Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Pale Ales April 21
MATTHEW USHER: Hello beer enthusiasts. I’m Peaks & Pints bartender Matthew Usher. Sixty-four sudsy competitors (for the most part) were selected and seeded by the public in early March for the Peaks and Pints Tournament of Beer: Northwest Pale Ales, which is now 11 days into the competition. These Oregon and Washington brewed pale ales are working their way through the tediously constructed bracket and toward ultimate supremacy.
BRITTNEY CROWDER: Indeed, Matthew. I’m Peaks Kitchen Sandwich Slinger Brittney Crowder. We’re three-fourth of the way through Second Round action on our way to the Tournament of Beer: Northwest Pale Ales Championship Party Saturday, April 29 at Peaks & Pints in Tacoma’s Proctor District.
USHER: The Tournament of Beer Bureau opposes all forms of legal and illegal beer wagering as it has the potential to undermine the integrity of beer contests and jeopardizes the welfare of beer drinkers and the beer community.
CROWDER: A little late for that announcement my friend. Here’s a recap of yesterday’s Second Round results and today’s Tournament of Beer Northwest Pale Ales Second Round games.
Thursday, April 20 Second Round Northwest Pale Ales Games Results
Game 1, Northern Washington
Hellbent Seattle Sunshine Hazy Pale (#12 seed) vs. Stoup Mosaic Pale (#4 seed)
CROWDER: Released in 2012 — and previously known only as a string of numbers and letters — the Mosaic hop is the daughter of the bitter, earthy hop Simcoe, and was developed by Hop Breeding Co. With leaves hugging the compact cone, the Mosaic hop is beautifully shaped, with an organized and tight-knit appearance. It’s a unique and complex blend of floral, tropical, fruity, and earthy characteristics that’s known as “Fruity Pebbles”, and Stoup Brewing knows how to wrangle it with lightly toasted malt, as demonstrated with its vote lead for most of the day. There’s Mosaic in Hellbent Brewing’s Seattle Sunshine Hazy Pale, as well as other hops for citrus, tropical, and stone fruit hop flavors. There’s also the Emerald City Supporters, which is the inspiration for this hazy pale. Since there wasn’t a Seattle Sounders match to cheer, the ECS poured their energy into votes. With the ECS drums pounding, and the final buzzer, um, buzzing, Hellbent Seattle Sunshine is headed to the Sweet 16 with 53 percent of the votes.
Game 2, Southern Washington
Single Hill Sightglass Hazy Pale (#6 seed) vs. Odd Otter Ottzel Quatzel Pale (#14 seed)
USHER: Odd Otter Brewing’s Ottzel Quatzel Pale held a 10 percent lead from the opening midnight bell until 6 p.m. Life was good. Head Brewer Shelby was in the back brewing. Taproom Manager Andy was working his karaoke setup for the night. People were drinking the new Oddly Lite light lager. Then, the work bell rang, and the Yakima Valley farmers decided not to head home but rather point their cars toward Single Hill Brewing in downtown Yakima. Maybe they wanted to try Single Hill’s new Outlaw Country West Coast Pilsner brewed with The Outskirts Brewing in Selah. Or, more likely, enjoy the Sightglass Hazy Pale with citrusy, orange rind, and pineapple notes. Whatever the reason, Single Hill pushed it and the votes poured in. But, Odd Otter fans kept adding votes, too. At the final buzzer, with 51 percent of the vote, Ottzel Quatzel heads to the Sweet 16.
Game 3, Northern Oregon
Fort George City of Dreams (#1 seed) vs. Double Mountain Vaporizer (#9 seed)
CROWDER: Fort George Brewery City of Dreams pale ale grabbed the lead early and never looked back, nabbing 60 percent of the vote when all was said and done. Some believe Fort George launching their annual Lupulin Ecstasy Festival ticket sales yesterday might have created enough fervor for hops to encourage City of Dreams votes. Others believe Double Mountain Brewery’s attention is on opening a pizza-focused pub in North Portland. Either way, City of Dreams heads to the Sweet 16 to battle Buoy’s Pacific Pale.
Game 4, Southern Oregon
Pelican Paddleback Pale (#6 seed) vs. Worthy Secret Spot Pacific Pale (#14 seed)
USHER: Pelican Brewing entered the Tournament with a trophy from their Kiwanda Cream Ale’s win in the Tournament of Beer: West Coast Flagships. After taking out Three Creeks Brewing’s Cone Lick’r, Pelican flew in for the fight of its life against a Worthy opponent. Pelican found Worthy Brewing’s Secret Spot and pecked it until it had 69 of the vote and a spot in the Sweet 16.
