Ticket Giveaway - Brew Bracket Oktoberfest - CLOSED

Thank you for entering, this contest is now closed.  Congratulations to the winner, @bibliobuff!  Enjoy!

Our friends at Brew Bracket have been so kind as to offer two tickets to their event coming up at Tomlinson Tap Room on Saturday, September 28th.  

taste. vote. repeat.

Our Fall event features Oktoberfest style beers from 8 incredible local Indiana breweries.

The event will be held at Tomlinson Tap Room, where we'll bring the beer to you at your table. Included in the ticket are all 7 rounds of side by side tastings, samples from a couple home brewers showcasing their take on the style, entry into an incredible door prize raffle, and a half pint of your choice at the end of the event.

Participating brewers include Upland, Flat 12, Bier, Twisted Crew, RAM, Granite City, Iechyd Da, and #BBPales winner Thr3e Wisemen.

A portion of ticket sales will be donated directly to King Park Area Development Corporation (www.kpadc.org)

This is a 21+ event only. ID is required at the door. Designated driver tickets include free soda and water at the event. Additional food will be available for purchase through City Market vendors. Come join us for some great times with an intimate beer crowd tasting some limited edition Oktoberfest style beers.

Doors open at 5:45PM, first round of tasting begins at 6PM. For any more details about our event please visit www.brewbracket.com

We have two (2) tickets to give away to this event. To enter, please leave a comment below in which you tell us what you would pair with a liter of Oktoberfest.

We'll chose our favorite comment on Thursday (9/26/13) at 10 a.m. EST, and the winner gets the tickets. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE US A METHOD TO CONTACT YOU - an email address or a twitter handle is just fine. You'll be responsible for checking back to see if you've won, and we can figure the rest out after that.

LEGAL STUFF
Creative entries are particularly appreciated.
We reserve the right to not give you tickets if we think you're shady.
We reserve the right to change all the rules and not award the prize if we don't like how things go.
Don't be a pain in the ass.
By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of HoosierBeerGeek.com, which shall be final and binding with regard to all matters relating to the contest.
END OF LEGAL STUFF.

Ticket Giveaway - Brew Bracket - WINNER

Wow!  Thanks to all who submitted entries to the ticket giveaway.  You guys all outdid yourselves and are all deserving of tickets.  But there can only be one winner.... SO...

Congrats to slicknyk for the winning entry:

Brew, brew. Brew bracket, it’s true
No reason to feel blue, or be sad your plans fell through
Because…
Local Indy breweries, bring their Pales for you to judge
Try them all, try to be fair, give them all your respect and love
But…
In the end, like the Highlander there can be only one
So send me to the Pale Ale Brew Bracket so I can participate in the fun!

taste. vote. repeat.
Brew Bracket is back for a twist on the classic event, featuring 16 of Indiana's finest Pale Ales. Come join the crowd of 400 for an afternoon of blind, head to head beer tasting. Visit a station, taste two beers, and vote for your favorite across 15 rounds of tournament action. At the end of the day, one brewer will be left standing, the Brew Bracket champion.  

The event will feature award-winning pale ales from Flat 12, Upland, Bloomington, Barley Island, Triton, Brugge, Rock Bottom College Park, Half Moon, RAM, Iechyd Da, Three Wisemen, Union Brewing, Indiana City, Rock Bottom Downtown Indy, Peoples, and Evil Czech Brewing.  

A portion of ticket sales will be donated directly to People for Urban Progress (PUP), an Indianapolis based non-profit organization that promotes and advances public transit, environmental awareness, and urban design (http://www.peopleup.org/) 

This is a 21+ event only. ID is required at the door. Designated driver tickets include free soda and water at the event. We are proud to bring some of the greatest variety in food trucks to our events for anyone looking for a bite to eat during a break from the beer tasting. Come join us for great times, an infamous tweet wall, toe tapping tunes, rocking door prizes, and some of the best pale ales Indiana has to offer.   

The VIP session begins at 2PM and features a Q&A and additional sampling of some personal creations from previous Brew Bracket winners. Andrew Castner, head brewer of RAM (and most decorated Brew Bracket brewer) as well as one additional TBD brewer will be participating in the VIP hour before the Pale Ale event. Doors open to all participants at 2:45PM, tasting begins at 3.  

For any more details about our event please visit www.brewbracket.com or send us a question through Eventbrite. Cheers!

We have two (2) tickets to give away to this event. To enter, please leave a comment below in which you tell us a haiku or short poem with the words "brew", "bracket", and "pale".

