Anyone can pair beer with food, but it takes a true visionary to pair beer with another beer!
This is not Michigan beer, but it is good beer and I did this “pairing” before Michigan Beer Month started. This is something I did to try and make my 99 Beers for Trev notebook a little more interesting. I drink the beers side by side and use the comparison to help describe what I taste and fill out the flavor wheel.
The paired beers were Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Hazy and Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ IPA, the latter of which I have enjoyed many times before. In the past, I’ve had the original IPA from a bottle, so it was cool to have that from a can this time. Side-by-side pours showed the expected difference in clarity, but I was surprised at how spot on the actual color was. I’m not sure if it is because the other hazy beers I’ve had were cloudier, but I expected a little bit more drastic look to the beers. Both of the heads had large bubbles and a similar color.
The aroma for both beers had citrus hop aroma, but the hazy also had some grapefruit and orange peel too. The flavor profiles were almost the opposite, with the original Sumpin’ Sumpin’ having a full mouthfeel with tingly spicy hops and solid sweet malt base. The Hazy Had some non-specific refreshing sweetness then bitterness, with some fruit lingering.
The flavor wheels. are different at first glance, but it is interesting seeing how similar they actually are. You can see that the original Sumpin’ has a little more alcohol, linger, hop flavors, and is a bit more dry. The Hazy has more floral and citrus flavors.
This was a cool way to compare beers, so I’ll be sure to do some more.
