Comparison Night!

The night is here!  Sharing my Arrogant Bastard clone (normal & dry-hopped) with some friends and comparing it to the legend..

In the center we have the infamous Stone Arrogant Bastard..  to the left, the dry-hopped Smug Sonofabitch.. to the right, non-dry-hopped.  I don't believe I have reviewed the Bastard, but if you haven't tried it.. do your taste buds the biggest favor you can and try it!  Beer won't be the same!  Immediately after we all tried the Bastard, we sampled the regular Smug Sonofabitch.  A bit lighter in color, more of a floral hop nose.  Slightly lighter in taste too..  think if I cut down the batch size to 5 gallons the taste would be a bit closer.. also weighed in near 6.2..6.3% ABV, a bit below the 7.2% for Arrogant Bastard.  5gal batch would help that as well.  Nice malt bill to the Smug with a killer hop finish..   Had a bit more Arrogant then tried the dry-hopped clone...  and wow!  Aside from a still slightly lower ABV and bit different hop profile, this is almost SPOT ON!  So incredibly happy!!!!  Definitely want to try this one again, make it 5gal and use a different dry-hop variety!  YAY BEER!

We also sampled both of my Mystic beers, cause..  well, why not!  Playoff football.. pizza.. friends, might as well!  Mystic - Saison (Batch 1)  7.0% ABV and 28 IBUs.  Gotta love a local brewery's first beer, first batch!  Gorgeous bottling gives way to a gorgeous pour.. unbelievably heady! Damn!  Hugely yeasty nose, faint spice/pepper and nice fruit profile..  little orange, little lemon peel, some tropical fruit.   Great taste too.. crisp, dry, bubbly.  A classic Saison with some sweeter pear/apple/honey undertones and just a slight floral and fruity hop finish.  A superbly cohesive Saison

Mystic - Descendant.  At 7.0% ABV and 32 IBUs "Suffolk Dark Ale" which is a self-proclaimed descendant of this area's, my area's, descendants!  A melding of a dry Irish Stout and an English Porter.. wow.  Another hugely heady pour.. Mystic seems to love that crazy over-the-top bottle conditioning apparently.  Nice, but subtle aroma.. not a whole lot besides the yeast..  Belgian-y with faint roasted coffee and chocolate.  Another wickedly crisp beer with some of the characteristics of the dry Irish Stout.  Bits of spice mix with dark pitted fruit and roasted malts.  Nice coffee and bitter chocolate undertones with sweet molasses.  No real hop presence.  Not quite a Porter.. not quite a Stout.. and not really a total melding of the two, but a truly unique style and uniquely delicious!