The annual Brewing News National IPA Championship (NIPAC) is a fun “March Madness” style competition that pits IPAs from all over the country against each other in head-to-head matchups with judges deciding who moves on in a blind tasting. Once the tournament lineup is complete, IPA lovers will be able to choose their winners for each round on the website. The person with the best bracket wins a case of the championship beers! The website should be set up with the brackets in early February, so check the website then. You can also sign up for an email alert.

BREWERS: It is not too late to register for the event! You can sign up on the website, and entries must be received in the first week of February. This year, there are three categories you can submit beer to: Session IPAs (5% ABV or less), IPAs (5% – 7.5% ABV) and Imperial IPAs (7.5% ABV or greater).

Here are the past winners:
IPA Winners:
2008: WEST COAST IPA, Green Flash
2009: WORKHORSE IPA, Laurelwood
2010: HEAD HUNTER IPA, Fat Heads
2011: TRIPLE PLAY IPA,Lawson’s Finest Liquids
2012: HEAD HUNTER IPA, Fat Heads
2013: PALLET JACK IPA, Barley Brown’s
2014: PROJECT DANK, La Cumbre
2015: SCALE TIPPER, Bosque

Imperial IPA Winners:
2013: MEGAFAUNA, Laurelwood
2014: EL LUPULO LIBRE, Brew Kettle Production Works
2015: HEADWALL DOUBLE IPA, Tamarack