Join us in celebrating March Madness with a hops - not hoops - competition. A single elimination bracket of 32 IPAs from across the nation are going head to head in a battle to see who has biggest cone-jones! The National IPA Championship (NIPAC) starts with the preliminary round on February 23rd in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Who will be the 2008 IPA champion? Enter your prediction of each round on-line at www.brewingnews.com/nipac to qualify for the 2008 NIPAC Winners Contest. All contestants that correctly predict the winners of every round and the final champion will be included in a NIPAC Contest Winners Drawing. Prizes include a full case of beer from the 2008 National IPA Champion, tee-shirts, posters and brewery merchandise.

Visit our on-line Locker Room for full descriptions of each of the IPA competitors. After confirming your age, you will then be able to review the beers and then proceed to our on-line contest . Want to know if your favorite IPAs advance to the next level? Follow their progress on-line using the link provided in the Locker Room. NIPAC winners are posted to the web site within 24 hours of each round.

Print a bracket sheet to put in your office, beer bar, homebrew shop...anywhere! Get hopped up - join the fun on your own, or in an office or bar pool!

Contest Rules: Only ONE entry per person. Multiple entries will result in that contestant being disqualified. All entries must be submitted by February 22. NIPAC winners will be determined by the total points earned from each round. One point will be awarded for Round One Winners, two points for Round Two Winners, four points for Round Three Winners, eight points for the Final Four Winners and sixteen points will be awarded for correctly choosing the Champion IPA. Brewing News employees can enter the contest, but are not eligible to win any prizes.

The Judging Process: All judges will be brewers. They will be organized into panels of 3, and given the task of choosing the best IPA between two beers. The judges will not know what beers they are being served. The majority rules on the voting.

A steward will serve the panel the two beers (Sample "Alpha" and Sample "Beta"). The beers will be served in clean, small cylindrical glasses. Each sample will be a 3 ounce pour. Once the preferred IPA is chosen, the panel will move to the next sample. No panel will judge more than six pairs.

At the completion of the judging session, the names of the beers will be revealed to the panels and audience at large. The winners will be posted to the web site within 24 hours.

Note: The NIPAC challengers were selected at random and placed on the chart in order from one to thirty-two.

Click here to visit the Locker Room and Enter the Contest

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