On May 15th and 16th, Fort George Brewery officially released this year’s version of 3-Way IPA, hosting a two-day party in its hometown of Astoria, Oregon. Today, at Peaks and Pints, in Tacoma, the beer makes its Puget Sound debut. (At least it’s the first local release event I’ve heard of.)
The 2026 version of 3-Way IPA is now finding its way onto tap lists at bars and hitting the shelves at bottleshops across the Pacific Northwest. The release of 3-Way IPA is a rite of spring for hop lovers across the Pacific Northwest. The beer’s release is marked by a number of events across the Pacific Northwest (like the one I share below) and culminates in the annual Lupulin Ecstasy IPA festival at Fort George Brewery on Saturday, June 13th.
For the past 13 years, Fort George Brewery has embarked on an epic quest to create the best IPA for summer. It’s an ongoing three-way collaboration that each year involves two thoughtfully selected guest breweries.
This year, the ménage à trois involved Fort George Brewery, Uprise Brewing, and Shred Beer Co. Spokane’s Uprise Brewing opened in 2022 and has been gaining momentum and attention ever since. Shred Beer Co. opened in Rocklin, California, in 2023 and almost instantly earned a reputation for its excellent West Coast IPAs.
3-Way Today in Tacoma
Today, Monday, May 18th, from 5-8 pm, Peaks and Pints in Tacoma hosts its 3-Way IPA release event. It includes not only the local debut of this year’s 3-Way but also an Uprise Brewing tap takeover.
According to Peaks and Pints, “What began back in 2013 as a collaborative experiment has evolved into a yearly snapshot of where IPA culture currently lives — bitterness softened by wisdom, haze influencing clarity, drinkability finally winning the argument. Somewhere beneath all the hop mythology and annual anticipation sits the simple truth that makes 3-Way matter: this beer doesn’t just suggest summer is coming. It announces that it’s already here.”
“Spreading the Gospel of What Beer Can Be”
Brad Depuyt, the Senior Vice President of Operations at Fort George Brewery, talks about the selection process and the spirit of collaboration: “It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch our process for selecting collaborators evolve over the years. Priority number one: great people and company culture. Past collaborations have varied in terms of engagement, and that level of investment shapes everything, not just the beer itself. It’s how much we learn and how much fun we have along the way. The more bought in, the better the outcome.”
“Making exceptional IPAs we’re proud of is obviously central to what we do, but the deeper value of this project lies in sharing knowledge, building lasting relationships, and growing our brands together. Our industry has a remarkably rare culture around what other industries would guard as trade secrets. How did you get that color? Where are those incredible tropical stone fruit aromatics coming from? How did you achieve such great balance and drinkability? In most industries, questions like those would raise eyebrows. Why would you hand your competition your best innovations? But craft beer has long operated on a different belief: a rising tide lifts all ships.”
“We’re not really competing with each other. We’re spreading the gospel of what beer can be and why it matters. In a world crowded with celebrity spirits, fancy wines, mass-produced lagers, and ready-to-drink cocktails, it’s easy for craft beer to get overlooked. But when we work together, we can push the category forward, create offerings that open minds, and give people a reason to keep coming back.”
Look for this year’s 3-Way IPA on tap at select beer bars across the Pacific Northwest. Also, find it at better beer retailers.
To learn about other recent beer releases, visit our New Beer Releases page. To let us know about your brewery’s new releases, here’s how to reach out to us.
