Hopoff 2010!!!! The Great Lakes!!!!

From Right to Left, Representing the Great Lakes Region we have ...

Hoppin' Frog, Hoppin' to Heaven from the great state of Ohio

Misery Bay IPA from Pennsylvania

Victory Hop Devil from Pennsylvania

Weyerbacher Hops Infusion from Pennsylvania

Summit Extra Pale Ale from Minnesota

Bell's Two Hearted from Michigan

Sadly, no Wisconsin representation. It's unbelievable, but finding a Wisconsin IPA at Total Wine or Whole Foods is an impossibility.

And here ... we ... go ...

Hoppin' To Heaven IPA

The First Sip is ... really good.

If I knew I was going to have this beer I'd feel _________________

Angi: Thrilled

Zach: Really fucking happy

Notes:

The label is friendly enough to tell you it's 68 IBUs.

The First "Epiphanic" beer on both of our nerdlinger rankings. Thing is, this was $8.99 for 22 ounces, so do the math on how much a 12 ounce bottle would cost (I'm certainly not going to), and you have to wonder if it's worth the extra price you're paying. Ultimately, we want a champion that can easily be obtained here in Tampa for a reasonable price. That theory alone will probably lead to this fantastic beer's downfall.

Misery Bay IPA

This doesn't even smell, and really, have ya ever had a beer that doesn't smell before? Of course, this wouldn't effect Patrick either way (about 3 people will get this reference).

The First Sip is very distasteful but that may just because it's coming off the stupendous Hoppin' Frog.

If I knew I was going to have this beer I'd feel _________________

Angi: Bored.

Zach: Why would someone buy this beer when there's so many better ones? I bet you whoever gave this beer to me is connected to the good people who run Misery Bay.

Notes: This beer is apparently bad enough to get the Rocky Mountain IPA cut from the next round too. Imagine if you're Northern Illinois and you've just beaten Kansas, but then the NCAA tournament committee says, yeah, you may have won, but your tournament is over. Cold blooded.

I'm going "Undecomposed" with this one, and if I ever reference either of us saying "decomposed" I mean the unner type. Angi is saying proficient. She'd drink it if you handed it to her, but wouldn't be excited about it, so basically, if you're at a party and hand this beer to Angi, you're probably not going to get a smile.

Victory HopDevil Ale

The First Sip is okay.

If I knew I was going to have this beer I'd feel _________________

Angi: Sad that I wasn't drinking something else.

Zach: Bad because I don't really enjoy drinking it.

How good is the beer, when Angi no longer likes it and I have to drink the rest:

Well, I drank some of her remains, but I'm not finishing it, so well, I'm going ... "Undecomposed" again as is the lady.

Hopes Infusion IPA

The First Sip is ... surprisingly distasteful, but perfect because I'm listening to Jimmy Buffet's "Changes in Latitudes" song.

If I knew I was going to have this beer I'd feel _________________

Angi: No somersaults or anything, but I can get a buzz on.

Zach: I do not like this beer at all, so I'd simply say, "No thanks" with a satisfied smile that I knew I wasn't missing anything while some poor misery doo was about to think he found himself a great sixer and I may feel bad for him, but not as bad as I would if I had to drink this beer.

Notes:

Per Angela ... She's convinced that it tastes poor because the bottle wore off on it and thinks we need another. I'm not putting this is my mouth again once I finish this half beer.

Now, I've gone "undecomposed" on my last two, so I probably shouldn't here because three in a row is saying more about me than these beers, however, I'm going "undecomposed" again because frankly, it's just not that good. Angi is going "Dandy." She's happy with it apparently.

Summit Extra Pale Ale

Here's the story with this one, we were running pretty thin on "Great Lakes" region beers, so I gambled on the $1.50 it cost, but this brewer actually has a their own IPA as well, so it's cut. Lesson here, is that "Extra" is not synonymous with "India." (Who knew, right?)

Now, because of this I had to do research on Dale's Pale Ale. That brewery has a beer called "Deviant" which is their IPA, so wouldn't that make Dale's cut as well? Ah, the mysteries of life.

Ok, after an intense discussion with the judges, we've decided that Dale's Pale Ale is going to be cut as well, however if we ever have a Pale Ale competition it could win, and most importantly, if you're ever going to buy beer from a can, Dale's Pale Ale is the way to go, well, that is unless you're just going for quantity to tie one on and in that case, I'd recommend Bud Light or Miller Light. It's easy to drink a numerous amount of those.

Two Hearted Ale (look into it's eyes ... it's been telling lies)

It's a lover beer at play, it don't play by rules.

The First Sip is ... awesomely outrageous. You know a ten when you taste it.

If I knew I was going to have this beer I'd feel _________________

Angi: Little John says "y-yeah" (and it's even better on tap).

Zach: I'd ask who brought it so I could have a conversation about good beer with them.

I'm pretty sure we're both going "Epiphanic" on this one.

The Next Rounders

Hoppin' To Heaven IPA

Two Hearted Ale

The Cuts

Everything else, PLUS Dale's Pale Ale and Rocky Mountain IPA from the Colorado Regionals.

The Unspeakable

As poor as many of the IPAs in this region were, none were THAT bad.