Enrollment is now open for the National IPA Championship (NIPAC). Each year the Brewing News invites brewers from across the country to enter a competition pitting beers against beers in a tournament-style elimination taste-off. Five locations across the country host tasting events throughout February. This year the tournament makes its first stop on the West Coast when the NIPAC comes to Seattle on February 18^th (no details yet). The final round takes place in New York City on March 3^rd.

The Brewing News invites spectators to fill out brackets (once available) and follow the competition. The top brackets—the ones that most accurately predict winners—take home prizes, though we have yet to see a list of prizes. If you want to play along, get on the NIPAC brackets email list, which advises you when the “Locker Room” is open and also provides weekly updates as the competition unfolds.  (Get on the mailing list.)

The Players

Six Washington breweries signed up for the competition thus far: Silver City Brewery, Black Raven Brewing, Diamond Knot Brewing, Ice Harbor Brewing, Fremont Brewing, and Boundary Bay Brewery. Enrollment is still open. California boasts the most entrants with 12 breweries signed up already.

As of today 64 breweries are signed up , which means there is room for another 64. See the list of breweries currently enrolled.

Breweries can enter the competition online.

How It Works

The Brewing News describes NIPAC like this, “Participating IPAs from across the nation will be randomly chosen for a 1:1 single elimination bracket tournament. Winners of the first round will advance to the next. The complete IPA tournament bracket is posted on-line. The judgings will be held in several locations, including a West Coast site (new for 2012) beginning February 5, 2012…

“All judges will be brewers. They will be organized into panels of 3, and given the task of choosing the best IPA between two beers. The judges will not know what beers they are being served. The majority rules on the voting.

“A steward will serve the panel the two beers (Sample “Alpha” and Sample “Beta”). The beers will be served in clean, small cylindrical glasses. Each sample will be a 3 ounce pour. Once the preferred IPA is chosen, the panel will move to the next sample. No panel will judge more than six pairs.

“At the completion of the judging session, the names of the beers will be revealed to the panels and audience at large.”

Past Winners

In 2010 Fat Heads’ HeadHunter IPA defeated Firestone Walker’s Union Jack IPA in the final match. In 2009 Laurelwood’s Workhorse IPA took home top honors. In 2008, well, things were weird back then: a Red Ale took home the National IPA Championship trophy, defeating a Hefeweizen in the final match. Don’t expect to see any Hefeweizen in this year’s competition.

2012 Schedule

Round 1- February 5th @ Buffalo, NY

Round 2 – February 11th @ Syracuse, NY

Round 3 – February 18th @ Seattle, WA

Round 4 -February 25th @ Cleveland, OH

Final Round – March 3 @ New York, NY

The winner has been determined in this year’s National IPA Championship – the nationwide competition organized and operated by the Brewing News. Congratulations to Lawson’s Finest Liquids Triple Play IPA, the winner of the 2011 NIPAC.

In the final four, Portland’s Hopworks Urban Brewery Organic Hopworks IPA was defeated by Big Dog’s Brewing Company Dirty Dog IPA, and Ithaca Beer Company’s Flower Power IPA fell to Lawson’s Finest Liquids Triple Play IPA.

Last time I checked, Vermont had the most craft breweries per capita of any state in the U.S.A. Of course the population of Vermont is very small, so even if they only had a dozen breweries (I think that’s about right) they would hold the title. One of those breweries is Lawson’s Finest Liquids.

Vermont, eh? As time goes on, my interest in visiting that part of the world just continues to grow.

I cannot profess to be an expert on Vermont’s craft breweries. Based on the limited information I can find out there on the Interwebs we can chalk this one up as a victory for the little guy.

Cheers to that. Congratulations to Lawson’s Finest Liquids.

From Sean Lawson’s blog:

I am thrilled and honored that our little brewery took the crown! The Triple Play IPA is one of our new recipes, and is based on my Double Sunshine IPA (8%), only with additional hop varieties, and a lower alchol content (6.5%). The beer is brewed with Citra, Simcoe, and Centennial hops and features a tantalizing floral aroma, layers of juicy tropical hop flavor, and just enough malt backbone to stand up to a triple punch of bitterness.

