Peaks and Pints has unveiled the official bracket for its Tournament of Beer: Washington State IPAs, a voter-based public tournament seeking to crown Washington state’s best IPA. Patterned after the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, the Tournament of Beer features 64 IPAs from Washington state, all seeded by public vote, and separated into four geographical regions: King County, Northwest (North Sound and Peninsula), Eastern Washington and Southwest (includes South Sound). Several breweries had two of their IPAs voted into the Tournament of Beer, which was the maximum allowed.
These top 64 vote getters — the cream of the hops — will compete Monday through Friday at peaksandpints.com, April 7-29, 2017. Through online voting, Washington state IPA drinkers will pick daily winners until the best IPA in Washington state is crowned. It’s just like March Madness, only with way more alpha acids.
The IBU-to-IBU battle of Washington IPAs grand champion will be announced at the Tournament of Beer Party, April 29, at Peaks and Pints, 3816 N. 26th St., in Tacoma’s Proctor District. The final two IPAs will battle live pouring from the bottle shop, taproom and restaurant’s Western red cedar tap log with the champion brewery receiving a permanent handle through the spring and summer 2017.
Look for the first round of Washington state IPA battles beginning Friday, April 7.
