about ABV, but that balance of the the booziness with the the hot bitterness. They're so good.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:20

I mean, at the end of the day, when you talk about hoppiness, you can pack so many hops into a triple IPA because you have to balance that that malt. You have to balance that alcohol you're you're talking about as you made the the point for single IPA, to craft a great triple IPA, you can't just brew a 10% beer and throw hops in it, right? You have to have the bitterness counteract the residual sugars. You have to have the alcohol uh esters, um, I don't know if that's just the right word, the ethanol, whatever that that alcohol flavorness that comes through also needs to be balanced with, you know, either residual sugar or malt. You fit in the hops do so much work in a triple IPA that doesn't feel like you're just throwing in dry hob. It feels like without these, I'm drinking a scotch ale. I mean, uh essentially if you took the hops out of a triple IPA, you're you're drinking, you know, a scotch ale or a strong ale or a or a barley wine with no hops in an English barley wine, maybe. Uh with without the hops, you you don't have a triple IPA, and that's feels obvious to say, but the hops do so much work in a triple IPA and that make it its style. And that's very similar ultimate use of hop.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:44

It's very similar in a in a parallel type way, in my opinion, to the pale ale, because the pale ale has that malt character that's balanced with a little bit of a hop. And just because it's lower EBV, I don't think makes it necessarily any less complex in brewing style, but when it comes to flavor and what you can get out of a triple APA, for me that is what pushes it over the edge. I think that that ability is what makes the triple IPA just edge out the pail. What do you think?

SPEAKER_03 1:15:18

I have to agree. I think the triple IPA is kind of the epitome of hobby ale. It's it's literally the the maximum usage of of hops as uh as a vessel, as a balancing act, as flavor.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:34

It's hard, but yeah, I I agree. Um I think I accidentally I accidentally moved the single IPA for it. Why'd I no, I did it twice. Why'd I do that? Here we go.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:45

Triple I single IPA is up top, yeah. Alright, now this brings us to our fun category.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:51

Pastry style versus Brit beer, Britannomyces.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:56

Uh I mean for me, if we want to do the same time.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:01

Okay. I know we're gonna go against each other here, but yeah, let's do uh after the counting number three. So three two one britanomyces. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:16:13

Yeah, I mean when you talk about beer, w i i in the the purists would uh would definitely chime in here and say pastry stouts aren't beer, they use adjuncts. Adjuncts are fine in a beer. However, to to truly perfect the complexity of flavor you get out of wild fermentation out of Britanamyces to make a beer that tastes good and fruity and complex is way more difficult to do, and in my opinion, a better result than shoving Snickers in a beer. Um no no shade of New Glory, no shade of the king size, uh, or you know, shoving vanilla and cocoa beans and you know, uh pastry stout is sometimes just that. It's it's you know it's a pastry style.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:59

It is a dessert, it is a meal, it is it is it has its place, but if we're talking about the better beer, yeah. There's no there's no there's no real conversation. It's gotta be the bread beer.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:11

Yeah, and you again you can't just throw Britannamices in a beer and think it's gonna be all good. It's it's even though it's kind of a controlled wild fermentation, it it still requires you to craft a good beer.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:25