I’ve had lots of fun with this name, which fits into my love of baseball theme….such as Triple Play IPA – goes all the way! And “No batter beer!” – which you’ll find right on the label. Many cheers to you all, and thanks for joining on us on this fun ride!

The field of 128 has been whittled down to just 16 as the National IPA Championship (NIPAC) continues. Last week we reported that only two Washington breweries had survived the latest round. Today we report that both Boundary Bay Brewery and Harmon Brewing have advanced to the sweet sixteen.

Next week Boundary Bay IPA will compete against Modus Hoperandi from Ska Brewing Company. Harmon Brewing’s Commencement Bay IPA will face-off with Buckhorn Brewing’s Cleveland IPA.

When the competition kicked off, there were 19 Washington IPAs in the field. Local favorites like Black Raven’s Trickster IPA, Naked City’s Hoptrocity, and Snipes Mountain’s Zombie Killer have been cast aside. Now, only two representatives from Washington remain. Oh the humanity! How did beers like Flyer’s Afterburner IPA and Snoqualmie Falls’ Wildcat IPA ever fall? Will the madness never cease?

Seven fall, two survive

Harmon Brewing Company‘s Commencement Bay IPA and Boundary Bay Brewery‘s IPA are the only Washington beers still standing at this year’s National IPA Championship (NIPAC) – the annual IPA competition organized by the Brewing News. They now advance to the competition’s third round.

In the second round Harmon knocked off Stone Brewing’s IPA to remain in the competition. Harmon now faces off against Pensacola Bay Brewery’s Lil Napoleon IPA. Boundary Bay defeated Lakefront Brewery’s IPA to stay alive. The
“Bellingham Behemoth” now faces off against Crooked Tree IPA from Dark Horse Brewing.

Nine Washington IPAs advanced to the second round. Here are the results for the seven which were eliminated this past weekend.

• Naked City Brewery‘s Hoptrocity was defeated by Grand Canyon Brewing’s Black Iron IPA.
• Trade Route Brewing‘s Hoppy Bitch IPA was defeated by Left Coast Brewing’s Trestles IPA.
• Boundary Bay Brewing‘s BBay Cascadian Dark was defeated by Dark Horse Brewing’s Crooked Tree IPA.
• Lazy Boy Brewing‘s IPA was defeated by McNeil Brewery’s Sunshine IPA.
• Flyers Brewery‘s Afterburner IPA was defeated by Empire Brewing’s IPA.
• Flyers Brewery‘s Hop Duster IPA was defeated by Big Dog Brewing’s Dirty Dog IPA.
• Snipes Mountain Brewing‘s Zombie Killer IPA was defeated by Ballast Point Brewing’s Sculpin IPA.

Interestingly, because of the way the brackets were drawn, if Boundary Bay’s BBay Cascadian Dark had advanced it would have faced off against Boundary Bay IPA is the third round.

While I am not familiar with most of the non-Washington beers in this competition, last Friday I was fortunate enough to drink the Sculpin IPA at Ballast Point’s tap room in San Diego. The crew at Snipes Mountain can rest assured that they were defeated by a very seriously delicious, top quality product. I’m sure it was a tight battle: the Zombie Killer does not fall easily.

The first round of the National IPA Championship is in the books.  Nine of our Washington beers have advanced to the next round. You can find more complete coverage over at Seattle Beer News.

Click here to see the list of first round match-ups – to see who lost.

Here’s the list of Washington beers that made it out of the first round and have advanced:

Naked City Hoptrocity
Trade Route Hoppy Bitch
Flyers Brewery – Hop Duster
Flyers Brewery – Afterburner
Snipes Mountain – Zombie Killer
Boundary Bay – IPA
Boundary Bay – Cascadia Dark
Lazy Boy -  IPA
Harmon Brewing – Commencement Bay

The Brewing News has just released the brackets. The competition is set. Now is the time to go make your picks and see the complete lineup on the NIPAC website. The first round takes place on February 13th in Buffalo, NY.

Below, you can see how the competition has stacked up for our Washington representatives (in bold). We have some seriously strong contenders in the fight this year. A couple of notable match-ups in the first round, Fremont Interurban IPA will face off agains Stone IPA, and Boundary Bay IPA will face off against Oskar Blues Dale’s Pale Ale.

Which Washington IPA do you think will make it the furthest in this year’s NIPAC?

