The IPA Showdown

So the time has come to compare the two Experiment IPA's.  On the left is the Experiment #2 (referred to as "Dry Hop IPA") and on the right is Experiment #1 (referred to as "Non-Dry Hop IPA").  To refresh you these were two IPA's made with the same grain and hop ingredients.  The only difference was the addition of the hops.  One was all added during the boiling stage and the second has less boiling hops and added some dry hops.  Same amount of total hops used of the same varieties.  So here's the results:




Aroma/Smell:
#1: Pretty basic IPA smell.  Not overpowering, but not too light either.
#2: Much more aroma.  I can pick up some floral and piney aroma's.  Much more robust in it's smell (if it's possible to have more robust aroma?)

Taste:
#1: Smooth, classic IPA taste.  Very similar to what you would expect from a larger micro-brewery IPA.  Good mouthfeel.  Can pick up some of the aroma flavors.  Enjoyable.
#2: Much more flavor.  While a little less bitter, it has much more flavor and mouthfeel.  Reminds me of a Lagunitas IPA.  The floral and piney flavors come through much more.

The Bottom Lines:
#1: This is a classic tasting IPA.  Something you would expect from Deschutes or Widmer.  Great flavor, very enjoyable IPA.  If you're looking for a cheap great tasting IPA that will appeal to the masses, brew this.
#2: This has much more the flavor and aroma of a smaller micro-brewery IPA.  Think of Lagunitas IPA or a lighter version of a Green Flash IPA.  This adds a lot to the aroma and flavor of the IPA.

Which do I prefer?
Between the two I really prefer the second because of the aroma and extra flavors that come through in the Dry-Hop process.  They're very similar, but side by side, you can really pick up the dry-hop process and the extra flavor that comes from that.  Ideally I'll add more hops to the boil and then even more to the dry-hopping to really max out the hop flavor!

Bonus Section:
I combined the two to see how they would taste.  They taste much more like #2 so the Dry-Hops really do stand up among the competition!