by the Steward
        I expect upsets in the National IPA Challenge; it’s part of what makes it fun. But three of last year’s Final Four beers gone after the first round? Time to rewrite the playbook!
        The judging procedure is the same as last year. Two beers (alpha and beta) are brought to a three panel judging group by yours truly. While I retreat to organize for the next presentation, the judges sip and savor, and debate and determine which is the better IPA of the two.         Most of the decisions are unanimous, with about 20% garnering a split decision.
        One Final Four overturn wasn’t a surprise at all. In addition to Cambridge House’s entry being brewed by a different brewer (not the hop-famed Steve Schmidt), the beer never showed up to compete. The new brewer had been sacked, the owners couldn’t find any beer (despite entering), the hop opera went on and on despite our repeated attempts to wrench a six-pack out of them. Case dismissed, a forfeit.
        The second Final Four beer to fall, Ithaca’s Flower Power, was a shocker. It’s simply a superb beer. But not as good as Big Sky’s IPA determined the judges (in a split decision). Big Sky’s entry must have been reformulated somewhat since last year, as a taste of the remainder in the first bottle after the judging indicated a superbly balanced, hop-driven beauty. This one is sure to continue bedazzling judges.
        The biggest shocker of the first round, of course, was the loss of Green Flash’s West Coast IPA. An amazingly flavorful beer, it went all the way to the championship round last year, and won it. But Big Dog’s Hop Harvest Ale bested the champ and was the judges’ pick. Look out for this giant killer, which is running on all its cylindro-cones.
        The only Final Four beer from last year to go through was Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale, an IPA with so many awards around its neck that it resembles one of those brewers who wins the small brewery of the year award at the GABF. Two-Hearted is an easy pick to go all the way, having only lost in the final last year. It’s a hall of fame beer.
        Of course this is part of the beauty of the event. Inevitably, some big name beers will go through-they have developed that reputation deservedly. But there are also lesser well know beers that are just as good, and this is a great forum for those to show their stuff to a wider audience. What the contest also reveals is the high level of prowess that U.S. brewers possess.
        The road to the Final Four is paved with strong competitors. Many of the beers that advanced are superb samples of the style and can wow the judges until harvest time. I should have known this, given how much care the brewers took with their entries. Each bottle came wrapped once, sometimes twice, in bubble wrap, then cushioned again. It felt almost sacrilegious at times, taking the wrapping off after so much care had been put into sending it off on a safe journey.
        But the contestants are happy now, kept in the cool and dark until the next round, this weekend. Judges have been found, hopheads who will use their palates to choose a winner and send it on. Let the games continue.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 2:19 pm and is filed under NIPAC Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.