We have 3 rounds left to go, this round will decide which beer wins each region and moves on to the Final Four!

If you need some help deciding you can click on the links to each video for our “expert” opinion. If you’d like to tell us why one of these beers should win over the other you can tweet us @thebeerfriends or find us on Facebook. it won’t help that beer win any but we’ll enjoy it.

EAST REGION

#1 vs #2

In a craft beer culture that is still very hop heavy, this final match up in the East Region we have two brews that are famous for something other than hops..  Cigar City Maduro Brown is a “Northern English style Brown Ale” that is very malt heavy creating a very deep complex brown ale that brings a sweet subtle flavor to a deep dark beer.  Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce comes from Yards Brewing Company and brings the great history of American brewing to present day. Made from an old recipe by Ben Franklin, this brew brings the style of a spruce ale to present day while preserving the history of our forefather’s brewing style.

MIDWEST

#1 vs #10

After facing brews from Founder’s in every round of this tournament so far, Left Hand Milk Stout faces its biggest challenge yet.   Founder’s Curmudgeon’s Better Half Brings the flavor of Founder’s Curmudgeon and adds the innovation of Founder’s Canadian Breakfast Stout.  Aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels, Curmudgeon’s Better Half adds a boozy sweetness to this already delicious Old Ale, it’s a big beer with a big flavor. The question is will it be enough for Founder’s Brewing to finally overthrow Left Hand’s Milk Stout?

WEST REGION

#1 vs #6

This match up has come down to two brews that are famous for their similarities, hops and cans.  However, what sets them apart will surely be where you cast your vote.  First we have Oscar Blues Dales Pale Ale which brings a nice 6.5 abv with its 65 IBU’s, this brew brings a strong hop flavor to this dangerously drinkable pale ale.  On the other side of this bracket we have 21st Amendment Bitter American.  With it’s 4.4 abv and 42 IBU’s 21st Amendment brings a brew that is mellow in comparison but doesn’t sacrifice any of the flavor.  Will the popular hoppy pale ale take this round, or will the tasty session ale be the one to move on?

NY/CA REGION

#4 vs #10

This is the battle of fresh hops vs wet hops! The concept of fresh/wet hops is similar, but there is a difference; there is a great explanation of it on Sierra Nevada’s website. Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Hop Harvest (2011) brings us fresh hops from New Zealand.  Basic run down of fresh hops (if you don’t know) is the hops are picked, then dried, and then put into the brew within 7 days. Sixpoint Autumnation brings the wet hops which are hops that are undried, in their natural form, and put into the brew within 24 hours. Which of these hopping styles will be victorious and lead their brew to the #final4?

Years back, on a Colorado Brewery tour of grand proportions, an Oskar Blues brewer was asked by an a inquisitively drunk man why they canned their beer when everyone else still used bottles? His answer outwitted even the craftiest of beer nerds – to paraphrase: Doesn’t draft beer taste better than canned or bottled? (crowd: mostly) Well, doesn’t draft beer just come in a giant aluminum can? (crowd: happy surprised understanding felt by all)

Back then Oskar Blues was one in a small group of breweries nationwide that were canning their beers – you’ll even be able to get a sixer of Boston Lager in aluminum nano-kegs. Is the faux elegance one feels while drinking out of a bottle on the path to extinction in favor of flavor preservation? Well probably not – but we do enjoy flavor more than elegance here at the Beer Friends and apparently we’re not the only ones.

The urban online newsletter Thrillist that focuses on gadgets, food, clothes and drink has now set their sights on American CANNED craft beer, with their list of “The 33 Best Craft Beer in a Can.” Honestly, the list is pretty damn good – they focus more on diversifying by brewery and region rather than objectively picking the top 33 best canned craft beers (in what alternate universe would 3 Bean be picked over Righteous or Resin?) but they deserve credit for digging deep into the craft brew world and not making an overly superficial list. I had fun reading it and even though it’s only 8:45 in the morning, I might do it a second time over an aluminum wrapped hop monster. Enjoy!

French craft beer is a hard one to pin down – most of the time the only thing that comes to mind are Saison’s and beer from Belgium or Germany – and Belgium and Germany are decidedly un-French. If you’re the type that is intrigued by the spread of creative craft brewing around the world into countries with more tradition-based-doctrine approaches and if you like European disco then this event is for you. Jim Barnes of Shelton Brothers Importers fame will be bringing five of their imported offerings that Napoleon and Louis the XVI would agree to be proud of.

