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“Beer is beer; it all tastes the same.” I vividly remember the day my friend said that exact statement to me. We were watching a football game at a bar; at the time, I disagreed with that statement about as much as I disagree with anything that comes out of President Trump’s mouth, which is basically everything he says. After pondering ways to prove my friend wrong, I decided the perfect way to do this would be to do an experiment of my own. Not only did I want to prove that not all beer tasted the same, I also wanted to determine which brewery made the best beer. Due to the growing popularity of microbreweries in Des Moines and around the country, I decided that I would go to three popular microbreweries in the area. At each brewery I would try their flagship golden ale, my favorite type of beer, as well as a seasonal beer. Then I would determine which brewery’s beer stood out from the rest. I am not a beer connoisseur, so my opinion might differ from others. In the past, I have found that I typically do not like beer with high amounts of hops¹ such as IPA’s, but I still drink them. For the purpose of this review, I judged the beers on smell, taste and drinkability.

The first brewery I went to was Peace Tree Brewing. The company opened up in the East Village in 2010. At Peace Tree I tried their representation of golden ale, Blonde Fatale, in nitro³. Blonde Fatale is 8.5 percent alcohol and has no rating on the IBU scale. The smell of this beer was not very pleasant, as it almost smelled like a cleaning product. This could deter a person from trying the beer but if you get past the smell, you will be in for a treat. This beer was extremely smooth, and there was almost an instant rush of a citrus-lemon taste. The lack of hops suited this beer perfectly as it reduced the bitterness of the beer, which added to the overall enjoyment and flavor. Besides the smell, the high alcohol content also lowered the drinkability. It is not a beer that you could sit down and drink more than three, unless you want to wake up with a pounding headache in the morning.

Next, I tried one of Peace Tree’s new beers, Belgo Orange, as they were not offering any seasonal options at the time. Belgo Orange is 4.8 percent alcohol and has an IBU rating of 68. The beer had a very distinct orange smell, almost as if I was cutting a freshly picked orange. There were also hints of barley, which could be attributed to the high amount of hops in the beer. Overall, the beer tasted almost exactly as it smelled, it had a very appealing orange flavor with a slight hint of wheat. Despite the high IBU rating, the beer was not as hoppy as I thought it would be. However, I got the sense that this beer would get old if you drank too much of it, due to the overall sweetness of it.

The next brewery I went to was Exile, and the first beer I tried was called Ruthie. This is Exile’s version of golden ale. Ruthie has an alcohol content of 5.2 percent and an IBU rating of 18. The beer had a faint sweet smell but nothing much more than that. As I took my first sip, I noticed that the beer was as smooth as the Blonde Fatale, and considering Ruthie was not a nitro this was outstanding. It had a hint of lemon taste, as well as a little bit of rye, most likely due to the small amount of hops in the beer. This would be a great beer to have on a summer day at the beach and because of the lower alcohol percentage, you could consume more of this than a Blonde Fatale. However, if I had to choose to have just one between the Blonde Fatale or Ruthie, I would choose the Blonde Fatale due to the overall taste.

For Exile’s seasonal beer, I tried a darker beer that was aged in whiskey barrels called Jesus on a Forklift. This beer could probably make you feel as if Jesus was lifting you up on a forklift, as it has an alcohol percentage of 12.5 and an IBU rating of 50. The beer had an overwhelming smell of chocolate, almost like a mocha at a coffee shop, and the taste did not stray far from the smell. Right away, the beer had an intense taste of dark chocolate. It was obvious that the beer had been aged in whiskey barrels, as it went down very smoothly, just like whiskey. I was surprised by the high IBU rating, as there was no taste of hops at all in this beer. Jesus on a Forklift would be a perfect beer to have on a cold night around a fire, but seriously, at 12.5 percent you could have only one.

The last brewery I went to was Confluence. Their golden ale is called Capital Gold, and it has an alcohol percentage of 5.1 and an IBU rating of 22. The beer did not really have any smell that jumped out at me, but there was a hint of a fresh, almost clean smell, like a spring morning. Similar to the smell, the beer had a very fresh but sweet taste. Unlike the other two golden ales, there was no citrus or fruity flavor at all. Although this beer was refreshing, I got the sense that after a while the sweetness of it would get old.

For the seasonal option, I opted to try their Imogene Red Irish Ale. Because of St. Patrick’s Day, I felt I had to try an Irish Ale at a brewery and Confluence was the only one to offer this option. The Imogene Irish Ale had an alcohol percentage of 5.1 and an IBU rating of 23. The beer had a mild scent of wheat but nothing else. Oddly enough, the beer tasted similar to the Capitol Gold, but it lacked the sweetness of the golden ale. There was a minor taste of hops, but it did not bother me. This would be a great beer to drink during your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, as its lower alcohol percentage would allow for optimal drinkability.

Overall, I can conclude not all beer tastes the same. I can honestly say I enjoyed every beer I tried, but I do have my favorites. For my favorite golden ale, I would say it is a tie between Ruthie and Blonde Fatale. Ruthie is certainly more drinkable, but the Blonde Fatale’s overall flavor is just unbeatable. My favorite seasonal was Confluence’s Imogene Red Irish Ale. This beer took me by surprise. Even though there was nothing too special about the taste of the beer, I felt it really encapsulated what a beer should taste like: no orange or chocolate flavor, just good old wheat and hops. Out of the three seasonal beers I tried, it was without a doubt the most enjoyable.