We'll chose our favorite comment on Thursday (6/13/13) at 10 a.m. EST, and the winner gets the tickets. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE US A METHOD TO CONTACT YOU - an email address or a twitter handle is perfect. You'll be responsible for checking back to see if you've won, and we can figure the rest out after that.

LEGAL STUFF
Creative entries are particularly appreciated.
We reserve the right to not give you tickets if we think you're shady.
We reserve the right to change all the rules and not award the prize if we don't like how things go.
Don't be a pain in the ass.
By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of HoosierBeerGeek.com, which shall be final and binding with regard to all matters relating to the contest.
END OF LEGAL STUFF.

Ticket Giveaway - Brew Bracket this Saturday, October 8th

Congrats to Kirk, who left the favorite comment of our judge, Mike from Brew Bracket.

This Saturday from 12:30 to 5 p.m. at the Indiana State Fairgrounds' Pioneer our Land Pavilion, the second Brew Bracket event will take place. What's Brew Bracket? I suppose the best way to describe it is that it's a hybrid of the People's Choice Awards and the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Or, if you're more into movie metaphors, it's the craft beer version of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: Many beers enter, 1 beer leaves.

Okay, I'll stop futzing around and let Mike and Ryan, the gentlemen who have organized the event, describe it:

The Brew Bracket event features Indiana brewers each bringing the same style of beer for a tasting competition. The brewers are randomly seeded into a tournament-style bracket, and event-goers will blindly taste two beers at a time, voting for their favorite between the two. A majority vote will move that brew to the next round, with one brewer ultimately emerging as the People’s Choice Winner. The names behind the beer will only be revealed once the tournament is finished and a winner has been determined.

After the winner is announced at the event, the Brew Bracket team will publicize the results. Brew Bracket is working with local Indiana bars to feature the Brew Bracket winner as a tap selection and with local media organizations to promote the winning beer.

For this second Brew Bracket tournament, the style will be Stout.

Participating Brewers:
Barley Island Brewery – Noblesville, IN
Bee Creek Brewery – Brazil, IN
Bier Brewery – Indianapolis, IN
Bloomington Brewing Company – Bloomington, IN
Brugge Brasserie – Indianapolis, IN
Flat 12 Bierwerks – Indianapolis, IN
Figure 8 Brewing – Valparaiso, IN
Half Moon Restaurant and Brewery – Kokomo, IN
Lafayette Brewing Company – Lafayette, IN
Rock Bottom College Park – Indianapolis, IN
Rock Bottom Downtown – Indianapolis, IN
Triton Brewing Company – Indianapolis, IN
Twisted Crew Brewing Company – Seymour, IN
Upland Brewing Company – Bloomington, IN

Fortunately for you, we have two (2) tickets to give away to this event. To enter, please leave a comment below in which you tell us what you'd name your very own stout.

We'll chose our favorite comment on Friday (10/07/11) at 10 a.m. EST, and the winner gets the tickets. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE US A METHOD TO CONTACT YOU - an email address or a twitter handle is perfect. You'll be responsible for checking back to see if you've won, and we can figure the rest out after that.

LEGAL STUFF
Creative entries are particularly appreciated.
We reserve the right to not give you tickets if we think you're shady.
We reserve the right to change all the rules and not award the prize if we don't like how things go.
Don't be a pain in the ass.
By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of HoosierBeerGeek.com, which shall be final and binding with regard to all matters relating to the contest.
END OF LEGAL STUFF.

Brew Bracket IPA Challenge

I'll be the first to admit that I had a few reservations on how the day was going to go, but I am quite happy to say that Brew Bracket's IPA challenge on Sunday turned out to be a great event.  It's been a while since I've been able to be a participant in an beer event and from our vantage point, it seemed to go off without a hitch.  I am really happy Mike and I decided to go that route.

The bracket worked in quadrants, North, South, East, and West.  The first round had 8 of the 16 beers, second had the other 8.  Round 3 halved the competition to 8 and round 4 had the top four.  All judging of the beers was done blind, so you didn't know who was who, only that you had a beer in a gray cup and one in an orange cup.  Other than that, it was no different that any other bracket you are used to seeing.

The only difference is that you get to be a player in this event instead of a spectator.  And when matters, it can be a little nerve-wracking.  I really thought it was just going to be a chance to kick back and drink a few with some friends.  As it turned out, I was a bit of a nervous wreck the entire time.  I really wanted everyone to do well.  Some choices were easier than others but some were so difficult,  it just came down to circling a color on the ticket.  This is especially true for the later rounds.

