Evening Edge
What’s For Dinner?
Welcome to the big draft: 2009 Beer Bracket, Round 1
Which is the best IPA?
What will you be drinking while you watch the NCAA Basketball Tournament? How about a bright, hoppy American IPA?
At a recent blind tasting, a group of IPA lovers judged a Sweet 16 of American IPAs — eight from east of the Mississippi and eight from west of the Missisippi. We enjoyed them all (and our comments are below). But we managed to sniff, sip and argue our way to choosing our favorites. We'll reveal those in due time, but first we're going to let you choose yours. In round 1, you voted in the eastern and western divisions. The top four from each of those advanced to our round of eight on March 23.
Got strong feelings about our lineup? Discuss it below.
India Pale Ale originated in England, brewed with extra malt and hops to survive the long voyage to India. But American craft brewers have made the style their own, using citrusy, piney, aromatic American hops in aggressive quantities for a bracing bitterness. Nowadays, IPAs are one of the most popular beers around, and make a great match for game day food favorites — from pizza and burgers to spicy nachos and wings.
— Bob Townsend, for Evening Edge
THE EAST
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Brooklyn East India Pale Ale (Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, N.Y.) "Spicy, with some residual sweetness, but still bitter; pine and wood notes." |
Wyerbacher Hops Infusion IPA (Wyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton, Pa) "Bready, with hops throughout; a nice balance of caramel and bitterness." |
Highland Kashmir IPA (Highland Brewing Co., Asheville, N.C.) "More a session ale than a heavyweight IPA; lighter bitterness and a touch of apricot." |
Sweetwater IPA (Sweetwater Brewing Co. Atlanta) "Huge grapefruit nose; good balance of hop and malt; bitter but very nice finish." |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Smuttynose IPA (Smuttynose Brewing Co., Portsmouth, N.H.) "Fluffy with a nice head; hops have a slight vegetal aroma; bitter balanced finish with mineral aftertaste." |
Wolaver's Organic India Pale Ale (Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, Vt.) "Very easy drinking; minimal bitterness; pleasant toffee notes." |
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Dele.) "Chocolate, coffee aromas and flavors; light bitterness; clean aftertaste." |
Victory Hop Devil Ale (Victory Brewing Co., Downingtown, Pa) "Citrus and pine; very bitter, almost metallic finish." |
|||
Voting is closed in this round. Please vote in Round 2.
| Which beer is your favorite in the eastern bracket? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE WEST
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Lagunitas IPA (Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, Calif.) "Big citrusy and floral nose; malty and bready; well-balanced; piney finish and good deal of bitterness." |
Full Sail IPA (Full Sail Brewing, Hood River, Ore.) "Toasty malt nose with some grassy notes; fruity esters dominate; hop flavor is weak and doesn't balance malt profile." |
Stone IPA (Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, Calif.) "Grapefruit aroma; minty character; tasty; good balance; puckering bitterness." |
Great Divide Titan IPA (Great Divide Brewing Co., Denver) "Peachy, fruity aroma; caramel malt flavor; some nuttiness; hops provide more bitterness than flavor." |
|||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Avery IPA (Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo.) "Floral perfume hop and sweet malt aromas; bitterness nicely balances malt; biting crisp finish. |
Sierra Nevada Torpedo (Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif.) "Faint orange, grassy aroma; very well knitted but perhaps a tad too sweet; harshly bitter finish." |
Bison Organic IPA (Bison Brewing, Chico, Calif) "Complex maltiness; chocolate and dark fruit; hops play a secondary role to the malt." |
Boulder Mojo India Pale Ale (Boulder Beer Co., Boulder, Colo.) "Tangerine aroma; well balanced with a clean, smooth finish; bitterness doesn't linger." |
|||
Voting is closed in this round. Please vote in Round 2.
| Which beer is your favorite in the western bracket? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lee Dickson, beer manager at Brick Store Pub in Decatur, helped set up the tasting, served as steward, and made sure the judges didn't have a clue what they were sampling, except for the style. Joining Bob Townsend on the panel were:
- Chris and Cristina Collier, award-winning homebrewers and Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) national judges
- Phil Farrell, a finalist in the 2009 Beer Drinker of the Year contest in Denver, BJCP Master judge and BJCP South regional representative
- Dave McClure, gold medal award-winning brewer for Atlanta Brewing Co.
- John Kessler, the AJC's food and dining writer
- Adam Tolsma, senior beer buyer for Green's Discount Beverage Stores
Comments
By jake
Apr 9, 2009 11:43 AM | Link to this
absolutely ridiculous that Fort Collins, Co's Odell Brewing Co's IPA isnt in there, ridiculous, head and shoulders above everyone of these, and yes ive had them all
By Steve
Apr 4, 2009 1:54 AM | Link to this
Where is the Green Flash or the Racer 5?
By Drdrew
Apr 1, 2009 2:22 PM | Link to this
Maybe I'm a little dense, but I can't figure out how to vote. I see nowhere to click. Someone please help, because my favorite isn't winning!
By Jim
Apr 1, 2009 9:21 AM | Link to this
Titan is from Great Divide, but was eliminate in rnd 1. Too bad they didn't include Loose Cannon from Clipper City.
By tbirdjohn
Mar 30, 2009 12:28 PM | Link to this
What, nothing from Great Divide? How can that be?
By brewman
Mar 29, 2009 9:56 AM | Link to this
They left out Hop Wallop!!
The hoppiest of them all.
By Toby
Mar 29, 2009 9:05 AM | Link to this
yo zymurgist...
Mojo probably pulled ahead due to a lot of computer time in CO on the 26th.
There was a blizzard and the majority of citys and towns "CLOSED".
also it IS the Best of those in competition. : )
By zymurgist
Mar 28, 2009 12:19 PM | Link to this
yeah, there's a secret - round two closed on the 26th, according to the article above.
Looks like someone got busy on the hour every hour, for the Dogfishhead and Mojo to jump so much in the last day of the voting.
Perhaps, if nothing else, a few quality beers got some exposure.
By drew
Mar 27, 2009 7:58 PM | Link to this
The site won't let me vote. Is there a secret I don't know?
By ReggieATL
Mar 27, 2009 6:19 PM | Link to this
Should have entered Dogfish 90 minute. It's the best beer, IPA or otherwise, in America.
[1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9] next
Commenting is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. M-F, except on Tuesday when it's open until 9 p.m.
Post a comment
*HTML not allowed in comments. Your e-mail address is required.
Request a comment be removed