The plan
It was simple enough – take two interesting beers to the beach, taste them, compare them, BrewRank the beers and video it. Oh yeah, we also needed to pick a winner.

The setting
We had post card perfect day and beach side location. Brighton beach (in Sussex, UK) on a sunny, clear and very warm day (temperature was around 25C/78F)… If it weren’t for the pier and the shingles (should really call them rocks) on the beach we could have even been in the actual South Pacific. It was a Monday or maybe a Tuesday. The beach was pretty empty. Although there was a guy paddling his surf board and a few tasty bikinis around, but that’s not important. What matters is the beer.

We had chosen well. It was the Epic Pale Ale vs. the Kipling South Pacific Pale Ale. This seemed to a fitting pairing. Two unique beers. One brewed in New Zealand with lots of hops (Cascade? – I am sure we could find out on the excellent Epic website but we’re lazy) and the other brewed in the UK using Kiwi Hops and by a Kiwi-Italian brewing duo… Crazy. Had to be good.

Tasting Notes (abridged)
Ummm, need to re-watch the original video… [UPDATE to follow]

The Video (Beastie Boys mix): Filmed on Brighton beach in Sussex. This is the 1st in a possible series of beer taste-offs planned. Two great craft beers with lots of hops and unique tast – one from the UK and one from New Zealand but with crossed paths in the global world of craft beer. Backing track is Beastie Boys / Now Get Busy from the Wired CD (Creative Commons license). Enjoy!




The Winner
Epic won by just a tad. More bold. Epic scored 16 and Kipling scored 15.5 (out of 20). Both BeerVikings agreed on scoring and the winner (this time).

Verdict on the Flip Mino?
Well, the Flip is easy to use. Not sure about the camera work and the sound. Need to skill up on doing videos and editing software. Fun. Easy. This is just the beginning of Beer Viking TV.

Sierra Nevada Torpedo:

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale is a big American IPA; bold, assertive and full of flavor and aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine and herbal character of whole-cone American hops.

Victory Hop Wallop:

We celebrate the pioneering spirit of old Horace ‘Hop’ Wallop and those who dare mighty adventurous things in this vivid, robust ale. As our annual homage to the hop harvest, expect loads of aromatic splendor and bitter beauty.

Below are my tasting notes:

• 16.  Sierra Nevada, Torpedo; Dark amber. Woody, nutty & boozy. Alkaline & thick bodied. Balanced hop bitterness w fruit cake complexity coming through
• 16.  Victory, Hop Wallop; Golden. Grainy, floral nose. Well-rounded mouth. Lovely subtle Harvest brew that is one to see out

Both are awesome beers and would have either of them again in a second (in fact, you’ll see I’ve given both of them 16s) but I have to pick a winner and it’s got to be the Hop Wallop, probably just for the name (but maybe for the subtle approach they seem to have taken).

This is my first Victory beer and as Utobeer has a few more from the range, I’m going to make a visit next week a priority to pick up a few more bottles.

Final note is that on first sip of the Wallop, my immediate thought was I’d really like to see how Thornbridge Kipling stands up against this.

In a desire to pick things up a bit in the hunt, I decided to pit two very excellent beers against each other.

Thornbridge Kipling is one of my current go to beers. I really enjoy the understated use of the Nelson Sauvin hop from New Zealand that is quite fresh and delicate but still satisfies my hop cravings.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is an undoubted classic that is often most people first taste into the joyful land of hoppy brews.

The tasting was at the homestead, so obviously both were bottles.

The Kipling was first and I struggled to leave any for the head to head.  Don’t go to this beer expecting blow your head off bitterness. It’s quite gentle, fresh. A little grassy perhaps.  At first I was thinking the length was a little short near the end that perception was changed.

Even on the first sip, the Sierra Nevada tasted a bit heavy, maybe dirty even.  I obviously still enjoyed the beer and I liked the heavy hop notes more.

So, on the head to head. Like everything it’s all about mood, and perhaps as it was a nice sunny afternoon in Sussex I have to say that initial funk on the Sierra Nevada made me give the thumbs up to the Kipling here.  Well done to the boys up in Derbyshire, they really are making some of the most exciting beer I am tasting at the moment.

I’d love to hear opinions of anyone else who’s pitted these two excellent brews against each other.

Oz and James Drink to Britain on BBC 2 is pretty watchable stuff. In episode 1 they finish with train station pub crawl in Yorkshire. Nice!

They also go to the Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire.  BeerViking think Thornbridge is one to watch and the Jaipure IPA is worth having on tap but if the Kipling, with it’s use of New Zealand hops is a lovely, lovely beer.