Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: Best PNW Breweries April 10

Day 6 of the Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: Best PNW Breweries, and the bracket has officially lost its innocence.

The early days were all curiosity — scrolling, sampling, maybe flipping a coin between two good options and calling it instinct. But now? Now you’ve seen enough to know how you vote.

You know what matters to you.

Maybe it’s legacy — the brewery that’s always been there.
Maybe it’s precision — the one that never misses.
Maybe it’s energy, weirdness, hometown gravity, or just a stubborn loyalty you can’t quite explain.

Whatever it is, it’s showing up in the numbers.

Favorites are starting to feel like favorites. Upsets don’t feel random anymore — they feel chosen. And every tap carries just a little more intention than it did a few days ago.

Eight more First Round games drop at 12:01 a.m. on Peaks & Pints’ Instagram Stories. One vote per matchup. Winners advance. Losers slip quietly into the “we’ll argue about that later” file.

Stay sharp. Trust your pattern.

Thursday, April 9, First Round Games Results

Day Five didn’t blow anything up. It tightened everything.

Let’s weed through the malt.

GAME 1, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION

1. Bale Breaker Brewing vs. 16. Odd Otter Brewing

Bale Breaker Brewing moves on with 57 percent of the vote, but this one deserves a nod across the aisle — Odd Otter Brewing kept it uncomfortably close against a top seed built on hop fields and statewide reach. Bale Breaker’s consistency and scale ultimately carried it through, but not without resistance. Even the giants have to earn it.

GAME 2, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION

8. Rainy Daze Brewing vs. 9. Sig Brewing

Sig Brewing continues its steady, deliberate climb, taking 64 percent over Rainy Daze Brewing. This wasn’t chaos — it was control. Clean execution, modern precision, and a growing confidence that shows up in the numbers. Sig doesn’t overwhelm; it outpaces.

GAME 3, NORTHERN OREGON REGION

6. Kings & Daughters Brewery vs. 11. Little Beast Brewing

Kings & Daughters Brewery advances with 63 percent, holding off Little Beast Brewing’s wild, farmhouse counterpoint. This felt like philosophy versus philosophy — precision against evolution — and in this round, voters leaned toward clarity. Hood River’s new-school refinement keeps moving.

GAME 4, NORTHERN OREGON REGION

3. Great Notion Brewing vs. 14. Grand Fir Brewing

And then there’s this one — Great Notion Brewing survives with 51 percent, a margin so thin it practically hums. Grand Fir Brewing pushed it to the edge, nearly toppling a 3-seed with culinary precision and quiet confidence. But in the end, Great Notion’s flavor-forward, boundary-bending identity found just enough votes to slip through. Barely.

Let’s weed through the malt. The following are advancing to the Second Round:
Bale Breaker Brewing
Sig Brewing
Kings & Daughters Brewery
Great Notion Brewing

You can feel the shift now — the easy wins are gone, replaced by matchups that linger a little longer in your head.

Eight more First Round games dropped at 12:01 a.m. on Peaks & Pints’ Instagram Stories. One vote per matchup. Winners advance. Losers get filed under “we’re still talking about that one.”

Stay sharp. Stay loyal. Stay a little unpredictable.

Because this bracket is only getting tighter.

Friday, April 10, First Round Best PNW Breweries Games

GAME 1, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION

Reuben’s Brews, Seattle (7) vs. Fremont Brewing, Seattle (10)

Reuben’s Brews walks in with the quiet confidence of a brewery that has done just about everything well — and kept doing it. Founded in 2012 by Adam and Grace Robbings, it grew from a Ballard garage dream into one of the most decorated breweries in the region, stacking awards across styles with a kind of methodical calm. From the evergreen reliability of American IPA to a deep, ever-evolving roster, Reuben’s doesn’t chase trends so much as absorb them, refine them, and send them back out cleaner than they arrived. It’s not flashy. It’s just relentlessly good.

Reuben’s Field Notes:
Founded: 2012
Signature move: Across-the-board excellence with award-winning consistency
Vibe: Thoughtful, community-rooted, quietly precise
Reputation: Ballard standard-bearer with serious range

Fremont Brewing answers with something bigger, broader, and unmistakably rooted in place — founded in 2009 and built along the Lake Union shoreline, where sustainability, community, and beer all share the same conversation. This is a brewery that helped define Seattle’s modern craft identity, from the easy reach of Interurban IPA to the velvet gravity of Dark Star and B-Bomb. Fremont beers feel generous — in flavor, in spirit, in presence — the kind that show up at gatherings and somehow belong to everyone at once.

Fremont Field Notes:
Founded: 2009
Signature move: Balance of approachable classics and barrel-aged depth
Vibe: Community-forward, environmentally conscious, expansive
Reputation: Seattle institution with broad appeal and deep roots

Reuben’s refines.
Fremont resonates.

VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GAME 2, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION

Holy Mountain Brewing, Seattle (2) vs. Lumberbeard Brewing, Spokane (15)

Holy Mountain Brewing enters like a low-lit cathedral of fermentation — founded in 2013 and tucked into Seattle’s Interurban corridor, operating with a kind of deliberate mystique that has only sharpened over time. This is a brewery that doesn’t just make beer, it composes it — saisons, mixed-culture ales, hop-forward offerings, and barrel-aged creations that feel layered, patient, and quietly obsessive. Nothing rushed, nothing careless. Even the haze feels intentional. Holy Mountain doesn’t flood the market; it releases moments, each one carrying a sense of purpose that has earned near-reverence across the Northwest.

Holy Mountain Field Notes:
Founded: 2013
Signature move: Mixed-culture saisons and meticulously crafted ales across styles
Vibe: Minimalist, contemplative, quietly intense
Reputation: Cult favorite with uncompromising standards

Lumberbeard Brewing answers from the other side of the state with a different kind of presence — Spokane-based, community-rooted, and built on the idea that great beer should feel both accessible and just a little adventurous. Founded in 2018, Lumberbeard balances clean lagers, expressive IPAs, and the occasional curveball with a welcoming taproom energy that invites people in rather than asking them to decode it. There’s craft here, absolutely — but also warmth, humor, and a sense that beer is meant to be shared, not studied from a distance.

Lumberbeard Field Notes:
Founded: 2018
Signature move: Balanced lineup of lagers, IPAs, and creative one-offs
Vibe: Approachable, community-driven, quietly inventive
Reputation: Spokane standout with broad appeal

Holy Mountain contemplates.
Lumberbeard connects.

VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GAME 3, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION

Coldfire Brewing, Eugene (5) vs. UPP Liquids, Bend (12)

Coldfire Brewing moves with a kind of understated mastery — founded in 2015 by Dan Hughes, whose résumé runs through Deschutes, Full Sail, and Hopworks, carrying with it a deep understanding of both precision and restraint. The beers land clean, deliberate, and quietly expressive — from hop-forward offerings that feel dialed rather than loud, to lagers and saisons that reveal themselves in layers instead of declarations. This is craft without ego, execution without excess, the kind of brewery that earns loyalty not through spectacle, but through repetition done right.

Coldfire Field Notes:
Founded: 2015
Signature move: Clean, balanced beers shaped by veteran precision
Vibe: Understated, focused, quietly masterful
Reputation: Eugene cornerstone built on consistency and craft

UPP Liquids arrives with a different kind of origin story — less startup, more supergroup. Founded in 2021 in Bend by brewing powerhouse Tonya Cornett alongside former 10 Barrel innovation team brewers Ian Larkin, Ben Shirley, and Jose Ruiz, in partnership with Sean Lampe and Amanda Plattner of Immersion Brewing, the brewery carries a rare kind of built-in chemistry. These are brewers who didn’t need to find their voice — they arrived with it, fully formed and ready to push. The beers lean modern and expressive, hop-saturated when they want to be, but always carrying that underlying sense of intention that comes from experience forged together before the doors ever opened.

UPP Liquids Field Notes:
Founded: 2021
Signature move: Modern, hop-forward beers driven by veteran innovation
Vibe: Energetic, collaborative, quietly dangerous
Reputation: Bend supergroup with serious brewing pedigree

Coldfire refines the line.
UPP bends it on purpose.

VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

GAME 4, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION

Heater Allen Brewing, McMinnville (4) vs. Silver Moon Brewing, Bend (13)

Heater Allen Brewing moves with the kind of clarity that only comes from knowing exactly what you are — and refusing to drift from it. Founded in 2007 by Rick and Lisa Allen, the McMinnville brewery built its reputation on lager, not just as a style, but as a philosophy: patience, precision, and the quiet insistence that the details matter more than the noise. When Rick retired, brewer Kevin Davey stepped in, and today he and Lisa Allen carry the torch — the same steady hand, the same devotion to balance, the same belief that restraint is not limitation, but power. These beers don’t shout. They arrive crisp, composed, and fully realized.

Heater Allen Field Notes:
Founded: 2007
Signature move: Traditional German-style lagers brewed with exacting precision
Vibe: Classic, disciplined, quietly confident
Reputation: Oregon’s lager authority, now guided by Lisa Allen and Kevin Davey

Silver Moon Brewing answers with Bend energy — a brewery that feels less like a single voice and more like a gathering point. Founded in 2000, it has long been part of the city’s beer backbone, a place where locals orbit, live music hums, and the beer lineup stretches comfortably across styles. From hop-forward ales to easy-drinking staples, Silver Moon doesn’t chase perfection so much as it builds community around the glass — familiar, welcoming, and always in motion.

Silver Moon Field Notes:
Founded: 2000
Signature move: Wide-ranging lineup anchored in approachable, crowd-friendly beers
Vibe: Lively, communal, music-soaked
Reputation: Bend mainstay with deep local roots

Heater Allen holds the line.
Silver Moon fills the room.

VOTE ON PEAKS & PINTS’ INSTAGRAM STORIES >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

LINK: Tournament of Beer Headquarters

LINK: Hot Damn! Yes, I want to subscribe to 6-Pack of Things To Do newsletter and be hip to local happenings!