The beers are TBA but are sure to be great – Jim loves throwing Pretty Things brews parties. What also is sure to be great is the French disco he’ll be spinning as well.

Let them eat BEER! And disco!

Bierkraft is located at 191 5th Avenue between Berkeley and Union Streets in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Wednesday, May 15 – Cheap Thrills with Smuttynose Brewing Company @ Fourth Avenue Pub, Brooklyn:

Assuming that “Cheap Thrill” means a perfectly good time done on the cheap then Smuttynose Brewing has got it down pat. Nothing better than kicking back with a sixer of Finest Kind IPA, feet up with something delicious to munch on. Maybe a sunset. That sounds cheap enough, and certainly thrilling. Head on over to the Fourth Avenue Pub Wednesday for that exact (not guaranteed) experience. Here are the beers:

Bloom

Big A IPA

Summer Weizen

Finest Kind IPA

Really Old Brown Dog

Gravitation

Baltic Porter

Noonan Black IPA

ParadoX

Absolutley thrilling.

The Fourth Avenue Pub is located at 76 Fourth Avenue between Bergen and St. Mark’s Street in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Wednesday, May 15 – Sierra Nevada Celebrates American Craft Beer Week @ The Stag’s Head, Manhattan:

Let’s go back, way back. All the way back to 1980 when Sierra Nevada first started brewing craft brew. They might not have been the first, but they were large and in charge way before anyone else was. It would make sense that one of the first nationally distributed craft breweries of this new beer revolution would be chosen to celebrate American Craft Beer week at the Stag’s Head. They’ll be pouring 14 draft lines worth of hoppy American craft beer for you cheer to – the list is still TBA but expect a special cask beer and as always free food at 6 pm.

Time to celebrate.

The Stag’s Head is located at 252 East 51st Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

Friday, May 17 and Sunday, May 19 – 5th Annual Maine Event @ The Pony Bar HK, Manhattan:

One of the best events of the year celebrating one of the finest states in the country is back again this weekend. The Pony Bar Hell’s Kitchen is throwing their 5th Annual Maine Event. Think all things great about the state of Maine: beer, seafood, people, pine trees, mountains, fjords. Well, you can imagine the latter 3, but the former 3 will definitely be found in excess. The usual Maine breweries will be on hand: Allagash, Sebago, Sea Dog, Belfast Bay, Peak Organic, Bar Harbor, Gritty McDuff’s, Casco Bay, Geary’s, Shipyard, as well as some newcomers: Rising Tide, Baxter and the Maine Beer Co.

On top of that, the finest sandwich menu in all the land will be gearing up some Maine events: Scallop sliders, lobster rolls and baskets of fried oysters.

This event gets the “Highly Recommended” Beer Friends stamp of approval as you will leave fat and happy three days in a row. We recommend that too – three days in a row.

The Pony Bar is located at 637 10th Avenue on the corner of 45th Street in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.

We all know what barrel aged means.  The “mega” in this event’s title however, well, that stands for many things.  The big-ness of the beers involved, the amount of big barrel aged beers involved and the beer community’s opinion of these brews.  The One Mile House hasn’t featured a beer event like this yet, but there’s no reason why that should stop you from pulling up a stool and getting into this in a real dedicated sort of way.  Check out this list:

Founders KBS

Firestone Walker Parabola

Harvistoun Ola Dubh 21 yr.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Smuttynose Baltic Porter

Brooklyn Black Ops

Flying Dog Barrel Aged Gonzo

Weyerbacher Heresy

Stone Mixtape Vol. 4 RK & JM’s Blend

Kelso Rye Barrel Aged Porter

Now most of the beers will be pouring when they open at 3 pm, but some of the rarer brews won’t be tapped until 8.

That gives you 5 hours to warm yourself up.

The One Mile House is located at 10 Delancey Street between Bowery and Chrystie Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

Tuesday, May 7 – Tuesday Tasting: Hitachino and Japanese Brews @ Jimmy’s No. 43, Manhattan:

Here at The Beer Friends we normally stick to American craft beer, but I had to throw this one into the mix.  If you’ve never tried Hitachino, or any other Japanese brewery, then you are truly missing out on some fantastic beer.  The craft beer world often focuses on the spread of American craft creativity to Europe, forgetting the intrepid brewers from other parts of the world that get dismissed and lumped in with fizzy yellow beer producers.  However, the Japanese might have been doing it first.  Hitachino produces some fine product that everyone should give a try.  In order to properly educate yourself on the issue, you should head over to Jimmy’s No. 43 tonight, hand them a crisp twenty spot and allow them to walk you through the full range of Hitachino and other Japanese beers.

