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.
CHICAGO, IL
Round 2 of our Readers’ Choice Chicago Brewery Bracket saw more than 80,000 total votes. And upsets were the name of the game in the North and South, while all top 4 seeds advanced in the West. The Suburbs continue to intrigue as well, with the four remaining breweries all bringing out voters in droves. The battle for Chicago’s brewing ‘Elite 8’ is about to get interesting.
Vote for your favorite breweries across Chicago, below, and we will tally the votes in order to determine who makes it to the Sweet 16. Voting is closed, stay tune to see who made it to the Elite 8.
Spiteful Brewing (4) vs. Middle Brow Beer Co. (8)
In one of the biggest surprise moves of this tournament, bracket newbies, Middle Brow, took down North Side stalwart, Half Acre to make their way into the Sweet 16. It might just be a sign of things to come for the Logan Square brewers, as they ready their city taproom where they’ll get to showcase their fun and inventive recipes. They’ll take on cult favorites, Spiteful, who knows a thing or two about playing underdog themselves. Will their recent expansion success help propel them against a feisty Middle Brow crew?
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
Begyle Brewing Co. (3) vs. Aleman Brewing Co. (15)
In a first for our bracket, Begyle managed to finish Round 2 tied with Corridor, with 1,554 votes a piece. After the dramatic, down to the wire deadlock, it took an OT vote-off for Begyle to pull through–but they did so in dramatic fashion, capturing 70% of the tiebreaker. Here, they’ll battle with the scrappy outfit, Aleman, who has powered through the bracket thus far playing the role of ultimate Cinderella. How far can this 15-seed go?
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
Lagunitas Brewing (1) vs. Open Outcry Brewing Co. (13)
One-seed Lagunitas continued their tourney push, edging out Haymarket. In what is likely the truest David versus Goliath, the Douglas Park behemoth will match up against the South Side’s newest brewpub, Open Outcry. They small brewery from Morgan Park, contrary to their name, opened quietly on S. Western Avenue last summer. They’ve built somewhat of a fanatic following, and have leveraged that fandom in this bracket. Will it be enough to move them into the next round and continue their own underdog story?
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
Marz Community Brewing (2) vs. Around the Bend Beer Co. (6)
Marz took down last year’s bracket runner-up, Burnt City, to slide into the Sweet 16. Their wide lineup of unique brews and beautiful packaging–plus, that new taproom–will make for a tough opponent for Around the Bend. With creative recipes of their own, ATB’s unexpected move from brewing on the North to the South Side a little over a year ago forced them to re-focus. That move might’ve been a blessing in disguise, as their lineup of cans has expanded, to grace more and more of Chicago’s shelves. Who’ll take this one…?
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
Goose Island Beer Co. (1) vs. Maplewood Brewery & Distillery (4)
Goose Island is in the Sweet 16 for the first time–but only by the narrowest of margins, taking down Logan Square favorites, Hopewell, by less than 100 votes. Next in line for Goose is 4-seed, Maplewood. The Charlatan brewers continue to impress with a strong showing in the round of 32. With the top four seeds all still in play in the West, is this the matchup where we see one of the top seeds go down?
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
Revolution Brewing (2) vs. Pipeworks Brewing Co. (3)
Rev and Pipeworks have been on a collision course since this tourney tipped off. With each brewery crushing its last opponent by taking more than 70% of the vote, it’s going to be hard for Chicagoans to choose between these two fan favorites. This will be an epic battle full of Heroes, Ninjas, and a possibly even a few Unicorns. Who is left standing at the end of the mayhem is really anyone’s guess.
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
Noon Whistle Brewing (5) vs. Penrose Brewing (9)
Last year’s bracket champion, Noon Whistle, just barely edged suburban stalwart Wild Onion to make it out of the Round of 32. Their lineup of hazy IPAs and sours proved just too much to handle, it seems. They’ll lineup across from Geneva’s own impressive sour producers, Penrose, who’ve made a big packaged push in the market as of late. Which if these West Side favorites will notch another win?–we have to wonder if Penrose has what it takes to garner enough votes to outlast the reigning champs…
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
Solemn Oath Brewery (3) vs. Pollyanna Brewing Co. (10)
Solemn Oath took down newly-minted suburbanites, Hop Butcher, with surprisingly relative ease. Both are masters of the canned beers, each with a loyal legion behind them. Alas, Naperville reigned supreme. Things only get tougher though, as Southwest Side’s Pollyanna enters the fold against ‘SO’. With a second location under their belt now, and an impressively executed beer lineup, the Lemont favorites are playing the role of Suburbs Region Cinderella. They knocked off 2-seed Hailstorm to earn their Sweet 16 birth.
Voting has closed, stay tune for results!
For a PDF of the bracket, please click here.
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