1st Round Match-ups

Idiot Sauvin Elysian Brewing Co.
vs.
IPA Six Rivers Brewery

3-Grid IPA Schooner Exact Brewing Co.
vs.
SweetWater IPA SweetWater Brewing Co

Good Karma IPA Mad Anthony Brewing Company
vs.
Wildcat IPA Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Co.

High Seas India Pale Ale Michigan Brewing
vs.
Trickster IPA Black Raven Brewing Company

Hop Harvest Ale Big Dog’s Brewing Co.
vs.
Hop Bomb IPA Rock Bottom Brewery- Bellevue

The Kind India Pale Ale Three Heads Brewing
vs.
Hoptrocity Naked City Brewery & Taphouse

Marin IPA Marin Brewing Company
vs.
Hoppy Bitch IPA Trade Route Brewing

Oasis Tallgrass Brewing Company
vs.
Pike IPA Pike Brewing Co

Super Fly Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
vs.
Hop Duster IPA Flyers Restaurant and Brewery

Bitter Woman IPA Tyranena Brewing Company
vs.
Zombie Killer Snipes Mountain

Dale’s Pale Ale Oskar Blues Brewery
vs.
Boundary Bay IPA Boundary Bay Brewery

BBay Cascadia Dark Boundary Bay Brewing Co.
vs.
Pumphouse Summit IPA 2011 Pumphouse Brewery

Avery India Pale Ale Avery Brewing Company
vs.
Ice Harbor IPA Ice Harbor Brewing Co.

Lazy Boy IPA Lazy Boy Brewing Co.
vs.
Commodore Perry India Pale Ale Great Lakes Brewing

Diamond Knot IPA Diamond Knot Brewing Co.
vs.
White Rajah The Brew Kettle Production Works

Afterburner IPA Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
vs.
Pompous Ass Orlando Brewing

Hoppin’ To Heaven IPA Hoppin’ Frog Brewing Company
vs.
Supergoose IPA Hale’s Ales

Interurban IPA Fremont Brewing Company
vs.
Stone IPA Stone Brewing Co.

Commencement Bay I.P.A. Harmon Brewing Co
vs.
Happy Hour Premium Ale Hop City Brewing Company

For those of us who love IPA, this is our version of March Madness. Each year the Brewing News organizes the National IPA Championship (NIPAC). Participating beers are randomly bracketed and pitted in head-to-head competition. The winners advance to the next round. The losers go home.

The initial 128 entrants will be narrowed to 64, then to 32 and so on. Eventually the final four will face off to determine a champion. The judges in this competition are all brewers.

To stay informed, you should subscribe to the Hop Tips Newsletter. Obviously, we will track how Washington breweries perform in NIPAC this year.

Participate

Brewers, there is still time to enter your beer into the competition. To enter your beer click here. (Note – This competition is for commercial brewers only.) A list of the Washington breweries that have entered thus far can be found further down this article. We also provide a list of all participating breweries. Entries are still being accepted and the list continues to grow.

The Brewing News provides a way for beer lovers to be involved. We are invited to fill out brackets and see how well we can predict the winners. Yes, there are prizes for us, too. If you’re subscribed to Hop Tips, you’ll know what’s going on. Otherwise you’ll have to keep an eye on the Brewing News website.

Past Champions

In 2010, the NIPAC winner was Headhunter IPA from Fat Head’s Brewery in Cleveland. In 2009 Workhorse IPA from Portland’s Laurelwood Brewing took home the trophy. In 2008, top honors went to West Coast IPA from Green Flash Brewing in Vista, CA.

2011 Schedule

Round 1- February 13th @ Buffalo, NY
Round 2 – February 19th @ Syracuse,
NYRound 3 – February 26th @ Grand Rapids, MI
Round 4 – March 2nd @ Cleveland, OH
Final Round – March 5th @ Philadelphia, PA

The Combatants

As of this moment, the following Washington beers have joined the competition:

Interurban IPA – Fremont Brewing Company
Lazy Boy IPA – Lazy Boy Brewing Co.
Pike IPA – Pike Brewing Co
Supergoose IPA – Hale’s Ales
Trickster IPA – Black Raven Brewing Company
Zombie Killer – Snipes Mountain Brewing
Hop Duster IPA – Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
Afterburner IPA – Flyers Restaurant and Brewery

