From April 3–25, 2026, Peaks & Pints unleashed a beautifully unhinged experiment: 64 of the Pacific Northwest’s finest breweries, thrown into a malty, hop-slick, occasionally irrational cage match we call the Tournament of Beer: Best PNW Breweries. The people chose the field back in February — nominations, loyalties, vendettas, that one brewery you swear tastes better because of a memory you can’t quite explain. And then the bracket began to eat itself.

Some fell quietly, like a pint left half-finished. Others went down swinging — maybe a faulty mash paddle, maybe just bad timing, maybe they ran headlong into a brewery having a moment and a mob behind it. Pint by pint, the region drank its way through the chaos: First Round, Sweet 16, Great Eight, Final Four — each step tightening the screws, each vote just a little louder, a little more personal.

And now? Here we are. Oregon stands clear — Fort George, a tidal force, a weather system, a brewery that doesn’t so much arrive as roll in and rearrange the room. Washington answers with Vice Beer, a brewery that’s survived the gauntlet and carries its own kind of gravity into the final — the 1990s!

Today’s Championship Game pairs Vice Beer against Fort George, with online voting running until 5 p.m., then shifting into something more immediate, more electric: live voting from 6–8 p.m. during the Tournament of Beer Party at Peaks & Pints in Tacoma’s Proctor District. The final tally lands at 8 p.m. The crown is placed at 8:30 p.m. One brewery left standing, equal parts skill, story, and stubborn devotion.

To mark the moment, Peaks & Pints is pouring the 2026 Championship Flight — a liquid snapshot of the endgame. Beers from Vice and Fort George, plus a choose-your-own fifth pour, because even now, at the edge of certainty, a little chaos feels right.

Drop by. Drink deeply. Cast your vote. Watch how it all tilts.

Peaks & Pints Tournament of Beer Flight: 2026 Championship Game

Fort George Ottermatic Pub Ale

4.8% ABV | English-Style Blonde Ale | Astoria, Oregon

It drifts in easy, all biscuit warmth and soft grain wrapped in a gentle hum of floral earth and faint citrus, the kind of pub beer that knows exactly how to stay a while without overstaying, but beneath the calm there’s a quiet current — Fort George tying this pint to sea otters and the fragile choreography of kelp and tide, a reminder that balance isn’t just a flavor note but a whole living system, the finish smooth, steady, and just a little hopeful, like something small doing its part.

Fort George Iredale Amber

4.7% ABV | Amber Lager 

It settles in like a story told over wind and salt air, all toasted bread and soft caramel threading through a clean, steady body, a flicker of herbal bitterness keeping it from drifting too far into nostalgia, the whole thing grounded and quietly resilient, pulling from shipwreck lore and coastal grit, the finish dry, balanced, and lingering just long enough to remind you that some things endure simply because they know how to.

Vice Beer Ribbit Robot

6.5% ABV | Hazy IPA | Vancouver, Washington

It hops in from some neon side-channel of the multiverse, all citrus glow and tropical blur, the Citra flashing bright before a deeper, juicier pulse rolls through, soft and pillowy without losing its grip, the whole thing playful but dialed just enough to stay on track, Vice Beer letting the weirdness breathe while keeping the edges intact, the finish smooth, slightly electric, and lingering like a signal you didn’t mean to catch but can’t quite let go.

Vice Beer Liquid Television

7% ABV | American IPA 

It flickers to life like a strange signal you didn’t mean to find, grapefruit and mango flashing across the palate before a wave of white grape and pine rolls in, the whole thing bright, a little surreal, and somehow perfectly tuned, the bitterness snapping clean and quick, letting the chaos dance right up to the edge without ever losing control, the finish dry, echoing, and just hazy enough in memory to make you wonder if you imagined how good it was.

Now, for the fifth beer of the flight, you must choose between these two stouts — as if you’re choosing the winner of the Tournament today.

Vice Beer Shaquille O’tmeal

6% ABV | Oatmeal Stout 

It lumbers in with a grin and a low, roasty rumble, cocoa and coffee laying down the base while oats smooth the edges into something plush and easygoing, a stout that knows it’s here to have a little fun without losing its footing, letting the swagger lead but keeping the structure intact, the finish soft, chocolate-tinged, and just bold enough to leave a mark, like a gentle dunk that still rattles the rim.

OR

Fort George Salted Caramel Cavatica

8.8% ABV | Imperial Stout

It arrives like a midnight indulgence you swore you’d split and absolutely did not, dark roast and cocoa unfurling first before waves of buttery caramel and a flick of coastal salt pull everything into a richer, deeper orbit, the sweetness cushioned by a sturdy, coffee-laced backbone, allowing dessert and darkness to share the same stage without losing control, the finish long, velvety, and just a little dangerous, like the kind of decision you make twice without regret.

LINK: Peaks & Pints beer and cider cooler inventory