Hoptoberfest is well underway at the Beveridge Place Pub. Each October West Seattle’s esteemed beer bar turns over a significant portion of its taps to Washington IPAs. It’s a tournament-style showdown between the best IPAs in the state to determine which will be the Beveridge Place house IPA for the upcoming year.
Throughout the month of October patrons sample a selection of IPAs and vote for their favorite. Top vote-getters advance to the next round. Losers go home empty handed. It has become a savage battle that leaves this reporter asking, can’t we all just get along?
A day that will live in infamy
To qualify for consideration, the beer must meet two simple qualifications: it must be a Washington-brewed IPA and it must be available to meet the demands of the thirsty regulars at the Beveridge Place Pub. I’ve been told that they go through roughly five kegs of the house IPA per week. That is not an insignificant amount of beer. In past years the runners-up have included the likes of Harmon Point Defiance IPA and Snoqualmie Falls Wildcat IPA.
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Boundary Bay IPA held the title from 2006-2009. Then, out of nowhere, a gang of young upstarts from the Eastside came gunning for the venerable Bellingham brewery. In an unexpected turn of events that this correspondent can only describe as a brutal but bloodless coup, Redmond’s Black Raven Trickster IPA overthrew the champion in October 2009 and became the house IPA for 2010.
Invasion now seems imminent
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With this year’s competition heating up, Boundary Bay Brewery is eager to regain the title. We now have confirmed reports from sources on the ground in Bellingham indicating that next Monday night Boundary Bay is staging a guerrilla attack on the Beveridge Place Pub. They are calling it a Guerrilla Brewers Night and they’re bringing troops from Bellingham.
This, from their most recent newsletter:
…and while we are fully in support of Washington craft beer we want to Take Back the Tap in this year’s [Hoptoberfest]! And we need YOUR help! Come on Boundary Bay Brewery fans, rally the troops and head to West Seattle!
Here’s what you can do to help us Take Back the Tap: join us for a Guerrilla Brewers Night NEXT MONDAY, October 18th! Come to Beveridge Place Pub around 5pm…the bar is located on 6413 California Ave SW in Seattle. And carpooling is definitely encouraged! Let’s get a conversation going on our Facebook page about who’s going, who needs a ride, who can give rides, etc.!
We’re bringing a van full of Boundary Bay fans from up here in Bellingham and we want all our Pierce and King County fans to show up too so we can take over the pub that night! Wear any and all of your Boundary Bay Brewery gear (hats, sweatshirts, etc.) to receive special treats from us!
And if you can’t make it for our Guerilla Brewers Night next week, just head to the Beveridge Place Pub as many times as you like during the month of October and drink many, many pints of IPA so that you can vote many, many times. We suggest marking Boundary Bay Brewery on that ballot, but we’ll leave it up to you!