Here is the complete list of entrants thus far:

Afterburner IPA – Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
Avery India Pale Ale – Avery Brewing Company
Be Hoppy IPA – Wormtown Brewery
Big Eye IPA – Ballast Point Brewing Co.
Big Sky IPA – Big Sky Brewing
Bitter Woman IPA – Tyranena Brewing Company
Border Hopper – SweetWater Brewing Co
Caged Alpha Monkey IPA – CB’s
Centennial IPA – Founders Brewing Company
Class Five IPA – Thomas Creek Brewery
Cleveland IPA – Buckeye Brewing
Crooked Tree I.P.A – Dark Horse Brewing Company
crooked tree ipa – dark horse brewing co
Dagger Falls IPA – Sockeye Brewing
Devil’s Peak IPA – Copper Canyon Brewery
Dirty Dog IPA – Big Dog’s Brewing Co.
Duet – Alpine Beer Company
Elevated IPA – La Cumbre Brewing Co.
Empire I.P.A – Empire Brewing Co.
Finestkind IPA – Smuttynose Brewing Co.
Flower Power IPA – Ithaca Beer Company
Full Sail IPA – Full Sail Brewing Company
Good Karma IPA – Mad Anthony Brewing Company
Harpoon IPA – Harpoon Brewery
Head Hunter IPA – Fat Heads Brewery
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon – Clipper City Brewing
High Seas India Pale Ale – Michigan Brewing Company
Hop Duster IPA – Flyers Restaurant and Brewery
Hop Harvest Ale – Big Dog’s Brewing Co.
Hop Ride IPA – Tenaya Creek Brewery
Hop Stalker IPA – Fat Heads Brewery
Hoppin’ To Heaven IPA – Hoppin’ Frog Brewing Company
India Pale Ale – Nebraska Brewing Company
India Pale Ale – Goose Island Beer Company
Interurban IPA – Fremont Brewing Company
Inversion IPA – Deschutes Brewery
IPA – Southern Tier Brewing Company
Islander IPA – Coronado Brewing Co
Jamaica Sunset IPA – Mad River Brewing Company
Lake Placid India Pale Ale – Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company
Lakefront IPA – Lakefront Brewery
Lazy Boy IPA – Lazy Boy Brewing Co.
Left Coast IPA – John Harvard’s Brew House CT
Marin IPA – Marin Brewing Company
Mile HI.P.A. – Wynkoop Brewing Company
Modus Hoperandi – Ska Brewing Co.
Mojo IPA – Boulder Beer Company
Moylan’s Harvest IPA – 15 Rowland Way
Nelson – Alpine Beer Company
NOR CAL IPA – Moylan’s Brewing Co.
Norm,s Raggedy – Ass IPA – Big Rock Chop House
Oasis – Tallgrass Brewing Company
Organic Hopworks IPA – Hopworks Urban Brewery
Pike IPA – Pike Brewing Co
Pompous Ass – Orlando Brewing
Railroad Street IPA – Rohrbach Brewing Company
Ranger IPA – New Belgium Brewing
Red Eye PA – The Brew Kettle Production Works
Red Racer IPA – Central City Brewing
Red’s Rye PA – Founders Brewing Company
Royal IPA – Bastone Brewery
Saber’s Edge – Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA – Boston Beer Company
Samuel Adams Latitude Belgian IPA – Boston Beer Company
Saranac IPA – F.X. Matt Brewing Company/Saranac
Sculpin IPA – Ballast Point Brewing Co.
Seven Gates Pale Ale (Gate Two) – Spring House Brewing Co.
Seven IPA – Cornerstone Brewing Company
Sheltowee Hop – a – lot IPA – Bluegrass Brewing Co
Special Ration IPA – Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
Stone IPA – Stone Brewing Co.
Super Fly – Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
Supergoose IPA – Hale’s Ales
SweetWater IPA – SweetWater Brewing Co
The Black Pearl – Pearl Street Grill & Brewery
Titan IPA – Great Divide Brewing Company
TOP GUN IPA – Blind Tiger Brewery
Torpedo Extra IPA – Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Tower 10 IPA – Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Trestles IPA – Left Coast Brewing Co.
Trickster IPA – Black Raven Brewing Company
Triple Play IPA – Lawson’s Finest Liquids
West Coast IPA – Green Flash Brewing
White Rajah – The Brew Kettle Production Works
Wipeout IPA – Port Brewing Co.
Workhorse IPA – Laurelwood Brewing Co
Zombie Killer – Snipes Mountain

