Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer: Best PNW Breweries Great Eight April 23
And now it cuts.
Eight breweries remain, and the bracket has officially shed its manners. No more wide lanes, no more soft landings — just sharp edges and the kind of matchups that make you stare at your phone a little too long before tapping.
This is where things stop being abstract.
It’s no longer about résumés or reputation or how many medals line the wall. It’s about what stuck. What lingered. What you keep coming back to without quite knowing why.
And from here on out, there are no easy answers — just the ones you’re willing to stand behind.
Day 14 didn’t drift. It closed.
Wednesday, April 22, Sweet 16 Games Results
GAME 1, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
3. Stoup Brewing vs. 2. Holy Mountain Brewing
Stoup pulls it late.
At 53 percent, Ballard’s balance-and-precision machine surged around 9 p.m. and never gave it back, slipping past one of the most devoted followings in the tournament. Holy Mountain had the gravity, the mystique, the pull — but Stoup had the timing. In this round, that’s everything.
GAME 2, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
13. Vice Beer vs. 1. Bale Breaker Brewing
Vice Beer won a big one.
Another tight one, another escape — 52 percent, just enough to push past a hop-grown powerhouse. Bale Breaker brought authority, legacy, and one of the cleanest IPA programs in the country. Vice brought swagger, nerve, and a 1990s soundtrack. That run? Still alive.
GAME 3, NORTHERN OREGON REGION
2. pFriem Family Brewers vs. 6. Kings & Daughters
pFriem leaves no doubt.
At 63 percent, Hood River’s standard-setter leaned into precision and pulled away from Kings & Daughters’ quiet elegance. Kings & Daughters made it thoughtful, made it close early — but pFriem doesn’t waver. It executes. And that showed.
GAME 4, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION
1. Block 15 Brewing vs. 4. Heater Allen Brewing
Block 15 advances with control.
At 57 percent, the Corvallis top seed held off Heater Allen’s reverent, lager devotion in a matchup that felt like philosophy versus range. Heater Allen stayed true. Block 15 stayed varied. In the end, flexibility carried it through.
Let’s weed through the malt. The following are advancing to the Great Eight:
Stoup Brewing
Vice Beer
pFriem Family Brewers
Block 15 Brewing
Eight remain.
And now? Every matchup feels like it could be the one that breaks the bracket open — or locks it shut.
Thursday, April 23, Second Round Games
GAME 1, NORTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Georgetown Brewing, Seattle (1) vs. Stoup Brewing, Seattle (3)
Seattle turns inward again — and this one feels inevitable.
Georgetown is still standing the way it always stands — steady, ubiquitous, a brewery that doesn’t surge so much as endure. Manny’s, Bodhizafa, a presence woven into the city itself. It doesn’t need a moment. It is the baseline.
Stoup arrives with momentum — and a statement. Pulling away from Holy Mountain late last night isn’t subtle. It’s control. Built on balance, precision, and a deep understanding of how beer lands in the glass, Stoup doesn’t overwhelm — it stacks clean wins until suddenly it’s right here.
Georgetown needs to lean on familiarity and hold the line.
Stoup needs to let devotion do what it’s been doing.
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GAME 2, SOUTHERN WASHINGTON REGION
Vice Beer, Vancouver (13) vs. Single Hill Brewing, Yakima (3)
Vice Beer keeps hanging around — and at this point, that’s the story. A 13-seed that refuses to act like one, riding 90s swagger, clean execution, and just enough attitude to keep flipping expectations. This isn’t luck anymore. This is a Simpsons-like run.
Single Hill didn’t sneak in — they brought a megaphone. Yakima roots, hop fluency, and a lineup that lands clean, modern, and grounded in place. They took down E9 — a two-time champion — led by Director of Marketing Andrew Pytel. Yakima Chief Ranches is considering naming their next experimental hop, “Pytel”.
Vice needs to channel Jerry, Joey, and Mulder
Single Hill needs to let Yakima speak
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GAME 3, NORTHERN OREGON REGION
Fort George Brewery, Astoria (1) vs. pFriem Family Brewers, Hood River (2)
This feels like a final that showed up early.
Fort George has powered through the bracket with momentum that doesn’t stall — big presence, deep lineup, and a sense that every pour carries a little bit of Astoria with it. From Festival of the Dark Arts to the upcoming 3-Way IPA release, Fort George never really sits still; it’s a brewery that builds energy and keeps it moving.
pFriem doesn’t chase energy. It perfects it. Precision, balance, and a level of execution that’s become almost expected — which somehow makes it more dangerous. Lagers, Belgian-inspired ales, hop-forward standouts, barrel-aged medals — all delivered with a consistency that rarely blinks. This is refinement at scale.
Fort George needs to screen The Goonies and Kindergarten Cop tonight.
pFriem needs to let loose Farmer Matt.
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GAME 4, SOUTHERN OREGON REGION
Block 15 Brewing, Corvallis (1) vs. Sunriver Brewing, Sunriver (6)
Block 15 has carried this bracket like it belongs to them — not flashy, not frantic, just a steady accumulation of proof. Sticky Hands still echoes, but it’s the full range that keeps them here: hop authority, Belgian nuance, and a brewery that never seems rushed, no matter the moment.
Sunriver has rewritten its own story on the way here. What once felt like a resort-side pour now lands with weight — medals stacking, Bend expansion, and a run that just knocked out Deschutes by three votes. That’s not a cameo. That’s a shift.
Block 15 needs to push their South Corvallis taproom’s remodel.
Sunriver needs to ride the surge and post summer photos
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LINK: Tournament of Beer Headquarters
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