Today is Sunday, and the battle of Winterfell is upon us. It’s been eight seasons in the making and tonight we’ll finally see what the Night King and his army will do when they take on the contingent formed at Winterfell. If you aren’t a Game of Thrones follower, then I apologize, because I’m geeking out over here in excitement! I’m watching the last couple episodes prior to showtime, and it felt like I needed a HopDuel worthy of the duel that’s about to go down on television.
That led me to pull out two beers from the fridge that have fared very well on HopDuel thus far: Boulevard Brewing Whiskey Barrel Stout and Founders Brewing KBS. Two barrel-aged stouts from two of my favorite brewers with my favorite show about to display the most epic fight ever filmed. Suffice to say, I’m excited for the battles about to unfold! Since I have a strong attachment to both of these beers, I wanted to taste test them blind so I knew my prior impressions of them would not cloud my judgement.
HopDuel Survey
| Better label | Founders KBS |
| Better aroma | Founders KBS |
| Better taste | Boulevard Whiskey Barrel Stout |
| Better finish | Boulevard Whiskey Barrel Stout |
| Winner | Boulevard Whiskey Barrel Stout |
Tell us about it
If you’ve read any of the previous duels involving KBS, you know this is my jam. So I was expecting them to be a pull away winner here, despite my appreciation for the Boulevard Whiskey Barrel. To my surprise, after losses in the label and aroma categories, it was a clean sweep for the Whiskey Barrel. The taste and finish of these beers are fairly similar, as you might expect with two heavy, barrel-aged stouts. I had a really hard time deciding between them. In fact, it took four sips from each glass to come to a conclusion.
I also asked my girlfriend to do the same blind taste test, and she chose KBS across the board. So for anyone surprised by the results, just know this duel was incredibly close. This is a duel that could be endlessly debated by beer fans, so let us know your thoughts in the comments.
HopDuel 