CROWDER: Let’s weed through the hops. The following are advancing to the Sweet 16:
Hellbent Seattle Sunshine
Odd Otter Ottzel Quatzel
Fort George City of Dreams
Pelican Paddleback
USHER: Let’s dive into today’s Second Round action featuring four pale ale battles. Please vote for one beer per game on Peaks & Pints’ Instagram Stories. Voting for today’s battles ends at midnight. We’ll announce the winners tomorrow morning around 10 a.m., but today’s games are live on Peaks & Pints’ Instagram Stories. There won’t be games Saturday or Sunday. The final Second Round games will be held Monday, April 24.
Friday, April 21, Second Round Northwest Pale Ales games
Game 1, Northern Washington
Reuben’s Crushable Pale (#10 seed) vs. Holy Mountain Kiln & Cone (#2 seed)
CROWDER: Remember Tuesday’s traffic jam on the Ballard Bridge when Pike Brewing’s Pike Place Pale in downtown Seattle battled Fremont’s Sky Kraken in Ballard? Beer enthusiasts were eager to drink both before voting. Get ready Drawbridge Operator because if you raise the sucker today, I’m afraid you’ll either be Kilned & Coned or Crushed with angry drinkers. This Holy Mountain version of Kiln & Cone features Mosaic and Comet hops for hoppy, berry, resinous goodness. Reuben’s Crushable hazy pale is brewed with Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo, and Azacca for guava and orange citrus. This is the Battle For The Bridge. Easy Drawbridge Operator!
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Game 2, Southern Washington
E9 Brewing Don of Time (#1 seed) vs Matchless Eastside Club Pale (#9 seed)
USHER: E9 Brewing Sales Director Donovan Stewart is known by several names including Don, Coach, Donnyllama, Snake Lix, and Don of Time, the last being E9’s pale ale brewed for their beloved longtime brewer and now sales guy. Donovan the guitarist, who dabbles in bass and drums, has played with a dozen or so bands from his early days in Austin, Texas, to spreading sludge, grunge, and punk throughout the Northwest, including a ton of shows in Olympia. Being a musician and a craft beer enthusiast myself, it’s safe to say Donovan prefunked at the famous Eastside Club Tavern downtown Olympia craft beer mecca before shows. That’s what I would do. That’s what Matchless Brewing would do too. And they do often, drinking the crushable house pale ale they brewed for the 80-year-old tavern. This will be a classic Tacoma versus Olympia situation.
VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Game 3, Northern Oregon
Level Pixelated Pale (#6 seed) vs StormBreaker Safety Meeting (#14 seed)
CROWDER: Level Beer has three video game-themed Portland outlets created by Geoffrey Phillips, Jason Barbee, and Shane Watterson, a trio of highly pedigreed beer geeks (Barbee holds a degree in biochemistry, biophysics, and molecular biology) plus video games and pinball machines. Taking its moniker from Mount Hood’s reputation for breaking through clouds with its peak, Rob Lutz and Dan Malech opened StormBreaker Brewing with a mythical figure wielding an ominous pickaxe-like tool/weapon that rips clouds in half as their logo. Naturally, they added axe-throwing to their St. Johns neighborhood taproom. These breweries love to have fun. No doubt it will be a fun game.
VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Game 4, Southern Oregon
Crux Play Wave Pale (#5 seed) vs Block 15 Joy (#4 seed)
USHER: The final game in today’s Tournament of Beer: Northwest Pale Ales Second Round we have two heavyweights: Crux Fermentation Project’s Play Wave, a citrusy, low bitterness pale named after the whitewater surf feature built as part of the Bend Whitewater Park by Crux brewer and whitewater kayaker Chris Meinke, and Block 15 Brewing’s Joy, brewed with Talus hops for a bold tropical punch and sticky dankness. Block 15 will take advantage of Play Wave’s departure from the brewing schedule. Crux will take advantage of Block 15’s distraction hosting their 15th Anniversary Saturday. I expect a knock down drag out affair with this one.
VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, April 24 Tournament of Northwest Pale Ales Second Round
Game 1: Seapine Mosaic Pale (#11 seed) vs. Fremont Sky Kraken (#3 seed)
Game 2: Silver City Sonic Reign (#5 seed) vs. Everybody’s Mountain Mama (#4 seed)
Game 3: Ecliptic Cloud Core (#10 seed) vs. pFriem Mosaic Pale (#2 seed)
Game 4: Boneyard Bone-A-Fide (#1 seed) vs. Sunriver Rippin NW Pale (#9 seed)
LINK: Tournament of Beers: Northwest Pale Ales explained
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LINK: Tournament of Beer archives