Okay, we admit we’re slacking off this week. Your humble Washington Beer Bloggers are seriously distracted right now (in body but not in spirit). We are out of town doing important beer-related business in a place where the sun actually does shine. I know, the thought of us baking in the warm desert sun makes you want to tell us to stick it where the sun does not shine;  however, we have not forsaken you. We would like to direct you to visit our buddies over at the Seattle Beer News for three important stories:

Elysian advances in the NIPAC.

Washington prevails in Beer Brawl III.

Brouwer’s celebrates 5 years with 10 IPAs .

Is it a conspiracy to keep Washington breweries down or is it simply fate? Is it a blatant attempt to stack the deck against us or is it the luck of the draw? You be the judge.

Seven of Washington’s finest beers made it out of the first round of the National IPA Championship (NIPAC), but only three continue on after the second. To learn more about NIPAC, read our previous posts about NIPAC here or go to the official NIPAC Web site.

The first round of the championship saw four Washington IPAs compete in head-to-head match ups: Lazy Boy vs. Port Townsend and Elysian vs. Breakaway. With 128 beers in the tournament, how could these four end up pitted against each other so early in the competition? The fates seemed to be aligned against us. Now, in the third round there is another WA vs. WA duel, so only two breweries will continue after this round, at best.

All you have to do is look at the bracket to realize it is inevitable that these kinds of unfortunate match ups are just the luck of the draw, but it’s kind of fun to pretend that some evil force is at work against us. Uh, I suppose. Uh, I mean, I’m being paranoid, right?

Advancing:

Hale’s Supergoose IPA – Defeated Oakshire Brewing’s Watershed IPA in the first round and Big Bear Brewing’s Paw Print IPA in the second round. Now set to face crosstown rival Elysian Brewing’s Stolen Fire/Prometheus IPA in the third round.

Elysian Stolen Fire/Prometheus IPA - Defeated Seattle’s own Breakaway IPA in an unfortunate first round pairing. Next, defeated Ale Asylum’s Ballistic IPA in the second round. Now set to battle Hale’s Supergoose IPA.

Port Townsend Hop Diggedy IPA - In another unfortunate first round pairing, Hop Diggedy IPA defeated fellow WA entrant Lazy Boy IPA. In the second round they beat 21st Ammendment Brewing’s Brew Free or Die IPA. They now prepare to go up against Fat Head Brewery’s HeadHunter IPA.

Eliminated in Round Two:

The following lost in the second round: Pike IPA, Fremont Brewing’s Interurban IPA, Diamond Knot IPA, and Black Raven Brewing’s Trickster IPA.

Washington IPAs stand strong in the opening round

Half of Washington’s entrants into the National IPA Championship (NIPAC) have advanced to the second round. (read about NIPAC.) While seven Washington beers advance, seven go home. It’s not as bad as it sounds when you consider that two of the first round matchups featured Washington beers pitted against each other. Advancing seven beers to the second round is no small feat.

Advancing to the next round:

Supergoose IPA – Hale’s Ales
Stolen Fire/Prometheus – Elysian Brewing
Pike IPA – Pike Brewing
Diamond Knot IPA – Diamond Knot Brewing
Hop Diggedy IPA – Port Townsend Brewing
Interurban India Pale Ale – Fremont Brewing
Trickster IPA – Black Raven Brewing

Headed for the showers:

Boundary Bay IPA – Boundary Bay Brewing
Breakaway IPA – Baron Brewing (lost to Elysian)
Long Hammer – Redhook Ales
Lazy Boy IPA – Lazy Boy Brewing (lost to Port Townsend)
The Immortal IPA – Elysian Brewing
Big Red IPA – Ram
Wildcat IPA – Snoqualmie Falls Brewing

While many of the out-of-state beers involved in NIPAC are a mystery to the typical Washington beer drinker, others are not. For example, Pike IPA faces California’s Stone IPA in the second round. You can see the complete results from round one, and see the match-ups for round two, by going to the NIPAC Web site.