Dōmo.

Jimmy’s No. 43 is located at downstairs 43 East 7th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

Wednesday, May 8 – Pacific Northwest Beer and Oyster Festival @ The Blind Tiger Ale House, Manhattan:

The Pacific Northwest Beer and Oyster Festival at Blind Tiger is not just a beer and food festival of epic proportions, but probably the greatest indicator mankind has ever had for detecting the beginning of the wonder that is Spring.  Over the top assessment?  I think not.

The oysters are flown fresh and direct to NYC just for the festival.  The beer list is immense and in past festivals has only come from Rogue.  This year however, they’ve expanded the fest to cover brews from all over the Pacific Northwest region.  The breweries and beer their bringing is really impressive.  Check it out:

Rogue Double Chocolate Stout

Rogue Brutal Bitter

Rogue Morimoto

Rogue Vintage Old Crusty Barleywine

Rogue Younger’s Special Bitter

Rogue Shakespeare Stout

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Rogue Farms Dirtoir Black Lager

Rogue Captain Sig’s Deadliest Ale

Rogue Farms Good Chit Pilsner

Midnight Sun Arctic Devil

Midnight Sun Obliteration

Midnight Sun Sockeye

Midnight Sun Fallen Angel

Midnight Sun Triple X

Midnight Sun Panty Peeler

Elysian Superfuzz Blood Orange

Elysian Peste Chocolate Chili

Elysian Perseus Porter

Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws

Now this event has garnered some popularity over the years, so get there early.  We’re talking early afternoon early.  Get a table by the window with a few friends to join you.  Get some oysters.  Get some beer.  Repeat the last steps 5 or 6 (or 7 or 8 or 9) times.

The Blind Tiger Ale House is located at 281 Bleecker Street between Jones Street and 7th Avenue in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

I have long had a love affair with American brewed Belgian beer that comes from Allagash.  For some reason it just speaks to my taste buds more than other American Belgian beer or that weird stuff that actually is brewed in Belgium.  Allagash just gets what true American styled Belgian beer should taste like.  Even Phil gets close to almost appreciating the flavors he finds disgusting in all Belgian beers – almost.  Now that’s quality.  Dave Gonzalez from Allagash will be on hand with the usual good stuff and the rarest that Maine Belgian has to offer.

You might even see Phil there (ordering something else).

The Pony Bar UES is located at 1444 1st Avenue at 75th Street in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

Wednesday, May 1 – PA Brewery Night @ Sunswick 35/35, Queens:

Nothing like a trip to Queens to visit Pennsylvania.  Although the two places couldn’t be more different, Sunswick 35/35 of Astoria will be paying tribute to all the wonderful brew PA has to offer.  Here’s the list:

Penn Brewing – Dark, Kaiser, Pils, Weizen

Stoudt’s Brewing – Double IPA, Fourplay IPA, Fat Dog Oatmeal Stout

Victory Brewing – Golden Monkey, Tripel, St. Victorious Dopplebock, Swing Spring Saison

Weyerbacher Brewing – Insanity Barrel Aged Barleywine, Last Chance IPA, Quad

Sunswick 35/35 is located at 3502 35th Street at 35th Avenue in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens.

Wednesday, May 1 – Animal, Mineral, Vegetable Night @ The Stag’s Head, Manhattan:

American craft beer is known for pushing the limit.  We make Pale Ale’s that taste like IPA’s, IPA’s that taste like a punch in the face, Stouts that are brewed with chocolate and aged in bourbon barrels, barleywine’s aged in wine casks – the list goes on and on.  The next logical step was to brew beer using food.  Any type of food.  Check out this list:

Ballast Point Indra Kundra – brewed with madras curry, coconut, kaffr lime, cumin and cayenne

Abita Oyster Stout- made with pounds and pounds of oyster shells

Ommegang’s Iron Throne – brewed in honor of Game of Thrones brewed with grains of paradise and lemon peel

Elysian Malestrom – IPA brewed with blood orange

And as always, in good Stag’s Head fashion, there will be some free snacks (in the form of strawberry and cucumber gazpacho).  All this starts at 6 pm.

