Big beers soar, while a mini upset and close calls mark Round 1 of Coloradoan beer bracket
Erin Udell- The Coloradoan's beer bracket competition has narrowed down to 32 beers after the first round of voting.
- Some well-known beers from established breweries advanced easily, while there were a few upsets.
- Readers can vote for their favorite beers in the next round through a link provided in the article.
The goses are gone, the ales have narrowed and competition is tightening in the Coloradoan's beer bracket.
Big beer names from long-lived breweries — think Odell Brewing Co.'s IPA, New Belgium Brewing's La Folie and Funkwerks' Tropic King — coasted through the first round.
Mythmaker Brewing's Delicious Compliance Hazy IPA edged out Peculier Ales' New England/Hazy IPA Hopportunity Knocks in a surprising victory for a small-batch brewer. Meanwhile, Peculier Ales' Old Mill Lager bested Breckenridge Brewery's Maibock in one of the bracket's few early upsets.
The first round's narrowest margin went to the matchup between Gilded Goat Brewing Co's Nokhu IPA and Stodgy Brewing Co.'s Hazy IPA. Stodgy won out with 50.89 % of the vote and will live to see another day in the fiercely competitive IPA region of the competition.
If you missed the first round but have made your way to the voting on the second round thanks to a QR code on a coaster, welcome!
As part of this project, the Coloradoan partnered with Bullfrog Wine and Spirits, Campus West Liquor Depot, Mulberry Max and Wilbur's Total Beverage to distribute thousands of beer bracket coasters — linking to this coverage — across nearly 20 Fort Collins breweries. Be sure to keep an eye out for them if you visit one of the many local breweries participating in the coming weeks.
Here's a full breakdown of the first round results. The beer that didn't make it out of round one is marked with a strike-through line.
Want to vote in the next round? Head here.
The Lager region
Old Aggie (1) vs. CrispySmith (16)
Prost's Dunkel (2) vs. The Kveixican (15)
Prost's Pilsner (3) vs. Vienna Lager (14)
Maibock (4) vs. Old Mill Lager (13)
Zwei Pils (5) vs. Neue Vienna (12)
Silver Lion Czech-Style Pilsner (6) vs. Stodgy's Mexican Lager (11)
Verboten Pilsner (7) vs. Perfect Day (10)
Guten Bock (8) vs Copperhead Road (9)
The Ales region (Including Amber Ales, Pale Ales and Stouts
Fat Tire (1) vs. Peacharine Pale Ale (16)
Trippel (2) vs. Bearded Old Wacko (15)
90 Shilling (3) vs. Kraftsman Cream Ale (14)
Tropic King (4) vs. Trail Pale Ale (13
Sad Panda Coffee Stout (5) vs. Purpose's Huisbier (12)
Fire Captain Irish Red Ale (6) vs. Picasso Pale Ale (11)
Maxline's Irish Red (7) vs. If You Give a Mouse a Stout (10)
Frumpy MooMoo Breakfast Stout (8) vs. Stodgy's Scottish Ale (9)
The IPAs region
Odell's IPA (1) vs. Better Use of Mind (16)
Space Ghost IPA (2) vs. Mythmaker's Black IPA (15)
Willy Nelson (3) vs. Liquid Disco (14)
Hopportunity Knocks (4) vs. Delicious Compliance (13)
Transfer Day IPA (5) vs. The Wedge (12)
Surfer Girl (6) vs. Spicoli's Bus (11)
Nokhu IPA (7) vs. Stodgy's Hazy IPA (10)
Tramps Like Us (8) vs. F.N.G. Hazy IPA (9)
The Fruit, Sours, Gose and Wheat beers region
La Folie (1) vs. Wheat Dreams (16)
Sippin' Pretty (2) vs. Illegal Lemonade Stand (15)
Thinking of Something Orange (3) vs. Winter Sour (14)
Raspberry Provincial (4) vs. Hollywood Bungalow (13)
Easy Street (5) vs. Raspberry Wheat (12)
Prost's Hefeweizen (6) vs. Unicorn Bubbles (11)
Vernal Hefeweizen (7) vs. Stodgy's Gose (10)
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