Beer

Vote for the Final Four local breweries in our Malt Madness beer tournament

By Ryan Lillis

March 23, 2018 3:55 AM

On to the Tasty Eight.

After some close races – and perhaps some ballot-stuffing – the field is set for the third round of Malt Madness.

An epic battle emerged in the second round in the IPA Bracket, where Track 7 defeated Knee Deep by just four votes. We had stupidly left Knee Deep out of the first round – and tapped them in for New Helvetia, who asked to be removed. But Knee Deep couldn’t quite get past one of the region’s biggest craft brewers.

Hoppy Brewing moved on with more than 1,200 votes – by far the most of any competitor. But there may be an explanation for that: a single IP address voted for Hoppy 650 times. They also received 327 votes from a second location. Someone must really, really love Hoppy. If you really, really love Track 7, good luck trying to match those two Hoppy fanatics.

There were a couple of upsets in the second round. A pair of critically-acclaimed top seeds – Berryessa and Moonraker – were knocked out.

There’s also a Cinderella Story brewing, as No. 7 Crooked Lane from Auburn has advanced to the final eight.

[Download a printable bracket of the Elite Eight round]

Voting for the third round will run from Friday through midnight Sunday, narrowing the Elite Eight to a Final Four. You’re welcome to share Malt Madness and each head-to-head poll on Facebook and Twitter, but you can’t vote more than once from this device.

Two more rounds of voting will culminate with a champion April 2. Watch for the next round Tuesday, March 27.

No. 1 Track 7 vs. No. 6 Hoppy Brewing

Hoppy clobbered Device in the second round, churning out more than 1,200 votes. Now it takes on Track 7, one of the region’s biggest craft brewers.

No. 4 Tilted Mash vs. No. 7 Crooked Lane

A couple of underdogs face off here. Tilted Mash from Elk Grove beat out top seed Moonraker in the second round. Crooked Lane, a seventh seed, is brewing its own Cinderella Story.

No. 1 Bike Dog vs. No. 2 New Glory

A pair of top seeds go at it in the Lager Bracket. Bike Dog is cruising right now. New Glory narrowly defeated Auburn Alehouse in the second round.

No. 2 Sactown Brewing vs. No. 4 Flatland Brewing

After upsetting the critically-acclaimed Berryessa in the second round, Elk Grove’s Flatland takes on Sactown Union, the popular East Sac brewer.

If the polls and brackets aren’t visible, please click here.

This story was originally published March 23, 2018 at 3:55 AM with the headline "Vote for the Final Four local breweries in our Malt Madness beer tournament."