Peaks & Pints 2025 Tournament of Beer: Northwest IPAs April 18
Laid-back is the essence of Friday. That means an early lunch with a Northwest-style IPA. Then, blaze from work early to grab another IPA. Dinner with friends at Peaks & Pints and plenty more IPAs … you know the routine. The mere thought of lifting a finger to wash the mountain of dishes in the sink should make you shudder. Yesterday, a good chunk of the Pacific Northwest changed its Thursday routine. Voting in the Tournament of Beer: Northwest IPAs was added. Yesterday’s vote total nearly doubled the previous record high for most votes in this Tournament. And all the games were close instead of the blowouts that have dominated this year. Cheers!
Here’s a look at today’s Tournament of Beer Second Round action and a recap of yesterday’s results. Enjoy your Friday and get to voting. …
Thursday, April 17, Second Round Northwest IPA Games Results
GAME 1, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Wander Brewing Shoe Toss IPA (#5 seed) vs. Boundary Bay Brewery Northwest Original IPA (#13 seed)
Everyone loves a good comeback, and this may have been the best clutch performance in the history of the Tournament of Beer. We accidentally posted Icicle Brewing as Wander’s opponent instead of Boundary Bay, which beat Icicle’s Bootjack IPA in the First Round. The problem was corrected at 8 a.m., and the game was reposted on our Instagram Stories. The mistake had nothing to do with the fact that the Tournament’s producer had a double Grit & Grain Podcast and beers beforehand. We included Wander’s early vote tally in the new game. Boundary Bay and its former Inside Passage IPA, now Northwest Original IPA, pounded its way back into the game. Did it hurt that Wander tossed its shoes during the game? It might be the reason it lost to Boundary Bay’s Northwest-style IPA and its 62 percent of the vote. The Northwest Original IPA moves into the Sweet Wort 16.
GAME 2, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Heathen Brewing Transcend IPA (#6 seed) vs. Wet Coast Brewing Moving Day IPA (#3 seed)
Wet Coast’s Moving Day is not a run-and-gun player. Instead, the Northwest IPA will slow play opponents, concentrating on their malt bills and covering opponents with resinous, citrus, and tropical flavor notes. Wet Coast brewer John Hopkins has a gentle touch and apparent moves. His Moving Day IPA kept scrappy Transcend IPA within arm’s reach the entire game. Wet Coast co-owner Aaron Johnson cranked the vinyl version of “Moving On Up” last night on the brew deck, pumping up the brewers just enough to squeak out a win with 70 percent of the votes.
GAME 3, NORTHERN OREGON REGION
Fort George Brewery Vortex IPA (#1 seed) vs. Barley Brown’s Beer Pallet Jack IPA (#9 seed)
Astoria and Baker City, Oregon, share the distinction of being historic towns in Oregon with roots in the 19th century. Astoria, the oldest city in Oregon, was founded in 1811 as the first permanent American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. Baker City, founded in 1862, was the first town on the Oregon Trail in northeastern Oregon. While Astoria is located on the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean, Baker City is situated at the southern end of the Powder River Valley. It’s unlikely anyone tried to drink Vortex in Astoria and Pallet Jack in Baker City yesterday. The 784 round-trip mile drive is for the hopophiles. And, apparently, fur traders. Anyway, Fort George Vortex jumped to an early settler lead in the morning but saw its lead slowly dwindle through the day. The number one seed in the region channeled its Astoria denizens and ended up winning with 59 of the vote.
GAME 4, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION
Worthy Brewing NW IPA (#6 seed) vs. Oakshire Brewing Watershed IPA (#3 seed)
Oakshire Brewing’s Watershed IPA grabbed the lead early in this game and never looked back, nabbing 53 percent of the votes when all was said and done. Some believe Oakshire’s partnership with the McKenzie River Trust sealed the deal. Oakshire gives one percent of Watershed IPA sales revenue to protect local watersheds in the territories where the beer is sold, helping preserve the clean water vital to our community and our beer. What’s that you say? Worthy actively supports environmental conservation efforts, particularly focusing on healthy forests and water resources in Central Oregon. They are a Pinnacle Partner with Central Oregon LandWatch, supporting programs that protect big trees and old-growth forests. Worthy also prioritizes water conservation within its brewery operations. OK, never mind. Must be Watershed IPA’s fresh grapefruit and resinous pine. Anyway, Watershed IPA moves onto the Sweet Wort 16.
