HOPIQ FACEOFF
United States · American Brown Ale · 5.2% ABV
70%
Overall similarity
hopIQ take
Blind Tiger Capitol Dark if you want a darker, more assertive brown ale;
Surly Bender if you want something softer and more approachable.
Both sit in the 5% range, so alcohol-wise they're twins. The real split is malt complexity versus oat-driven smoothness—Capitol Dark leans into roast and chocolate, while Bender plays it gentler with a creamy backbone.
At a glance
Generated from the four anchored axes — never hand-written.
Beer DNA
Body
Δ 3
Sweetness
Δ 4
Situations
In words
Blind Tiger Capitol Dark
Capitol Dark hits you with real presence. There's cocoa and toasted bread upfront, with a dryness that sticks around. The 30 IBUs aren't aggressive, but they're felt—they cut through the malt sweetness and keep it from getting cloying. This is a brown ale that actually tastes like something.
Surly Bender
Bender is the friend who's easy to be around. The oatmeal softens everything—there's almost a silky mouthfeel that makes it go down too easily. You get subtle caramel and nuttiness, but nothing that demands attention. At 24 IBUs, it's basically a gentle suggestion of bitterness rather than a statement.
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Beers like Blind Tiger Capitol Dark
View alternatives →Beers like Surly Bender
View alternatives →Both are
Similarly carbonated
Within Δ 2. Neither reads as noticeably livelier on this axis.
Texture 50 vs 48 · Δ 2
Bitterness
Δ 8
Texture
Δ 2
Only Blind Tiger Capitol Dark
Shared character
Only Surly Bender