It's a beer that it's the the flavor comes out of specifically the fermentation itself, which I always find interesting, which throws us into Cezon versus barrel aged sour. Talk about the yeast. Barrel aged sour. So I I before I don't before we do like a countdown three to one for what we what we think. My first reaction looking at this was okay, Cezon. You can do some some mild adjuncts, you can barrel age, you can, you know, uh you have to hone in that ability to brew a Cezon to get that yeast to yield the flavors you want, because you can have two different Saisons from two different breweries that are just base Saisons, and they can brew it the same way over and over again, and they're both gonna taste different due to what could just be temperature at some point, due to a very minor brewing technique, which is fantastic, which makes them difficult and impressive. But a barrel-aged sour. The reason why Cellar Maker had to take over rare barrel is because when you're barrel-aging a sour, and when you're doing the type of souring that a barrel-aged sour is, you get a lot of loss. Because sometimes when you're barrel aging a sour, something goes wrong with some of the you know, whether it be um an off flavor due to you know the way the sour uh played off of the barrel, you get some um you get some some matter that came through, some uh what's the word I'm looking for that turns that turns the beer sour? It's a normal word, the uh the organisms, the little tiny things, the bacteria, yes. Bacteria. You get a bacteria that that shouldn't have formed in the barrel that was maybe naturally there, even there's a lot of loss that happens. They end up pouring over 10%, like up to 20% of their beer just down the drain. Even that seems small. Yeah, I mean they it's just a lot of loss because it's hard to do.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:37

It's temperature dependent, it's control, it's it's it's a hard thing to master for sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:45

So um they're both complex, difficult beers. I don't think it's gonna come down to are they difficult hardcore beers to brew? I think it's gonna come down to what do we prefer, what do we think is the better beer style on uh intangibles. So do you want to do a three, two, one to say your your favorite, or do you Sure. Oh man, this is hard. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:12

So three, two, two, one, Saison. It hurts too. It's the same argument though, as Marsan vs. Doppelbach. Uh barrel H sour is is great, it's finite, it's rare, it's savorable, but at the end of the day, that Saison, you know, it can still be varied, but it's it's drinkable, and beer should really not be gate kept in a way, right? Beer should be enjoyed. Um I love the labor that goes into to some of these styles and these rare styles, but at the end of the day, beer kinda still comes down to, you know, the the bigger the bigger picture, the more enjoyability, the volume, the enjoyment, the complexity, the history. Uh I think Braille's sours are still a little bit niche compared to the Saison, while both are equally complex.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:16

And a little underappreciated, I'll say. I think they're a little daunting to some, but um, you know, I don't th I I I think that they should be tried more often by the the the common beer drinker. Give them a shot, but they're not gonna make it.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:30

Oh, definitely. Try it, try your local Saison.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:33

We're down to the final eight.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:36

Alright.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:37

Let's list the matchups. Lager styles. We got Dunkel versus Martin. For Dark Styles, Barley Wine versus Coffee Stout. For Hoppy Ale, single IPA versus triple IPA, fruited other, for Tanamyces versus Saison. I think we should start with the Hoppy Ales, because I think you'll agree triple IPA beats single IPA. I don't think there is a need to talk much about it after we went through everything we did.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:06

Same argument, right? The same argument. The triple IPA just packs in so much more that is hobby.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:13

Yeah, and I think I think that's easy. And now between these three, man, let's just go back to okay, let's go to logger category. Dunkle versus Martson. I vote Dunkel. I I vote dunkel. I prefer a dunkel or a Martson. I I like both styles. It's not going to come down to I don't like a style, and I think you can I think you can agree. But I would reach for a Dunkel before I reach for a Martson. All like a majority of the time. Like six out of ten versus four out of ten.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:45

Ah, see, I again I would have to disagree. I think the arguments we made for Martson, it's uh, you know, but Matitska, sorry. It's I think Marzin is just such a good representation of all things lager while also having a bit of that maltiness you crave in a lager.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:06

No, what you know I I'm just now thinking of it. It's too late to throw it in there, but maybe instead of the California Common, we could have had the Fest beer. Uh the beer that came out.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:16

I think I would still pick a Martin over a fest beer, though.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:19

I would too, but I was just thinking thinking like it wasn't even in here. Okay, you know, I don't want to I don't want to push it to a coin flip. Like I appreciate the Martin. I can I can say that.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:29

If I go to beer garden, if I go to beer garden, I'm getting a Martin.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:34

That's true. It's it you can drink more of it. If you're if it's coming down to that point, I guess you can drink more of a Marker.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:40

It's just more refreshing. I mean, when when you think lager, you think refreshing. Uh I do think that we we may have just sold the Pilsners a little short in this category. Um damn, that's hard. How did we not end up with uh a pilsner in the game?