The Stag’s Head is located at 252 East 51st Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

Thursday, May 2 – Oskar Blues Tap Night @ Bierkraft, Brooklyn:

One of the Beer Friends favorite breweries is stopping into Brooklyn’s Bierkraft this Thursday to feature their classic and rare brews.  The draft list is TBA however you should expect it to be nice and fresh – Oskar Blues recently opened a satellite brewery in North Carolina in order to keep providing the East Coast with the finest quality brew possible.  Bring your growlers and enjoy!

Bierkraft is located at 191 5th Avenue between Berkeley and Union Streets in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Saturday, May 4 – Abita Crawfish Boil @ The Sycamore, Brooklyn:

Head on down – head on way down – as if you were going all the way to the swamp in New Orleans, but really you’re just going to the Sycamore in Brooklyn on the opposite side of Prospect Park.  It’s still pretty far, but it’s definitely worth it.  In honor of the last weekend of Jazz Fest they’ll be throwing a good ol’ fashion Bayou crawfish boil.  $25 gets you quite the large bucket of crawfish and a pint of seasonal Abita.  You can grab tickets at The Sycamore’s website.

The Sycamore is located at 1118 Cortelyou Road between Westminster and Stratford Roads in the Ditmas Park neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Tuesday, April 23 – Tuesday Night Tasting: Ballast Point @ Bierkraft, Brooklyn:

Craft beer, distilled spirits and San Diego?  Sounds like a great weekend.  You’re going to get it all in one night – minus the spirits unfortunately.  Ballast Point from San Diego has become very popular over the past 17 years – growing a huge following from the SoCal area to nationwide appeal and starting the first San Diego distillery.  You can grab their best brews for free tonight at Tuesday Night Tastings as well as meet representative Billy Denniston.  They won’t be serving the spirits, but your support will keep San Diego afloat in craft bourbon and beer.

Bierkraft is located at 191 5th Avenue between Berkeley and Union Streets in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Wednesday, April 24 – Dieu du Ciel! @ The Blind Tiger Ale House, Manhattan:

The Dieu du Ciel! brewpub in Montreal has been heralded as one of the most unique brewpubs in the world.  The craft beer they produce is just as unique – styles that, when they first started brewing, were excitingly original as well as styles still unknown to anyone but them – black IPA, imperial coffee stout, kumquat IPA, imperial dark saison, india cream ale, absinth beer and more.

If you’re in the mood to get weird and wild then head over to the Blind Tiger on Wednesday for an event you will not soon forget and a brewery that you will always seek out.

The Blind Tiger Ale House is located at 281 Bleecker Street between 7th Avenue and Jones Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

Thursday, April 25 – Founders DOOMsday @ The Gate, Brooklyn:

If the apocalypse happened in a beer it would be this one.  Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial IPA by Founders.  They’ll be serving other Founder’s at this event – Double Trouble, Red’s Rye, Centennial IPA, Dirty Bastard 2011, Porter, All Day IPA.  But honestly, go for this one.  It taps at 9 pm.

The Imperial Stout 2011 taps at 7.  Kentucky Breakfast 2011 at 8.  But when the end of times sounds of Black Sabbath start filling your ears don’t get afraid, embrace the fear – cause it’s 9 pm and DOOM is nigh!

The Gate is located at 321 5th Avenue on the corner of 3rd Street in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Thursday, April 25 – Abita Beer Pairing for Jazzfest @ Alobar, Queens:

We all wish we could be in New Orleans for the next two weekends.  Jazzfest is one of the finest music fests in the country.  Head out to Queens this Thursday for a beer pairing that lives up to New Orleans big brass itself.  You can pay the $50 and get 5 beers and 5 courses of New Orleans style food.  We’re talking Purple Haze, Spring IPA, Restoration Pale Ale, Jockamo and Turbo Dog alongside oysters, crayfish, andoullie red beans and rice, collard greens, pork loin and more.

OR – if you’re not into shelling out the dough for all the food and brew then we suggest popping in for a few pints at the bar and some good eats on your own.

Alobar is located at 4642 Vernon Boulevard in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens.

If you need some help deciding you can click on the links to each video for our “expert” opinion. If you’d like to tell us why one of these beers should win over the other you can tweet us @thebeerfriends or find us on Facebook. it won’t help that beer win any but we’ll enjoy it.