Though my decisions didn't always match the crowd, I couldn't be happier with the outcome. The winners were clearly deserved and that was an easy thing to see as the rounds advanced.

The pace at times was a little hectic, but understandably so.  Timing was one of the biggest things I thought would be an issue.  It is easy to start chatting and stop paying attention to the clock, but the brew bracket guys did a nice job keeping everyone on time.

The bracket was as follows: * marks an advance through, + marks how I voted, if you are interested.

Round 1 - North
Flat 12 vs. Rock Bottom Downtown * +

Round 1 - West

Bier* vs. Crown+

Round 1 - East

Shoreline vs. Brugge*+

Round 1 - South
Figure 8+ vs. Sun King*

_____________________

Round 2 - North
Upland*+ vs. BBC Bloomington

Round 2 - West

Bee Creek Brewery*+ vs. Barley Island

Round 2 - East

Oaken Barrel+ vs. Rock Bottom College Park*

Round 2 - South
Ram+* vs. People's
______________________

Round 3 - North
Rock Bottom Downtown *+ vs. Upland

Round 3 - West

Bier*+ vs. Bee Creek

Round 3 - East
Brugge+ vs. Rock Bottom College Park*

Round 3 - South

Sun King+ vs Ram*

______________________

Round 4 - West
Rock Bottom Downtown +* vs. Bier

Round 4 - North
Rock Bottom College Park +* vs. Ram
______________________

Final
Rock Bottom DT +* vs. Rock Bottom CP

Liz Laughlin - Rock Bottom College Park and Jerry Sutherlin - Rock Bottom Downtown

Congratulations to all who participated and especially to Jerry for the big win! Thanks to Brew Bracket for putting on a very enjoyable event.  We look forward to the next one!

Ticket giveaway | Brew Bracket - Sunday, April 17

This Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Indiana State Fairgrounds' Pioneer our Land Pavilion, the first Brew Bracket event will take place. What's Brew Bracket?  I suppose the best way to describe it is that it's a hybrid of the People's Choice Awards and the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Or, if you're more into movie metaphors, it's the craft beer version of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome: 16 beers enter, 1 beer leaves.

Okay, I'll stop futzing around and let Mike and Ryan, the gentlemen who have organized the event, describe it:

The Brew Bracket event features 16 Indiana brewers each bringing the same style of beer for a tasting competition. The brewers are randomly seeded into a tournament-style bracket, and event-goers will blindly taste two beers at a time, voting for their favorite between the two. A majority vote will move that brew to the next round, with one brewer ultimately emerging as the People’s Choice Winner. The names behind the beer will only be revealed once the tournament is finished and a winner has been determined.

After the winner is announced at the event, the Brew Bracket team will publicize the results. Brew Bracket is working with local Indiana bars to feature the Brew Bracket winner as a tap selection and with local media organizations to promote the winning beer.

For this first Brew Bracket tournament, the style will be India Pale Ale. The following brewers have entered an IPA into the tournament:

* Barley Island Brewing Company
* Bee Creek Brewery
* Bier Brewery
* Bloomington Brewing Company
* Brugge Brasserie
* Crown Brewing
* Figure Eight Brewing
* Flat 12 Bierwerks
* Oaken Barrel Brewing Company
* People’s Brewing Company
* Ram Restaurant and Brewery
* Rock Bottom Brewery (Downtown)
* Rock Bottom Brewery (College Park)
* Shoreline Brewery
* Sun King Brewing Company
* Upland Brewing Company

Fortunately for you, we have two (2) tickets to give away to this event. To enter, please leave a comment below in which you tell us why you're worthy to serve as a beer judge at Brew Bracket. The fact that you're BJCP certified doesn't count. Just be creative. Making us laugh helps, especially if you can somehow integrate the phrase "a whale's vagina" into your comment.

We'll chose our favorite comment on Wednesday (4/13/11) at 5 p.m. EST, and the winner gets the tickets. MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE US A METHOD TO CONTACT YOU - an email address or a twitter handle is perfect. You'll be responsible for checking back to see if you've won, and we can figure the rest out after that.

LEGAL STUFF
Creative and long winded entries are particularly appreciated.
We reserve the right to not give you tickets if we think you're shady.
We reserve the right to change all the rules and not award the prize if we don't like how things go.
Don't be a pain in the ass.
By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of HoosierBeerGeek.com, which shall be final and binding with regard to all matters relating to the contest.
END OF LEGAL STUFF.