“March Madness isn’t just for college basketball fans,” says Bob Kelley, co-founder of the Mass. Brew Bros., a social media presence and website that covers all things craft beer in Massachusetts. “It’s also a great time of year for local craft beer drinkers, especially those who love IPAs.”
That’s because for the last two years the Mass. Brew Bros. have organized their own version of a March Madness tournament for craft beer’s most popular style, the New England IPA. Featuring a series of blind tastings, the highly anticipated event eventually crowns one brewery’s hazy, hoppy offering as the state’s top IPA. Last year’s tournament was a Cinderalla story that shocked everyone when then-home brewer Rustic Brewing made its way through the field of commercial brewers and upset vaunted Trillium in the finals. The tournament’s blind tasting format, free of brand hype and preconceived notions, is likely to result in its share of surprises this March as well.
”It was great to take away the labels and the hype and let the beer do the talking.” – Bearded & Brewed blogger Greg Desrosiers –
Thanks to key partnerships with some of the state’s best beer stores, the 2019 field of entrants has expanded to forty-plus IPAs this year and will be spread out over four regional events, culminating in the Championship Round Tasting at The Society of Master Beercierge in Belmont on Wednesday, April 3 from 7:00 to 9:00.
The Society of Master Beercierge in Belmont will host the Mass. Brew Bros. championship round blind tasting event featuring 8 finalists contending for the best IPA in Massachusetts.
At the championship round tasting, attendees will sample the 8 finalist IPAs chosen from top breweries in each of the four regions, narrowing the Elite 8 down to an eventual champion. In addition to the 8 finalist IPAs, a number of ‘special surprise’ beers will be sampled and shared. Because this is a finely curated beer list, a very limited number of tickets are available for this session.
“Last year’s tasting really opened my eyes and showed how much of an impact branding and hype can have on our perception of a beer.”
– Raising The Barstool Instagrammer Zack Rothman –
