More commonly regarded as IPA, the India pale ale is, far and away, the most purchased style of beer in the country. Tracing the New Word IPA renaissance back to the source leads one to the West Coast, where generations of brewers from Washington State down to our very own San Diego have upped the hops, initially aiming for increased bitterness, but in the past decade or so striving to increase citrus, tropical and stone fruit flavors and aromas. So, it’s appropriate that an organization hailing from that region, the Oregon Brewers Guild, has established an event devoted to the style, the Best of the West Coast IPA National Throwdown.
This year marked the arrival of this professional-brewing competition. While it is focused solely on the IPAs of the West Coast ilk (versus New England-style hazies, milkshake or other permutations), participation is open to brewing companies from across the nation. In its initial running, Best of the West garnered and considered beers from 80 breweries in 15 states. That figure was enough to make it the third-largest IPA competition in the country; quite the accomplishment for a first-year event developed as a revenue generator for a trade organization.
Overall, 18 gold and silver medals were handed out in different style categories, while nine beers earned their manufacturers champion designations in other classifications. One local brewery received top honors in one of the group-sizes awards while nabbing a pair of silvers for their hoppy stock. That operation was serial award-winner, North Park Beer Co.
Owner Kelsey McNair’s oft-lauded West Coast IPA, Hop-Fu!, won for best Flagship IPA. Meanwhile, a Citra-forward variant created in collaboration with Tampa, Florida’s Magnanimous Brewing, Charlie-Fu!, and another collab brewed with the hosts of the Experimental Brewing podcast, Denny Kong, shared second place in Category 3 (West Coast IPA above 6.7% ABV) with Hello, LA from Los Angeles’ Highland Park Brewery.
“When I heard that the Oregon Brewers Guild was going to have a National West Coast IPA Throwdown, that definitely sounded like something we should participate in as everyone knows how much I love making West Coast IPAs,” says McNair. “The organizational team looked great and it felt like it had all of the makings of a well-run contest, however, the window of time from the competition’s announcement to when the entries were due was very small, so we didn’t have the opportunity to plan ahead and make anything specifically for the event.”
Because of that quick turnaround time, McNair and his crew sent in three West Coast IPAs (the maximum number of entries per brewery) that they happened to have in cans, meaning they were essentially judged on their everyday practices and product quality.
“It was incredibly cool to see all three beers earn awards and especially awesome that Hop-Fu! took top honors for the Flagship IPA category,” says McNair.
Top honors at Best of the West included Grand Champion IPA Danky Doodle Dandy from Huntington Beach’s Riip Beer Co., and Breakside IPA from Milwaukie, Oregon-based Breakside Brewery, which came in runner-up in that same category.