Let’s weed through the malts. The following are advancing to the Second Round:
Boundary Bay Northwest Original IPA
Wet Coast Moving Day IPA
Fort George Vortex IPA
Oakshire Watershed IPA
All right! Let’s dive into the next four games of the Second Round. Please vote for one IPA per game on Peaks & Pints’ Instagram Stories. Voting for today’s battles ends at midnight. We’ll announce the winners tomorrow morning around 9 a.m., but today’s games are live on Peaks & Pints’ Instagram Stories. We’re taking a break Saturday and Sunday, but will return at 12 a.m. Monday. Take a deep whiff and get to voting on today’s games.
Friday, April 18, Second Round Northwest IPAs Games
GAME 1, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Hellbent Brewing House IPA (#7 seed) vs. Rainy Daze Brewing Pourhouse IPA (#2 seed)
Home Town, This Old House, Down Home Fab, Dream Home Maker, House vs. Pourhouse — one of these entities doesn’t have unrealistic expectations for home renovations and financing, lol. Hellbent House IPA versus Rainy Daze Pourhouse is the place to be. Hellbent’s Northwest-style IPA hopped with Simcoe, Chinook, Cascade, and Amarillo hops is a super hop-infused ale with citrus, pungent pine, and tropical fruit aromas. Rainy Daze’s Northwest-style IPA, their flagship, sees four kinds of hops and five additions for hoppy pine notes. Knock, knock. It’s time to vote!
VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
GAME 2, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Camp Colvos Brewing Buckhorn IPA (#16 seed) vs. Talking Cedar Brewery Pacific NW IPA (#9 seed)
Let’s be honest. You probably didn’t see this match-up coming. Both these Northwest-style IPAs beat breweries that have poured more Northwest IPAs over the years — 7 Seas and Backwoods, respectively. Camp Colvos and Talking Cedar did well and earned this Second-Round meeting. One of these IPAs will advance to the Sweet Wort 16. Camp Colvos has certain votes from its original location on Vashon Island. Talking Cedar has, well, an entire nation of support. Let’s go!
VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
GAME 3, NORTHERN OREGON REGION
Ferment Brewing Take Me To The River IPA (#11 seed) vs. pFriem Family Brewers IPA (#3 seed)
Oh, boy, this game will cause a stir in Hood River. Founded in 2012, pFriem has grown significantly and is now the sole tenant of the 20,000-square-foot Halyard Building on the Columbia River waterfront. They are in the process of expanding their production capacity to over 60,000 barrels annually at this facility. Additionally, their secondary production and warehousing facility in Cascade Locks is used for aging and packaging barrel-aged beers, warehousing materials, and relocating production processes. In 2018, Dan Peterson opened the 20-barrel Ferment Brewing on the second floor of Skylab’s Outpost Building down the river from pFriem. Growing up in Vermont, Peterson spent nearly as much time in the woods as elsewhere. His interest in life sciences led him to study microbiology and molecular genetics and earn a degree at the University of Vermont. Long days in the lab were balanced by a scientific approach to homebrewing on the weekends. Dan developed his brewing and beer lab-guy skills at the Brooklyn Brewery, started a family, and moved to Hood River. He brewed for two and a half years at Full Sail before joining pFriem as their first head brewer. Good luck, Hood River.
VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
GAME 4, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION
Silver Moon Brewing IPA 97 (#5 seed) vs. Crux Fermentation Project Grade A (#13 seed)
This would be a tough battle if it came down to beer gardens. These breweries have kickass outdoor spaces. Silver Moon expanded patio and beer garden sports plenty of seating, fire pits, stages, The Office food cart pod, and since music is a big part of the brewery, artist Erik Hoogen created “Mix Tape A & B,” a stunning outdoor mural depicting an array of beloved musicians from Tupac Shakur to Lady Gaga; from Aretha Franklin to Bob Marley, as well as Central Oregon favorites including MOsely WOtta. Roughly a mile down the road, Crux offers a massive, grassed lawn anchored by two food trucks, lawn games, fire pits, and tons of parking. But this isn’t the Tournament of Beer Gardens, it’s the Tournament of Northwest IPA, and they have worthy players. Let the votes decide.
VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, April 21 Tournament of Beer: Northwest IPAs Second Round action
Game 1: Stoup Brewing Citra IPA (#6 seed) vs. Old Schoolhouse Brewery Allgood IPA (#14 seed)
Game 2: Top Rung Brewing Prying Irons IPA (#12 seed) vs. Odd Otter Brewing Optimus Pine IPA (#13 seed)
Game 3: Buoy Beer IPA (#7 seed) vs. Breakside Brewery India Pale Ale ( #2 seed)
Game 4: Boneyard Beer RPM IPA (#1 seed) vs. Rogue Ales Pacific Northwest IPA (#9 seed)
LINK: Tournament of Beer: Northwest IPAs explained
LINK: Tournament of Beer Headquarters
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