The National IPA Championship (NIPAC) is looking for more contestants. NIPAC, organized and operated by the Brewing News, features a series of head-to-head match-ups, arranged tournament-style, to determine the nation’s “best” IPA. The field of 64 is complete, but they have more beers that want to be part of the tournament. Problem is, once you go bigger than 64 there’s no stopping until 128, so they need more contestants. The official release is below. The deadline is January 20th.
Come on all you Washington brewers, get out there and represent! Click here to register your beer.
Last year we were sadly under-represented. The Washington contingency included just three beers: Boundary Bay IPA, Pike IPA and Long Hammer IPA. Boundary Bay IPA did very well, making it to the sweet sixteen. Pike IPA and Long Hammer IPA suffered disappointing losses in the first round. Perhaps the greatest highlight of last year’s tournament came in the second round when Boundary Bay IPA defeated Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA (high fives all the way around for that one!); however, the joy quickly turned to disappointment when they lost to Deschutes Inversion IPA in the sweet sixteen. That one hurt. In the end, it was Portland’s Laurelwood Brewing that took home the trophy for their Workhorse IPA (read it).
We are wondering a couple things.
- Which of our local breweries is going to compete in the big dance this year? Chime in and let us know if you intend to be in this year’s field.
- Who would you like to see compete in the big dance this year? Which of our local IPAs do you think can stand up to the competition?
Here is the official info from the Brewing News:
ATTENTION COMMERCIAL BREWERS:
THE NIPAC FIELD OF 64 IS COMPLETE
JOIN THE PUSH FOR 128!
We have 64 IPAs entered in the National IPA Championship and more hammering at the door. To be fair, we would need to double the amount of entrants to expand the field. Are you interested? It’s fun, it’s free and it’s full of our favorite flavor, Hops!
(If you are not a commercial brewer, feel free to discard this email or forward it on to a commercial brewer you know. We’ll let you know when the competition begins, so that you can make your picks on-line.)
Please sign up below for our Push for 128 and if we reach the goal, we’ve doubled the fun! Click here to register your beer.
We would let you know by the end of the month whether to send your beer or not.
Registration for NIPAC 2010 Click here to register your IPA. (Commerical Breweries Only)
In case you are unfamiliar with NIPAC….here is the description of the event:
It’s never too soon to plan for March Madness. We’re not talking hoops; we’re talking hops! And the NIPAC —the ultimate IPA tournament.
Brewing News is thrilled to annouce the 3rd Annual National IPA Challenge. As with last year, 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 will be published in the February/March issue of Great Lakes Brewing News and posted on-line. The events will be held at beer festivals across the nation, beginning in February 2010. The judges will all be brewers.
As with last year, IPA lovers will be able to choose their winners for each round on-line. They will log onto the web and read a brief description of your beer as well as view an image (be sure to fill out the description on the entry form, as well as send an image or logo via email). Prizes will be awarded for readers with correct NIPAC brackets. The top prize will be a free case of the 2010 NIPAC championship IPA. Results of each round will be posted on-line within twenty-four hours of each round. Final results and winners will be published on-line and in our April/May 2010 issue.
Copyright 2010, Brewing News
I would love to see how Walking Man IPA and Skullers IPA would do. How did Boundary Bay lose to Inversion last time? That surprises me.
I would love to see how Walking Man IPA and Skullers IPA would do. How did Boundary Bay lose to Inversion last time? That surprises me.
We are entering again this year!! It’s on! 🙂
We are entering again this year!! It’s on! 🙂