Round 2, Bout 9 of Master of Marzen 2021 sees Twelve Guns Brewing (Rhode Island) vs. Urban South Brewery (Louisiana).
Twelve Guns are first time entrants and Urban South are second time entrants having entered the inaugural tournament in 2019. Twelve Guns received a first round bye and Urban south progressed against Oliphant Brewing. Let’s see how this goes.
Packaging Design
Twelve Guns’ Oktoberfest leverages the classic blue-on-blue check that’s synonymous with Oktoberfest, creating a clean and appealing background. The foreground sees white shapes and navy and gold branding grace the can. It’s sleek and inviting.
Urban South’s Oktoberfest has a vibrant orange label adorned with design elements including sausages, pretzels, accordions and all sorts of other Oktoberfest-y things. A stark shield shape encases the branding.
While both are very appealing labels, the sleek and modern take on tradition sees Twelve Guns take this point. Running total: Twelve Guns 1-0 Urban South.
Aroma
Twelve Guns’ brew offers an aroma of reasonable intensity. A deep, earthy toasted malt and a slight warmth dominate. The warmth lingers on the nose.
Urban South’s Oktoberfest offers a more intense aroma. A deep, malty backbone is both earthy and nutty, and also provides an excellent warmth that lingers on the nose.
On the balance, Urban South takes this point based on both its intensity and relative component aromas. Running total: Twelve Guns 1-1 Urban South.
Flavor
Twelve Guns’ brew is an intensely flavored brew from front to back. A deep backbone of earthy, toasted malts is accented by a slight sweetness. The earthiness dominates the backend and is tempered by a slight sweetness that saw me salivating for another sip. Both qualities build a little from sip to sip.
Urban South opens reasonably mild, but sees an intense rush of flavor on the backend. A sweet and earthy toasted malt dominates the backend. The sweetness dissipates reasonably quickly, leaving a semi-dry earthy backend that builds between sips. Between each sip the sweetness ebbs and flows, leaving a primarily earthy quality as the constant.
On the balance, the edge here goes to Twelve Guns. Their brew is a textbook example of Oktoberfest brews from front to back. Running total: Twelve Guns 2-1 Urban South.
Body
Twelve Guns’ brew is mid-bodied and smooth with a low carbonation and an intense mouth-coating quality. It’s a very easy drinking brew that’s an excellent vehicle for an intense flavor.
Urban South’s brew is light-to-mid bodied that coats a little and has a much higher carbonation point. It’s a nice mix of smooth and effervescent, but I worry it may bloat over several beers.
As you can see above, Twelve Guns’ brew is much darker and more opaque. I give a slight edge to Urban South on both head retention and lacing, but it’s very tight.
With mouthfeel being the main differentiator here, the edge has to go to Twelve Guns. I’m really impressed by their balance of smooth and intensely flavored. Running total: Twelve Guns 3-1 Urban South.
People’s Choice
And now we check out the public poll results to see who takes the title of People’s Choice.
As you can see above, Twelve Guns takes this point with 55% of the vote. Running total: Twelve Guns 4-1 Urban South.
Results
Twelve Guns’ first appearance in Master of Marzen went quite well for them, taking this bout against Urban South with a score of 4-1. Next they progress to Round 3 where they’ll meet the winner of Devil’s Canyon vs. Freetail.
Be asure to check back regularly for updated results, and to follow @sargentsuds on Instagram so you can vote on all polls throughout the tournament.
Sgt. Suds 