SPEAKER_02 1:23:55

Dunkle took out German Pilsner. Um there was no West Coast. We just decided to check. Um the Italian Pilsner never made it out the gate.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:05

Honestly, I don't think I think Italian Pilsner snuck into these rankings over like West Coast Pilsner.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:11

Yeah, maybe. Maybe more.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:13

We'll probably end up doing this again next year.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:15

Maybe next year.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:16

Um Barley wine versus coffee stout. I'm team barley wine when it comes to this. I love a coffee stout. I defended the heck out of it recently, but I think the same the same arguments, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:24:27

The coffee stout's a little bit more ubiquitous, whereas the barley wines, again, that that one you reach for, the one you crave, and it's a phenomenal blend of Burring Prowess to balance all that heavy flavor.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:40

Okay. Brett beer versus Saison, both of these beers are flavored by the fermentation process. One from the Britena Myces, one by the Cezon yeast. If we're I want to think about these right now personally as like the base Brett beer, the base Seisson, no additives, no barrel aging, just like it at its core the beer style. If I'm thinking that it hurts my head to have to pick one.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:11

Um, and having b having a shared experience here and and working off the same kind of respectability of brewery, respectability of style. Russian river, phenomenal brewery, does both these styles. One Robert, uh, I believe they have another Saison as well. And then, as we talked about, the sanctification. If I'm reaching for a Russian River beer I'm reaching for the sanctification. I mean Robert is a phenomenal beer. If they're both on the shelf and grabbing both.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:49

But if I'm I would agree there with that brewery, but if I'm looking at maybe I'm maybe I'm agreeing again, actually.

SPEAKER_03 1:25:58

I was gonna say if I'm looking at breweries I don't know, and I see a Saison or Britannum or a Brett for the same brewery, I'm probably going to Yeah, you you're going with the the yeah, I mean when you when you see Brett, you know that that profile. Uh your Stone and Joy afters, your your various Brett Beers have have that kind of it's like opening um like a mystery airheads or you know, whatever random, like a pack of cards.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:26

Is it gonna be a sour Brett? Is it gonna be a more funky Brett? Like whatever.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:30

What version of this am I getting? Uh Saison's similar, but Saison, I think quite have the range of a Brett.

SPEAKER_02 1:26:38

You're kind of going, like, is it gonna be more funky or peppery with Saison? But Brett can be like you can look at and be like, is this a summer vice? Is this a is this a sour? Like, is what is this? Like it you can get some fun flavors from that Brett dynomyces. Yeah. I'm happy with it. We are at our final four. Only a couple more arguments that we'll have to make here, but we got Martin versus Barley Wine and triple IPA versus Brett. Let's start with triple IPA versus Brett. I mean This shouldn't ever have to be discussed. I'm I gotta say this these two beers shouldn't be but I I'm saying triple IPA. I didn't think I would, but I think I would more times than not. If I'm going for one beer, I'd go for a triple IP.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:31

I just made the argument that with a bread beer, you want to grab that and you know you want to know what you're gonna get, right? Uh a triple IPA does the same thing in my opinion. It's is it is it gonna be you know more alcohol. It's gonna be hop forward. It's it's and again it it with Brett Bears, you're kind of brewing a base like the E Shine Whereas a triple IPA is I'd say a little more crafted.

SPEAKER_02 1:28:04

And you know, but I don't I I if you're going from that standpoint, uh I think I think a brewer, like a brewer is gonna pick that Brett beer. I can appreciate that because it is such but I think it it's picked because it's such a fun, different type of beer, whereas triple IPA maybe it's just like, oh, that seems a little more boring comparatively because it there is more just like hands-on craft versus that mystery um what will happen with this this fermentation.

