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 Jack Muldowney.
CHICAGO, IL
After over 200,000 of your votes, the best brewery from each of Chicagoland’s regions has been decided. From the North region, Burnt City continues their run with Spiteful falling by the wayside in the Elite 8. They’ll face off against the South’s Lagunitas, a national juggernaut that barely avenged last year’s upset (won by .8%) by taking down 2016 winner Horse Thief Hollow. In the other matchup, Pipeworks cruised past their next door neighbor Off Color in the West and will battle it out with suburban cinderella Noon Whistle, who’s garnered more votes than any brewery in the bracket thus far. With only two wins needed to take the crown, this is anyone’s game.
Vote for your favorite breweries from our Final 4 below, and we will tally the votes to determine our championship matchup. Voting for the Final 4 concludes, Friday, 3/31 at 9pm.
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Burnt City Brewing (5) vs. Lagunitas Brewing (1)
Who woulda guessed out of all the brewing talent on the North side, Burnt City would rise above them all to conquer the region? We sure didn’t, but the voters have spoken as the Lincoln Park brewpub dominated Spiteful in the Elite 8. They’ll face their toughest challenge yet as they matchup against the lone remaining number one seed — Lagunitas from the South region. The hop-forward brewery may have its roots in California, but there’s no denying they’ve captured the hearts and minds of Chicagoans with their massive brew space and taproom in Douglas Park. Will Lagunitas avoid a repeat of last year’s huge upset, or will Burnt City prove the they’re a brewery to be reckoned with?
Voting is closed, stay tuned for results.
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Pipeworks Brewing (3) vs. Noon Whistle Brewing (12)
Since moving into their huge new production facility in 2015, Pipeworks has been flooding the city with their solid lineup of regular canned beers and one-off bombers. Putting them over the top this year was the opening of the Dojo, their in house bottle shop and best source for all their limited releases. From the southwest ‘burbs comes Noon Whistle, a brewery that hit their stride in the last year with the release of a beautiful new can lineup of year-round session beers and rotating sours. A giant of the Chicago brewing scene faces off against the suburban cinderella in the Final 4. Who will prevail?
Voting is closed, stay tuned for results.
Best of luck to the remaining 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 to determine who will battle it out in the Championship Round.
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