Belt’s Beer Garden BrewFC #11: Miked Up

When I found out it had been 13 months since the last BrewFC battle, I decided to immediately look for two challengers to enter the ring.

I found a pair of New England-style double IPAs from two of Chicagoland’s best breweries - Mikerphone and Phase Three.

Mikerphone has been around for a few years now and have established themselves as one of the top makers of juicy IPAs in the state. Today I have their Heads Will Roll, a double dry-hopped DIPA brewed with Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. A four-pack of 16-ounce cans cost $17.

Joining them is a new brewery out of Lake Zurich, Illinois - Phase Three. In their few months of producing beers (since March 2019), they have made a huge name for themselves. I found their Adhara, a Citra and Galaxy hopped double IPA. It costs the same as Heads Will Roll, at $17 for a four-pack.

Now, some tweaks to the judging platform. I used to judge beers in five categories - Aroma, Taste, Appearance, Presentation, and Value. But, since the last two categories could not be judged blindly, this time I mixing things up and doing a 100% blind test.

I will only be looking at the Aroma (15 points), the Taste (25 points), and the Appearance (10 points) for a possible total of 50 points. From there, the beer with the most points wins.

Now let’s take a closer look at our competitors.

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Let the battle begin!!

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Beer #1

Appearance:

Very close in appearance to each other. Super hazy, copper orange color with moderate head. The white bubbles never made it over half a finger high and quickly vanished. 8/10

Aroma:

Holy cow that’s juice. A huge tropical blend of mango, papaya, and other citrus fruits filled the air with a light hop backing. A dash of biscuity malt hid behind the juicy aspects. 13/15

Taste:

Man, was this easy to drink. The mango and papaya lead the way with orange, lemon, and grapefruit following closely behind. Not quite as juicy as it smells but has a very low bitterness level. Has some slight West Coast qualities as the bitterness builds late, ending with some stickiness and a dry feeling. 21/25

Total: 42/50

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Beer #2

Appearance:

Very similar to the other. Super hazy, copper orange color with almost no head. There was almost no head ever to this brew. 8/10

Aroma:

Lots of good flavors but just a tiny bit less juicy than its competitor. Mostly had notes of orange, grapefruit, and some citrus rind bitterness. Very inviting. 13/15

Taste:

Juicy start to this brew with some hoppy bitterness appearing late and lingering well after the sip. Has big notes of orange, grapefruit, and tangerine but ends super dry and very sticky. Towards the end there is also some alcohol burn that stings on its way down. 20/25

Total: 41/50

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Winner...

In one of the closest battles in BrewFC history, the winner by, just one point is.....

MIKERPHONE HEADS WILL ROLL!!

Congratulations!! It’s actually Mikerphone’s second BrewFC title belt, as their Say Uhh! also won BrewFC #6!