Tournament of Washington IPAs: Final Four — Washington state loves India Pales Ales — at least according to the thousands that have voted in our Tournament of Beer: Washington State IPAs. Yesterday’s IPA voting action doubled the previous highest vote count for a single day. And favorites fell. They fell hard. Every winner yesterday won by capturing 73 to 83 percent of the vote, except the Stoup Citra IPA vs Fremont Lush IPa game, which trade leads all day until 8 p.m.
What four hop-slinging breweries’ IPAs will move onto the Final Four?
The barrel roll please …
Thanks to your votes, we’ve narrowed down the Tournament of Beer to these four IPAs:
Rainy Daze Brewing Goat Boater IPA
Top Rung Brewing Shift Trade IPA
Stoup Brewing Citra IPA
Walking Man Brewing Walking Man IPA
Let’s remember that every IPA that made it into the tourney is worth7. Still, there has to be winners. We started with 64 of the best IPAs Washington state has to offer. Now, these four boss IPAs face off for the ultimate glory — IBU to IBU battles to determine the best IPA in the state. Which IPA has the moxie to nail down the championship? Whose IPA will win it all?
Today’s Final Four match-ups are:
GAME 1: 14. Goat Boater IPA, Rainy Daze Brewing vs. 10. Shift Trade IPA, Top Rung Brewing Company
GAME 2: 12. Citra IPA, Stoup Brewing vs. 13. Walking Man IPA, Walking Man Brewing
OK, pour a pint and dive into today’s Final Four IPA battles. Vote for one IPA per game, and only once. Voting for today’s IPA battles ends at 11:45 p.m.
Friday, April 28, Final Four Washington IPA Games
FINAL FOUR GAME 1
14. Goat Boater IPA, Rainy Daze Brewing (650 NW Bovela Lane, Poulsbo) vs. 10. Shift Trade IPA, Top Rung Brewing Company (8343 Hogum Bay Lane N.E, Lacey)
Besides people riding bicycles munching on pickled fish and chanting “Børk! Børk! Børk” the other curious happening Rainy Daze Brewing noticed as it was moving into Sound Brewery’s former facility in Poulsbo was the frequent kayakers paddling on nearby Liberty Bay. Founder and head brewer Mike Montoney wanted to pay tribute to his new home so he named his new IPA Goat Boater, which is slang for kayaker. When Top Rung Brewing founders Casey Sobol and Jason Stoltz aren’t brewing and bottling beer they’re climbing ladders as Thurston County firefighters. Municipal fire fighters across the country are allowed to “shift trade” and still be paid according to their regular work schedules. Rainy Daze Goat Boater IPA and Top Rung Shift Trade IPA have mounted quite a tear through the Tournament of Beer. Goat Boater is triple dry hopped with Amarillo, Mosaic, Centennial, Cascade for tropical fruit and dank notes. Shift Trade is easy drinking with mango, apricot, and pineapple notes and a solid, slightly toasty malt core. Poulsbo vs. Lacey, here we go. …
SCROLL DOWN TO VOTE…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
FINAL FOUR GAME 2
12. Citra IPA, Stoup Brewing (1108 NW 52nd St., Seattle) vs. 13. Walking Man IPA, Walking Man Brewing (240 First St., Stevenson)
Number 13 seed Walking Man IPA has killed it so far in the Tournament of Beer. That said, most prognosticators still assumed the Columbia Gorge area brewed IPA would go down when facing number one seed Bale Breaker Topcutter IPA followed its stronger brother, No. 3 seed Bottomcutter IIPA. Surely, Bale Breaker with its fancy hop fields and recently selected Seattle Beer Week 2017 official beer would have too much firepower for Walking Man Brewing and their flagship IPA, right? Au contraire hopheads! But, Walking Man IPA faces the IPA that took down Elysian Space Dust, Cloudburst Alternative Facts IPA and Georgetown Bodhizafa. We’ll let that sink in for a second. Seriously. Stoup Brewing Citra IPA is the real deal, folks. This should be a thrill ride. …
VOTE BELOW……………….…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Be sure to click the blue DONE button after selecting your favorite IPAs!
Check out peakandpints.com tomorrow and discover which two Washington state IPAs will battle it out in the championship game Saturday, April 29. The online voting will launch around 9 a.m. Saturday morning, closing at 4 p.m. At 5 p.m., the voting will resume live at Peaks and Pints during the Official Tournament of Beer Party. Both IPAs will be flowing from our Western red cedar tap log. The winner will be announced around 9 p.m. There will be much rejoicing!
LINK: Tournament of Beers: Washington State IPAs explanation
LINK: Hot Damn! Yes, I want to follow Peaks and Pints on Twitter
LINK: Explore Washington state breweries