SPEAKER_03 1:28:40

I I believe with triple IPA the brewer is giving you what they want to create. I mean with Brett, you look at Stones Enjoy After, and it's hey, crack this open sometime in the future, see what the Brett's done. Like you said, it's it's more you're putting it into the world and you're you're confident it's not gonna be bad, but you don't really know what that final product's gonna look for or look like, and that's a fun thing to do, but I do think a triple IPA is just a better beer in the sense of it's intentional, it's hard to master, and it's gonna be amazing if done right.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:19

Yeah, moose ward, triple APA takes out Brett. That is a uh so the triple IPA, let's look back, was a seven seed, and the Brett beer um was a thirteen seed. So great rounds. Interesting stuff. Martson versus barley wine. Again, this should never have to be talked about. This shouldn't have to be a comparison. I'm going for Martson.

SPEAKER_03 1:29:46

Yeah, um we're talking I love barley wine. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:29:52

We're talking beer. Not that barley wine isn't a beer. People say that shit. That's not what I'm saying it. I'm saying Marzin when you're talking about if you're looking at both and going beer, you pick Martson. Like that is a beer. If you're talking about experience, maybe you're going barley wine, but Martson, that is the beer. Arguably for a while and for Oktoberfest, that was the beer. You know, like it doesn't get more beer than that, and and for a reason, a good reason. Uh unless you have an argument otherwise.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:26

I mean uh these these are both beers meant to celebrate, right? These these are both different kinds of celebrations. One's more of a you know, a rare occurrence, it's something finite, whereas Marzen is we should celebrate like this annually. This is something to be enjoyed by everyone. This is a beer that tastes phenomenal. You know, drink, be happy. Uh I I think when we're talking about a beer style bracket, um you know, we we talk about what beer drinkers want to drink. And at the end of the day, I think beer drinkers want to drink something that they can drink more than one of that. And uh for that reason.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:24

I think Marzin uh takes out barley wine, and I think we have to make that same argument against triple IPA.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:33

So Marzin was the six seed out of the lager category. The barley wine was the four seed, so it's the six over the four. Now we got a six seed versus uh a seven seed. The middle of the pack beers when it came to our rankings uh in their respective categories.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:54

And I agree you have to come down to beer is not about the the top percent. Beer is about being enjoyable. Yes, it's it's fun to have a phenomenally complex, beautiful thing, but if you're getting off work or you're going out to celebrate, you're look at what we drank today. Chuck Pilsner, uh West Coast Paleo. I mean, you you're not gonna be able to do it.

SPEAKER_02 1:32:20

It also depends on what kind of day you have, though.

SPEAKER_03 1:32:22

Yeah, fair. I mean, uh it might have been a barley wine day for me today, but might have been trouble. It's also hot and trouble, I think. I just want to enjoy a couple beers, right? You know, it's it's tough. I do think that all of the beers we have discussed today have great merit. Uh a lot of the breweries that we're going to be discussing next week on that bracket are gonna have great merit and uh relate to the styles, but I you know I think Marzin is definitely uh a worthy bracket winner. I I don't have any qualms outside of uh a couple of our coin flips.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:03

Um I am very close, like I'm I I I really liked that triple IP I had recently, the one that you uh you gave to me from uh mistake, ain't getting any younger. It made me real remember the other triple APs I've had, and that they are a really, really good beer style. Um but the uh and also the thing is I can probably, if I rack my brain enough, tell you every triple IP I had and what from what brewery I could not do that for Martzin, and a lot of that is because they weren't all brewed in the United States, but I've definitely had more Martzins than I've had triple IPs.

SPEAKER_03 1:33:50

Agreed.

SPEAKER_02 1:33:51

And I've had more repeat of Martson.

