It was this fine hoppy selection that battled against Eye of the Hawk (introduced the following year) to see who would advance in our October Madness tournament of beers.

The Location: Wired, 520 Third St., San Francisco

The Brewery: Mendocino Brewing Company

The Beer: Red Tail Ale and Eye of the Hawk Select Ale

The Method of Dispense: Standard bottles, chilled to ~40 degrees

How They Fared: Red Tail Ale, originally sold only by the pint or ginormous six-packs of 1.5-liter champagne magnums, now thankfully comes in convenient, standard-size bottle, and was a hit with those looking for something light and refreshing at the end of the workday. “Crisp and light,” raved one Wired staffer. “Feel like I could have a few and get right back to work.” (Editor’s note: That did not happen.)

For those staffers whose shift was truly over, Eye of the Hawk supplied the necessary kick for an evening started off right. At 8 percent alcohol by volume — compared to Red Tail’s 6.1 percent — Eye of the Hawk definitely had people seeing different after a few swigs. “What a buzz!” said one fan. “It gives me vision!” said one taster who could see clearly now. “Slightly wine-like,” was how another put it.

When the votes were tallied, Eye of the Hawk was the resounding victor over older brother Red Tail, and so Eye of the Hawk moves one step closer to claiming the ultimate honor of Most Wired Beer.

Coming up: The next October Madness event will be tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Tied House in Mountain View, so come down to the heart of Silicon Valley and try some of their Ironwood Gold and Alpine Dark.

Stay tuned to @wiredplaybook and @beerrobot for updates on attending future October Madness events in the Bay Area. Follow us on Twitter at @erikmal and @wiredplaybook and on Facebook.

Authors: Erik Malinowski

to know more click here