WEST REGION

#1 vs #5

In this battle of Colorado we have 2 beers that are aggressive when it comes to hops.  Oscar Blues Dales Pale Ale has been a trailblazer in the craft beer community for a long time; this well hopped pale ale was America’s first hand-canned craft beer, and even though it calls itself a pale ale it packs a much larger punch.  It has its work cut out for it as it goes up against Breckenridge 471 Small Batch IPA.  This 9.2 abv double IPA packs in the hops and claims to bring “big sweet mouthfeel, followed by more hoppiness than you’ve ever had.” This is a match up the hop heads should enjoy.

#6 vs #15

21st Amendment Bitter American is an “extra pale session ale” that brings a flavor you would expect form a much heavier brew.  It goes up against New Belgium 1554 which is an “enlightened black ale.” Coming out in 1999, 1554 sets the bar for the newer fad of black beers that have come out the past few years.

NY/CA REGION

#1 vs #4

Lagunitas Censored Rich Copper ale brings the smooth malty flavor of this deep red ale to battle against the fresh hops of Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Hop Harvest (2011). These very different styles bring very different flavors to this battle of California.

#6 vs #10

This battle of East vs West gives us two brews meant for the last 3 months of the year.  Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye is a spicy darker IPA that was brewed for the cooler months later in the year. Sixpoint Autumnation is a harvest ale in the truest sense of the style.  Here we have a beer brewed with pumpkin and spice that help frame the main attraction in this beer, the fresh harvested “wet hops.” Each year Sixpoint chooses a different strain of hops for this ale, The Beer Friends reviewed the 2011 version.

We are down to the #Sweet16 of Beer Madness.  We have a lot of great beers in the 3rd round and now it’s time for some real difficult decisions to whittle down until we only have 1 beer left. 

If you need some help deciding you can click on the links to each video for our “expert” opinion. If you’d like to tell us why one of these beers should win over the other you can tweet us @thebeerfriends or find us on Facebook. it won’t help that beer win any but we’ll enjoy it.

EAST REGION

#1 vs #5

Cigar City Maduro Brown is the favorite in this match up; it’s a delicious, smooth, easy drinking brown ale that gets all the credit it deserves. Though it faces an opponent that will not let it pass easily, Trogenator Double Bock brings the big flavor and a beefy 8.2  abv.  Two beers that are both very good but for very different reasons.

#2 vs #11

Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce highlights the great history of brewing in this country.  Based off one of Ben Franklin’s recipes this homage to brewing prowess of our founding fathers gives us a glimpse into how great beer has been a part of this country’s fabric since it’s inception. Victory Brewing Company is on the other side of this match up making sure we don’t forget that great beer is still being innovated, Hop Devil is a great representation of what is arguably the most popular style in America.  “Bold, spicy, and menacingly delicious” is what the brewers claim and this American IPA delivers.

MIDWEST

#1 vs #5

Left Hand Milk Stout already defeated one Founders beer in the last round when it took down the similarly styled Porter, but now it has to go  up against a beer of a very different style.  Founder’s Red’s Rye PA looks to avenge its comrades defeat with its spicy rye malts and its strong hop presence.  Sporting a healthy 6.6 abv and a 70 IBU’s this brew looks to give Lefthand its toughest competition yet.

#6 vs #10

Two Brothers, like Left Hand, defeated a Founder’s brew just to encounter another great beer by Founder’s.  Heavy Handed is a wet hop IPA from Two Brothers that is available between September and December each year.  The fresh hops used in this brew give it a different flavor than usual in an IPA.  These types of wet hop ales have become popular the past few years, but this offering by the brewers in Warrenville, IL stands out as one of the stars of this style.  Founder’s Curmudgeon’s Better Half is the other brew in this match up and it is a doozy.  This re-branding of Kaiser Curmudgeon which was an Old ale brewed with molasses and aged in oak. It was then aged in Bourbon barrels that had previously aged maple syrup.  Those familiar with Founder’s will recognize these barrels from the highly coveted Canadian Breakfast Stout.  Curmudgeon’s Better Half is a big beer with a lot of flavor and it’s legend will only grow with its rarity.

Make sure you cast your vote in the East and Midwest region second round. If you need some help deciding you can click on the links to each video for our “expert” opinion. If you’d like to tell us why one of these beers should win over the other you can tweet us @thebeerfriends, it won’t help that beer win any but we’ll enjoy it.

