Given a finite amount of money and liver function, how does one choose what beer to drink from the seemingly infinite array of choices?  Is that the question that keeps you up at night?  If so you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find the results of blind taste tests so that you can make an informed choice on your next trip to the bottle shop or bar.  I encourage you to leave comments to register your own opinions on the best beers out there.  A list of posts in this section is given below.  Click on the title to be directed to the full post.

King of Ohio Session Beers

After a one year hiatus the King of Ohio contest returns, this time with a focus on session beers.  Nearly 60 Ohio breweries provided their best session beer for an epic showdown in Columbus.  A panel of 14 judges evaluated the field and picked the best sub 5% abv beers in four categories: session ipa, lager/kolsch, sour, and ales.  The champions of each category then squared off to find the King.  In an upset Ohio’s newest brewery walked away with the title.

judges

Marzen/Oktoberfest Blind Taste Test

With fall upon us I was curious to see how Ohio brewed Oktoberfest beers stacked up against each other and the German originators of the style.  So I put a panel of seven judges, twelve malt-forward but drinkable beers, homemade pretzels, and German music together in one room to find out the answer.  Spoiler alert – the locals did quite well.

oktoberfest-field

Imperial Stout Blind Taste Test

In this taste test ten iconic imperial stouts are pitted go head to head. The field includes GABF medal winners from Ohio (Boris the Crusher, Anastasia) and elsewhere (The Abyss, Expedition Stout), local favorites (Oil of Aphrodite, Oubliette) and well loved imperial stouts from throughout the land (Founders Breakfast Stout, Three Floyds Dark Lord, Epic’s Big Bad Baptist).

David meets the Dark Lord.
David meets the Dark Lord.

King of Ohio IPA Challenge

In this series of posts that span more than a month I teamed up with beer bloggers from across Ohio in an ambitious project to identify and crown one Ohio brewed IPA as the King of Ohio.  The process includes two blind taste tests, one with 16 central Ohio IPAs and another that included the top IPAs from around the state.

KingOfOhio_IPA_Logo

Sipping Saisons on the Summer Solstice

Saisons are a wonderful and increasingly popular style of beer.  Dry and effervescent with a flavor profile that is equal parts spicy and fruity. In this post 12 Saisons are profiled and rated from best to worst in a blind taste test.

Saison Tasting Flight

Night of the Black IPAs

Do you like your beers dark and bitter?  If so this emerging style of beer might be just the thing for you.  In this post I describe our blind taste test comparison of 10 Black IPAs.

Glasses of Black IPA

 

American Robust Porters, A Blind Taste Test

In this post we review the history of porters, sample three English Porters, and have a showdown between eight of the best known American brewed Porters to separate the men from the boys.

Porters Empty Bottles

Quadrophilia: Searching for the World’s Best Quadrupel Ale

A series of posts that describe this devoutly good and devilishly strong style that originated in the Trappist Breweries of Belgium and Holland.  Fifteen different ales are compared and contrasted.

quads_suppl_empties

Ohio vs. Michigan Beer Battle 2013

This is a series of posts pitting eight Ohio beers against comparable beers from that state up north.