Master of Marzen 2021 – Semi-Final 1: Hop & Barrel Brewing Company vs. Telluride Brewing Co.

Semi-Final 1 of Master of Marzen 2021 sees Hop & Barrel Brewing Company (Wisconsin) vs. Telluride Brewing Co. (Colorado).

Both are first-time entrants in the Master of Marzen tournament. Hop & Barrel emerged from their Round 4 clash with Hop & Sting and Telluride progressed from their previous round bout against Zero Gravity lol. Let’s see how this goes.

Packaging Design

Both cans are up there with the best Oktoberfest seasonals.

Hop & Barrel’s Oktoberfest sees a Bavarian-check inspired background of blue hops on white. The foreground sees a Kaiser-dressed party goer complete with stein.

Telluride’s Can is dressed in lederhosen with a Bavarian-check shirt. It’s a great personality spin on tradition.

As mentioned before, both are awesome, but it’s hard to argue with lederhosen. This one goes to Telluride. Running total: Hop and Barrel 0-1 Telluride.

Aroma

Hop and Barrel’s brew offers a pleasantly powerful aroma. A deep, malty backbone is accentuated by sweet and warm notes with a touch of earth. The warmth holds on the nose for some time.

OktoberFISH offers a punch to the senses. Dry, earthy and particularly warm, it lingers on (and clears out) the nose.

Telluride offers a more intense aroma that executes well, so they take this one. Running total: Hop & Barrel 0-2 Telluride.

Flavor

Hop and Barrel offers a uniformly flavored experience throughout. Dry and earthy, it’s a pleasant mix of seasonal flavors. The earthy bitterness sits on the aftertaste and builds a little between sips.

Telluride’s OktoberFISH hits just as hard as its aroma would suggest. Dry, earthy and bitter from front to back, it really leverages the malts superbly. A milder version of the earthy bitter lingers and builds a little between sips.

I find the Hop & Barrel flavor profile to be slightly preferable, though both are simply superb. Running total: Hop & Barrel 1-2 Telluride.

Body

Hop & Barrel’s brew is mid-bodied, smooth and has a low carbonation point. It coats the mouth liberally and is a tremendously easy to drink brew.

Telluride’s brew is a thinner, more carbonated brew with substantially more bite. It’s quite refreshing, snapping you to your senses.

As you can see above, Hop & Barrel has a darker brew. It also has a slight edge on foam retention and lacing.

Hop & Barrel is a smoother drinking brew and also leads on lacing, with head retention being a tie. Running total: Hop and Barrel 2-2 Telluride.

People’s Choice

Tied at 2-2, a spot in the final awaits the awardee of the People’s Choice. Let’s see how that went.

As you can see above, Hop & Barrel set themselves apart here, securing 65% of the vote. Running total: Hop & Barrel 3-2 Telluride.

Results

Two excellent brews made this Semi-Final. Hip & Barrel have booked a spot in the final against the winner of 4 By 4 vs. East Brother. Telluride will face the other brewery in the 3rd place final.

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.