SPEAKER_03 1:33:56

Um I mean, yeah, like it's easy to remember rare things, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:34:00

Because it's unique, it's an experience, but one thing we haven't talked about at all between these two is we're talking about a lager versus an ale.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:10

Let's not forget that.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:12

I I will say when you talk about beer history, I think loggers have maybe not a longer history if you look at the overall arching history of things, but in terms of popularity. Possibly. Spontaneous fermentation.

SPEAKER_02 1:34:29

Wild fermentation, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:31

Um, which could have brought out some sour flavors with uh the cereal grains that were in modern era, you look at any given sporting event, bar, what have you, be it America, Germany, Asia, the lager does reign supreme. I mean, you talk about rice lagers, the plethora of styles we just went over, um macro lagers in the US. I mean, lager is beer. I mean, uh at its at its finest.

SPEAKER_02 1:35:07

It's hard to it's hard to go against that. You know, um I think Marzin takes the March Beerness beer style bracket. I think it beats it out, and that's you know, starting from the beginning, looking at this this bracket, I guess if you thought hard about what we're trying to do here, it wouldn't sound crazy that we would come out with saying Marzin. But uh man, that it's it's it's it's a it's a it's a wild thing that we just did for no reason. The Martson took out the American macro to start, took out the Vienna after that, took out the doppelbot, took out the dunkel, took out the barley wine.

SPEAKER_03 1:35:55

It didn't have an easy trip to I was gonna say I don't I'd argue they they had a good a good path.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:03

Barley wine was a hard one. Yeah, that's a tough one. That's a tough one. I I I I was cl I was close to really fighting harder the Doppelbach. We both love a good Doppelbach. Vienna Vienna Lager versus the Martin. I know we we got well we get to talk about that for a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:20

I love uh I love a Vienna, but yeah, Mars and Edge today.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:24

It's it's a hard, you know, it didn't just get, you know, I mean the American macro, that that's like a geni. But I don't know. I think uh I think it this was uh this was fun, this was cool. Um we'll post the the results, but Martin taking it. Man. What a thoughts to be alive.

SPEAKER_03 1:36:45

Who who was your winner? Who who do you want to make the argument belonged in the final two? And who do you think should have won it? Do you agree with Marzin? Did your favorite style get disrespected? Uh we want to know.

SPEAKER_02 1:36:58

Let us know. And the thing is, you can tell us in a number of ways. You can follow us on Instagram at BeerMecast, you can email us at BeerMecast at gmail.com. And um uh don't stalk us and find us in the wild and just come up and just start talking about Doppelbox to us. Uh find us in those two different ways. Uh, not that that's happened. That's just I that's what you say when you're you've been podcasting for an hour and forty minutes. Um we really do. Don't get mad at us about Budweiser, please. We really would like to hear what you think about it. The Budweiser deserved to lose. We like it for our own conversation, we like it for our our own insight, so please definitely do that if you can or have the uh the desire to. Um Martin is our winner next week or uh whenever we reconvene. It could be in a couple weeks, who knows? We're gonna be talking about NorCal versus SoCal. We're gonna go through all the breweries in our brackets, find out who the winner is. Do you want to leave uh leave off with any final words before we completely sign off uh on this bearness episode?

SPEAKER_03 1:38:07

Uh let us know which matchup you feel most passionately about because there are some matchups that we will be posting where you're gonna you're gonna have some big feelings. And uh I'm excited to to delve into the the roots. Uh you know, what what do we deem as a good brewery? Uh is it the quality of their beer? Is it the plethora of their beer? I mean, we're we're gonna have shots.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:33

Should we be taking into into account experience and food? Let us know. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:38:38

That's yeah, that's uh whoo. Next next episode. We're gonna have to lock in.

SPEAKER_02 1:38:44

It's gonna be a fat one. Um, but again, thank you guys for listening. You could be doing any other number of things besides listen to this podcast, listen to music, listen to audiobooks, whatever it might be. We do appreciate you joining on and uh listen to us talk about things we love. Um, we will be seeing you soon. In the meantime, go out there and try beer. Cheers. Cheers.