I hold my hands up fully in the air and admit I am an amateur with my expertise when it comes to beers. I know what I like and what I don't like and am able to explain in basic terms what I'm seeing, smelling, and tasting. But, I would also be the first to say that I am in no way a professional and I know it shows oftentimes. This is my first foray into beer comparisons so please be gentle! I intend to improve with time and practise :) I've come to realise two things :
That I really enjoy comparing and ranking beers against each other.
I love roping my husband into doing these with me (and he hardly complains about it as he is essentially "forced" to enjoy beers that I provide with very little effort attached).
As expected, sometimes our taste buds align and sometimes they are wildly different. With Breakfast Club, a waffle and blueberry breakfast stout made by Vocation Brewery, we were both big fans since the v1 collaboration with Yeastie Boys. When I heard v2 would be released, I eagerly awaited it to hit shelves as I knew it would be perfect to do a comparison with.
Visually, they both looked more or less the same, so I was a bit skeptical from the start that there would be many (if any) noticeable differences between them or if it was just Vocation setting out to continue to brew their tasty treat in a solo venture. The only minor differences between them were that v2 was able to hold its head slightly better than v1 and v1 had more of an artificial smell. They both smelled heavily of blueberries, but v2 was a much more natural fruitiness than its predecessor.
Where taste is concerned, first impressions were that v1 was full of blueberry notes but with a bitter bite to it. The smell was most definitely sweeter than the first few tastes. V2 carried the blueberry smell through to the taste in the same natural way. There was bitterness, but I felt that the v2 bitterness was better balanced at the start. The mouthfeel of v2 was thicker and creamier than v1, which made it easy to pinpoint which had the lactose on the ingredients list. I felt that there were more layers to v2 as I was able to pick up more caramelised flavours and hints of cacao with an oaty aftertaste. V1 was a bit more artificial than I would have liked and had more carbonation to it. Overall, v2 tasted boozier but neither of us were able to taste the cinnamon or savory waffle characteristics in either glass.
A few generous gulps in, however, and something a bit odd happened that both my husband and I noticed. Perhaps it was just us for a reason I can't explain, but flavours started to change and swap qualities. V2 morphed and I started to pick up a more prominent blackberry flavour which made it taste more tart than previously noticed. V1 became sweeter and fuller with blueberries (still slightly artificial). Having the sweet and bitter notes do a complete 180 on us was bizarre to say the least (and we are 99.9% confident we didn't switch the glasses around in error).
Both v1 and v2 are delicious and enjoyable beers in their own rights, but in a side-by-side comparison, v2 was the winner by a landslide for both of us. For me, it was strictly due to the velvety nature of the mouthfeel and the more natural quality to the taste as a whole. We agreed that v2 was the fuller and more realised/matured breakfast stout. Whichever one you can get your hands on, however, will still go down a treat and it's one of the first stouts that I can say I enjoyed drinking with more regularity.