West #1 vs #8

Another match up between beers from the same brewery.  Oscar Blues sends it’s incredibly popular Dale’s Pale Ale into battle with Gordon which was a mix between an imperial red and a double IPA.  Gordon is discontinued now in favor of Oscar Blues G’Knight imperial red, but it still left an impression on The Beer Friends on the Colorado Brewery Trip so it earned a spot in our bracket.  Now, which Oscar Blues brew moves on?

West #4 vs #5

Breckenridge continues into the second round with its only beer in this tournament.  Small Batch 471 IPA beat a strong opponent in Left Hand Fade to Black volume 3 to go on and face Odell Myrcenary 2xIPA. These are two very unique IPAs from Colorado that both deserve to be in this tournament, but now only 1 can move on.

West #3 vs #6

Here we have two very different, but two very delicious beers.  Odell 90 Shilling is another callback to the Beer Friend Colorado Brewery Trip and is a fantastic Scottish ale that moves on to go against Bitter American the hoppy session ale by 21st Amendment.

West #10 vs #15

In the only match up that had any upsets in this bracket we have another battle between beers of the same brewery.  New Belgium shocked Rogue and Boulder to send Belgo and 1554 into this second round match up. At least this guarantees New Belgium is  to make the Sweet 16.

NY/CA #1 vs #9

Lagunitas brings their Censored red copper ale into the second round to face the Stone Collaboration Saison.  Stone seems to have a distinct advantage with this brew since they got help from Dogfish Head and Victory, but they will need all the help they can get against this Lagunitas Brew that had to be censored by the BATF

NY/CA #4 vs #5

Lagunitas Sucks! That’s not an opinion, that’s the name of their next beer in this tournament.  When Lagunitas couldn’t brew their popular Brown Shugga’ they tried to appease the masses by offering up this brew.  Apparently it worked because they brought it back again this year.  Don’t punch that ticket to the Sweet 16 yet though, because they face the great Sierra Nevada and one of their fresh hop offerings Southern Tier Hop Harvest which has claimed to be the first American craft beer to use hops grown in the southern hemisphere.

NY/CA #6 vs #14

Sierra Nevada brings us another beer in this second round.  The new and popular Ruthless Rye, a hoppy and spicy rye ale that Sierra Nevada came out with a couple of years ago matched up against a beer from Empire Brewing Strong Ale.  A staple of upstate NY for many years Empire has moved south  and become a staple brewery in NYC.

NY/CA #2 vs #10

In this showdown of NYC breweries Sixpoint’s fall brew Autumnation goes up against the incredibly popular Brooklyn Black ops.  The Bourbon aged stout from Brooklyn goes up against the wet hopped harvest ale by Sixpoint.  Will Williamsburg take this and move on or will Red Hook win the Battle of Brooklyn?

Now, on to the beer!

East #1 vs #9

Flying Dog Gonzo Porter came out of a tough match up to face Cigar City Maduro Brown.  These two darker beers come from the maltier side of beer, will the fantastic oatmeal brown ale from Tampa be able to hold off the delicious Porter from Frederick?

East #5 vs #13

An interesting match up here with the double bock Troeg’s Troegenator goes up agaist the pale ale from lambertville River Horse Hop Hazard.

East #3 vs #11

The incredibly underrated Victory Hop Devil comes through as an 11 seed to take on the strong (in taste and strength) Dogfish Head Festina Peche.  Will this IPA have enough to take down one of the premier Sour beers?

East #2 vs #7

Yards Brewing Company extends its stay in the tournament with Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce and goes up against the established Smuttynose IPA.  Spruce ales have interested the beer friends this past year with 2 of them brewing their own versions of the O Tannenbock Spruce by Brooklyn Brew Shop, but will that be enough to get past the classic IPA from New England.

Midwest #1 vs #9

Left Hand Milk Stout is always a favorite around the beer friends but will the sweet stout have enough to get past the Dark, Rich, and Sexy Founders Porter?

Midwest #5 vs #13

This is the first match up between beers by the same brewery.  Founder’s Red’s Rye PA is a fantastic rye ale that is a go to six pack for this particular beer friend but the question is, does it have what it takes to stand up to the incredibly popular triple IPA Founder’s Devil Dancer?

Midwest #3 vs #6

This match up pits the wet hopped Two Brothers Heavy Handed IPA against Founders Dry Hopped Pale Ale in this battle of brewing styles and hops.

Midwest #2 vs #10

This match up puts the incredibly popular Two Brothers Cane and Ebel up against the incredibly rare Founders Old Curmudgeon’s Better Half.  Both beverages are fantastic but for very different reasons.