This previous Friday, the Oregon Brewers Guild introduced the winners of its Better of the West Coast IPA Nationwide Throwdown at TopWire Hop Venture. Now in its second yr, this annual competitors is likely one of the Guild’s largest income sources because it recruits breweries from across the nation to enter this competitors.

For the competitors’s second yr, it obtained 181 entries from 13 states. This was a slight decline as in its inaugural yr the competitors noticed over 200 entries. Thirty judges from 5 states evaluated the 181 entries in triplicate in each preliminary and trophy rounds. That is stated to make the Better of the West one of the thorough and intensive beer competitions on the planet.

From the judging that happened in mid-July, 57 beers met the factors to enter into medal competition and 36 beers ended up being awarded medals within the Better of West Coast IPA Nationwide Throwdown.

So how does the Better of West competitors work when it’s devoted to at least one single beer model? Properly first off, sure, it’s one model, however there are six varied classes withing the West Coast IPA model for this competitors. These classes embody Conventional American IPA; WC IPA Beneath 6.7%; WC IPA Above 6.7%; Worldwide IPA; Flagship IPA; and Oregon Hop IPA.

The judging on the Better of the West award’s a number of gold and silver medals, recognizing the standard, breadth, and depth of the world-class IPA being produced within the nation. The successful beers characterize genre-leading examples from a few of the county’s high producers of hop ahead beer. Popping out on high on the 2024 Better of the West Coast IPA is Riip Beer Co. because it was awarded the Grand Champion IPA for its Riip’n Greens. Riip gained the Grand Champion award in 2023 as properly for a unique IPA, Danky Doodle Dandy. Camas, Washington’s Grains of Wrath gained the Runner-Up Grand Champion award for its beer Vacation spot Funeral whereas additionally taking house a separate gold medal for Constructed for Velocity.

Breweries from 13 states participated on this yr’s competitors, with heavy illustration coming from Oregon, California, and Washington. Medal successful beers got here from 5 states– the three West Coast states in addition to Texas and Colorado. California breweries led the medal depend with 16 awards, adopted by Oregon at 11. Breweries have been restricted to three entries no matter measurement or variety of areas.

Along with Riip and Grains of Wrath, different notable winners included Oregon’s Breakside Brewery and California’s North Park Beer Co and Fieldwork Brewing all of which gained 3 medals– one for every of its entries. Colorado’s Westbound and Down and Cerebral Brewing and Texas’s Pinthouse Brewing demonstrated that you just don’t must be a West Coast brewery to make nice West Coast IPA as each have been awarded gold medals regardless of being over one thousand miles from the closest Pacific seaside.

Beneath is the entire checklist of 2024 Better of West Coast IPA Nationwide Throwdown Winners that’s adopted by the class sizes and different stats of the annual competitors.

The 2024 Better of West Coast competitors was restricted to 450 beers complete. Every brewery is proscribed to a most of three entries. Multi-site breweries and brewery teams with widespread possession are restricted to three entries complete – the identical as single-site producers. The charge for every entry is $40 or $100 for 3 beers.

About The Writer

DJ

D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based mostly author that spent his early life within the Midwest. With over 25 years underneath his belt of consuming beer at festivals throughout America and the world, he has developed a robust appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the business that surrounds it. He may be present in any of the good breweries or beer bars that make Portland the most effective beer metropolis on the planet. His writing may also be discovered within the archives of Northwest Brewing Information and may be adopted on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.