Calling All Brewers: The West Coast IPA National Throwdown Is Back

   May 11, 2026
A flight of IPAs next to a an IPA competition's logo

Best of The West Coast. IPA, That is

Does your brewery’s flagship IPA deserve recognition? Do your other IPAs make audiences swoon? The Best of the West Coast India Pale Ale National Throwdown is a national beer-judging competition dedicated solely to West Coast IPA — more specifically, six sub-categories of West Coast IPA. The Oregon Brewers Guild operates the event, but the competition is open to breweries nationwide.

“From crushable low-ABV IPAs to flagship brands to beers hopped with Oregon’s finest, enter your beers in six exciting categories,” says the Oregon Brewers Guild, which organizes the competition. “Compete for bragging rights and get in-depth feedback at a fraction of the cost of other competitions.”

A panel of elite judges from across the nation evaluates the beers, including brewers and industry professionals who know this style inside and out. According to the competition organizers, the panel includes some of the world’s best practitioners of this style.

Six Size Groups

This competition classifies entries based on their breweries’ production volumes, awarding trophies to the highest-ranking IPAs across six brewery-size groups to recognize the unique roles that both very large and very small producers play in advancing the prestige of West Coast IPA. Gold medalists in each category will compete against one another for a Category Championship, and Category Champions will then compete for the Grand Champion/Best in Show IPA award.

Brewery size groups:

  • Group A: fewer than 1,000 bbls per year
  • Group B: 1,000–3,000 bbls per year
  • Group C: 3,000–10,000 bbls per year
  • Group D: 10,000–25,000 bbls per year
  • Group E: 25,000–50,000 bbls per year
  • Group F: more than 50,000 bbls per year

The Grand Champion, Category Champion, and Group Size Champion beers must all meet Gold Medal criteria. There are no Brewery of the Year awards.

Six Categories of West Coast IPA

  1. Traditional American India Pale Ale: Also known as Classic or “Old School” American IPA, these beers exemplify the style from its early heyday in the 2000s and early 2010s. Compared to modern IPA, they tend to be slightly darker in color, have more malt presence, carry more bitterness, and lean into citrus, pine, and floral notes.
  2. West Coast IPA Below 6.7%: These are modern West Coast IPAs at the lower end of the ABV spectrum for the style. They might otherwise be classified as American Strong Pale Ale, Extra Pale Ale, or XPA.
  3. West Coast IPA Above 6.7%: These are modern West Coast IPAs falling between 6.8% and 8% ABV. They may show some additional influence from alcohol and other yeast-derived metabolites of higher-gravity fermentation; however, hops will still be the centerpiece of flavor and aroma.
  4. International West Coast IPA: These are West Coast IPAs with a heavy or dominant influence from hops grown outside the US — often from New Zealand and Australia, which can contribute elevated notes of diesel, passionfruit, petrol, musk, grape, guava, lime, rhubarb, and stonefruit. West Coast IPAs featuring aroma hops from other regions of the world (Germany, UK, South Africa, etc.) would also be entered here.
  5. Flagship IPA: This category honors excellence in IPAs that are widely available in packaged form and that most craft beer consumers regularly encounter. Entries must meet the following criteria: they must be a year-round brand packaged in cans or bottles and available to consumers outside the brewery at all times, and entries must be submitted in the same format and packaging normally available to the public. During registration, brewers should classify their flagship IPA as one of the sub-categories above (1–4).
  6. Oregon-Hop IPA: These are West Coast IPAs made with 80% or more Oregon-grown hops. This category honors beers that highlight and support Oregon hop growers, and entries will be judged according to their respective sub-styles. During registration, brewers should classify their entry as one of the sub-categories above (1–4) and will be required to identify the hop varietal(s) and farm(s) of origin.

Essential Dates

  • Registration Deadline: Friday, June 26th
  • Beer delivery: June 30th – July 7th (Breakside Brewery, Milwaukie)
  • Judging: July 11th – 12th
  • Awards: July 31st, 2026, at TopWire Hop Project

There’s much more to learn. GET ALL THE INFO here.

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