This content was originally published by The Hop Review, a digital magazine that joined the Hop Culture family in March 2020.
This piece was written by Nick Costa.
ChicagoLAND, IL
2019 Chicago Brewery Bracket:
Suburbs – Rd. 2
The first round of our 2019 Readers’ Choice Chicago Brewery Bracket is in the books, after 78,278 total votes–with the most of any region, 22,642, coming from the Suburbs. Here, the region provided a few big upsets, including 2-seed, More, exiting early. Who’ll survive among these top breweries to make Round 3?
Vote for your favorite breweries below, and we will tally the votes in order to select a “Sweet 16” for the next round. Voting for Round 2 concludes, Sunday, 3/17 at 5pm CST.
And be sure to vote for the other regions here: NORTH | SOUTH | WEST
Solemn Oath Brewery (1) vs. Mikerphone Brewing (8)
Solemn Oath’s first year as a 1-seed saw a close victory over buzzed-about Batavia brewery, Energy City. They’ll see another hype brewery as their opponent in Round 2, as Mikerphone makes it out of Round 1 for just the first time…
These polls have closed. Cheers!
Miskatonic Brewing (15) vs. Pollyanna Brewing Co. (10)
After winning the play-in matchup to make the field of 68, Miskatonic saw a late push in voting, to eventually topple Suburban hype machine, More Brewing. They’ll try to carry their momentum against the uber balanced alemakers, Pollyanna.
These polls have closed. Cheers!
Noon Whistle Brewing (3) vs. Hailstorm Brewing Co. (6)
2017 champions, Noon Whistle, brought in the most votes of any brewery in the bracket to outlast Crystal Lake in Round 1. Their opponent is Tinley Park’s maker of clamored-for-stouts and award-winning pale ales, Hailstorm.
These polls have closed. Cheers!
Hop Butcher For The World (5) vs. Penrose Brewing (13)
After Hop Butcher left the city, it left a slight void on Chicago’s North Side. But, they seem to be doing well in Darien these days, as they continue their breakneck release pace. They will square off against far west ‘burb Penrose who looks prove they deserve higher than a 13-seed, after taking down behemoth Two Brothers for the second year in a row…
These polls have closed. Cheers!
Best of luck to the remaining 32 breweries. It’s hard to pick a favorite Chicago beer maker as we all know, but hey, here’s your chance. Stay tuned as we tally the votes in order to select a “Sweet 16.”
Vote for the other regions below:
