Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: Best PNW Breweries April 21
Sixteen remain.
For more than two weeks, we’ve asked a simple, completely reasonable question: What is the best brewery in Washington and Oregon?
And you’ve responded like it’s anything but reasonable.
Vacation days have been used. Neighbors have started feuds. Friendships have been “reconsidered.” At least one person has threatened to sell their wine cellar out of principle. It’s been… a lot.
And now look at it.
What started as a wide, unruly field — nominations, debates, gut picks — has narrowed into something far more serious. No passengers left. No easy outs. Just breweries that have survived real pressure.
The Sweet 16 isn’t about potential anymore. It’s about identity.
Every one of these breweries has already proven something. Now the margins shrink again. The votes get heavier. And the question sharpens:
Who moves on.
Because from here, it doesn’t open back up. It tightens.
And it doesn’t wait.
Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: Best PNW Breweries April 20
Second Round — Day 12 Recap
Twelve days in, and the bracket closes a door.
No more First Round chaos. No more feeling things out. What’s left now is sharper, tighter, and a little less forgiving. The Sweet 16 is set — and it didn’t happen quietly.
Day Twelve didn’t explode. It held its ground, then made its decisions.
Let’s weed through the malt.
Sunday, April 20, Second Round Games Results
GAME 1, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
3. Stoup Brewing vs. 6. Structures Brewing
Stoup Brewing didn’t run away with it — it held on. With 52 percent of the vote, the Seattle brewery edged past Structures in one of the tighter finishes of the round. Structures brought precision and evolution, but Stoup’s balance, experience, and deep Seattle roots carried just enough weight to move forward.
GAME 2, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
13. Vice Beer vs. 12. Irrelevant Beer
Vice Beer made a statement. At 67 percent, the Vancouver crew leaned fully into its throwback swagger and pulled away from Irrelevant in convincing fashion. Irrelevant brought the energy — and the room — but Vice played like a dynasty closing out a series.
GAME 3, NORTHERN OREGON REGION
2. pFriem Family Brewers vs. 7. Wayfinder Beer
pFriem Family Brewers advanced with 62 percent, a result that felt steady from the start. Wayfinder brought precision and quiet innovation, but pFriem’s consistency — that polished, repeatable excellence — proved too much over time. No panic. Just execution.
GAME 4, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION
1. Block 15 Brewing vs. 8. Crux Fermentation Project
Block 15 matched pFriem at 62 percent, leaning on pedigree and presence to move past Crux. Sticky Hands still casts a long shadow, and the Corvallis brewery continues to show why it entered as a top seed. Crux brought movement and energy, but Block 15 kept it grounded and controlled.
Let’s weed through the malt. The following are advancing to the Sweet 16:
Stoup Brewing
Vice Beer
pFriem Family Brewers
Block 15 Brewing
The bracket is no longer wide.
Sixteen remain — and from here on out, every round feels like it matters a little more than the last.
Tuesday, April 21, Sweet 16 Best PNW Breweries Games
GAME 1, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Georgetown Brewing, Seattle (1) vs. Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle (4)
Georgetown doesn’t flinch. Manny’s, Bodhizafa, a citywide presence that feels less like hype and more like infrastructure — the kind of brewery that doesn’t need to introduce itself because it’s already in your glass. Year after year, pint after pint, it just… holds the line.
Cloudburst refuses to stand still. Constant rotation, one-offs stacked on one-offs, ideas arriving faster than you can log them — a brewery built on motion, curiosity, and the quiet confidence that not knowing exactly what’s next is the whole point. When it hits, it hits.
Georgetown needs to stay steady and let familiarity carry weight.
Cloudburst needs to keep it fresh and land something unforgettable.
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GAME 2, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Single Hill Brewing, Yakima (3) vs. E9 Brewing, Tacoma (2)
Single Hill has been building this quietly — Yakima roots, hop fluency, and a lineup that feels both modern and grounded in place. It doesn’t shout, but it doesn’t miss much either. The kind of brewery that keeps showing up, stacking wins, and suddenly looks very comfortable in this round.
E9 Brewing doesn’t sneak up on anyone. Two-time Tournament champion, Tacoma backbone, a brewery that moves between wild fermentation, hop expression, and deep local loyalty like it’s second nature. It knows this stage. It’s been here before. It’s won here before.
Single Hill needs to keep it sharp and ride its momentum.
E9 needs Sean and Fuzz to tour every taco spot.
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GAME 3, NORTHERN OREGON REGION
Fort George Brewery, Astoria (1) vs. Breakside Brewery, Portland (4)
Fort George feels like weather — always there, always moving, sometimes calm, sometimes a full storm rolling in off the coast. From 3-Way IPA to a deep, ever-evolving lineup, it blends scale, creativity, and community into something that doesn’t just show up, it reshapes the room.
Breakside is precision with hardware to prove it. Medal-heavy, relentlessly consistent, and operating across multiple locations, it turns out everything from crisp lagers to barrel-aged standouts with a kind of technical confidence that rarely slips. When it’s on, it’s hard to poke holes in.
Fort George needs to announce the 3-Way collaborators. Wait! They did. Smart.
Breakside needs owner Ben Edmunds to tour their taprooms. He does all the time. Smart.
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GAME 4, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION
Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver (6) vs. Deschutes Brewery, Bend (2)
Sunriver isn’t just for apres ski. The medals are real, the Bend and Eugene expansions are real, and what once felt like a resort-side stop now carries the weight of a brewery that knows exactly what it’s doing — clean, confident, and increasingly hard to dismiss.
Deschutes is still the standard. Scale, consistency, and a catalog that’s shaped Oregon beer for decades — from Black Butte Porter to Fresh Squeezed IPA — all delivered with a steadiness that rarely wavers. This isn’t just presence. It’s infrastructure.
Sunriver needs to grab Sunriver resorts’ client lists and remind.
Deschutes needs to be Deschutes and let history carry weight.
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LINK: Tournament of Beer Headquarters
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