No, you didn’t miss it.
We made the difficult decision last time to stop live blogging our beer brackets. Not only does it slow down the process as we furiously write up mid-tournament reviews, but, frankly, the quality of blogging declines as the bracket goes on (ahem).
So instead, here is our post-game analysis of Beer Bracket IV: A New Hop. There were a couple highlights this time around. For starters, its the first time that a #1 seed has gone all the way. The Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge, a delightfully tart and complex Flemish Sour Ale from Belgium, didn’t lose a single match up on its way to the crown. All our previous winners rose up from the losers bracket to take the top spot.
Southern Tier’s Choklat won the annual “top tier seed crashes and burns” award. Chocolate notes have many fans in the beer community, but our judges did not look favorably on what tasted like carbonated chocolate water.
This was also (sadly) the farthest a Washington beer has got in the competition. Elysian’s Punkaccino – a flavorful and well-balanced coffee and pumpkin ale – put up a good fight in the championship against the Cuvée, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Someday, Washington beers!
Here is how it all went down:
And here were the entrants, seeded:
- Brouwerij Bockor Cuvée des Jacobins Rouge
- Southern Tier Choklat
- Elysian Punkuccino
- Fremont The Brother
- Black Raven Trickster
- Hop Valley Alpha Centauri
- Alesmith Yule Smith
- Uinta Sea Legs Baltic Porter
- Anchorage Galaxy White IPA
- Old Schoolhouse Ruud Awakening
- Elysian Dark O’ The Moon
- Schooner Exact Hoppy the Woodsman
- Two Beers Fresh Hop
- Black Raven Tamerlane
- Evil Twin Justin Blaeber
- Ninkasi Oatis Vanilla Stout
- Perennial Artisan Ales Saison De Lis
- Lost Abbey Witch’s Wit
- Eel River Raven’s Eye
- La Trappe Jubilaris
- New Belgium Salted Belgian Chocolate Stout
- 10 Barrel Big Ol Pumpkin
- Iron Horse Lagunatic Brew
Stay tuned, our fifth bracket is imminent and it is bound to be an exciting one!
Rosemary Renaissance 