Brewery Bracket Challenge | Which College Has the Best Brewery Scene?

Well, it certainly wasn’t the March Madness we’ve all come to anticipate. And while the Coronavirus may have put a damper on the actual tournament itself, the PorchDrinking team still decided to do our part in giving a school their One Shining Moment.

In honor of what would have been tonight’s National Championship matchup, we decided to break down this year’s bracket to crown a champion if the tournament were based solely on each college’s brewery scene.

We went round by round comparing brewery scenes of each respective school in head-to-head matchups. And because this year’s bracket wasn’t actually released, we turned to Joey Brackets, ESPN’s Chief Bracketologist, Joe Lunardi and his final bracket projection as our guide.

It’s important to keep in mind, we differed first to breweries located in the same city as the school, then as a backup considered breweries in close proximity. In certain situations, we had multiple schools located within the same city. In those instances, we divided up breweries based on proximity. In the case of play-in games, teams were judged based only on the top three strongest breweries within their cities as often times play-in teams don’t have the depth of those that actually make the tournament.

So which university’s beer scene would have their one shining moment in this year’s bracket? Our team, which included contributions from Chris and Sylvia Hollands, Kevin Kain, David Nilsen, Drew Davis, Karl Kalinkewicz, Danielle Engel, and Tristan Chan all weighed in to crown our tournament champion. And special thanks to Josh Ritenour on the graphics.

East Region

Dayton – Dayton, OH
Breweries: Branch & Bone, Warped Wing, Eudora, Carillon, Fifth Street

Boston University (Boston, MA) / Robert Morris (Moon Township, PA)
Breweries: Trillium, Night Shift, Lord Hobo vs Cobblehaus Brewing

The Matchup: Based on our parameters we’re only accounting for the top three entries from our play-in game schools. While Dayton’s beer scene is vastly underrated, and would typically upset most other first-round matchups, the city of Boston has heavy hitters like Trillium and Night Shift

Photo by Dustin Hall, The Brewtography Project

Colorado – Boulder, CO
Breweries: Avery, Upslope, Mountain Sun Pubs, Sanitas, Finkel & Garf, Ska Street Brewstillery

Florida – Gainsville, FL
Breweries: Blackadder, Swamp Head, First Magnitude, Cypress & Grove, BallyHoo Grill

The Matchup: This first-round matchup should be a 1 seed versus 16. While the state of Florida as a whole has some gems, Gainsville doesn’t stand a chance versus Boulder’s titans like Avery & Upslope

Butler – Indianapolis, IN
Breweries: Sun King, Upland, Central State, Indiana City, Fountain Square, Bier Brewery, Metazoa

Texas (Austin, TX) / Richmond (Richmond, VA)
Breweries: Jester King, Live Oak, AGBG vs. The Veil, The Answer, Triple Crossing

The Matchup: If the bracket were seeded based on beer scene, these two teams would likely earn 1 or two seeds. Instead, this play-in game features two heavy hitters that both have all-star top three lineups elite in their own style categories. In the end, Texas’ top three get the slight edge, and they also go on to up-end Butler in their first-round matchup.

Maryland- College Park, MD
Breweries: Denizens Brewing, Streetcar 82, DC Brau

Akron – Akron, OH
Breweries: Hoppin’ Frog Brewery, Thirsty Dog, Missing Mountain

The Matchup: Akron boasts a surprisingly strong top two in the backcourt with Hoppin’ Frog and Thirsty Dog, and if Maryland’s beer scene were extended to DC, they’d get the edge, in what’s likely an up and down seven versus eight matchup, Akron gets the nod.

Penn State – State College, PA
Breweries: Happy Valley Brewing, Voodoo Brewery State College,

NC State (Raleigh, NC) / UCLA (Los Angeles, CA)
Trophy Brewing, Brewery Bhavana, Ancillary* Fermentation vs Three Chiefs Beer, Cellador Ales, Three Weavers

The Matchup: This play-in game is a bit more difficult to sort through. Because we’ve got multiple schools in LA, we’ve had to field the best breweries to each respective school within LA. With that in-mind, UCLA is relatively close to diaper dandies Three Chiefs Beer and Cellador Ales, as well as the more established Three Weavers, which gets the edge over Raleigh’s also strong lineup. And while NC State would have beaten Penn State handily and likely made some waves the rest of the tournament, UCLA moves on to the round of 32.

Villanova – Philadelphia, PA
Breweries – Tired Hands, Crime and Punishment, Fermentery Form and Blendery, 2nd District, Evil Genius, Dock Street

Hofstra – Long Island, NY
Breweries – Barrier Brewing, Root + Branch, Sand City, Greenport Brewing, North Fork Brewing, Destination Unknown Beer Company,

The Matchup: While Long Island itself has some sleeper contenders, Philly’s brewery scene has some strong contenders at the top of the rotation. If this were a contest that included beer bars, it’d be a landslide. Villanova moves on.

West Virginia – Morgantown, WV
Breweries – Chestnut Brew Works, Morgantown Brewing, Mountain State Brewing

Utah State – Logan, UT
Breweries – Talisman Brewing, Roosters Brewing, Epic Brewing, Squatters, Wasatch, Uinta

The Matchup: Neither beer scenes have too much to boast in their immediate cities but Logan’s proximity to Salt Lake City’s beer scene gives them the slight edge in this bottom feeder matchup. Utah State advances.

Photo Courtesy of Ology Brewing Facebook

Florida State – Tallahassee, FL
Breweries: Ology, GrassLands, Lake Tribe, Proof, Fool’s Fire

Northern Kentucky – Highland Heights, KY
Breweries: Braxton, Wooden Cask, Darkness Brewing, BIRCUS, Mash Cult

The Matchup: One of the more underrated first-round matchups, Florida State is bolstered by an elite level brewery in Ology, but as we learned last year has some diaper dandies that aren’t far behind. FSU moves on after improved play from the previous year.

Second Round

Boston University vs Colorado

While Trillium, Night Shift and Lord Hobo pose a formative trio, because they’re just a play-in team they lose out on depth to a deeper Boulder brewery scene.

Texas vs Akron

While the other play-in team failed to advance, Texas’ top three are enough to overwhelm the likes of a veteran Akron lineup. Texas moves on to the next weekend.

UCLA vs Villanova

Similarly, even with a short-handed team due to their split with USC, UCLA is able to overcome Villanova. If beer bars were involved, it might be a different story, and with Fermentary Form rising so quickly, in a few years this might be a different story, but we’re going solely on breweries here.

Utah State vs Florida State

This is one of those matchups that benefitted from the draw. While Utah State showed heart, Florida State continues its Cinderella run.

Sweet Sixteen

Colorado vs Texas

Despite being led by only three anchor breweries (again, due to them being a play-in team), Texas’ all-star trio amount to a Curry, Durant, Thomas lineup. The Boulder beer scene took a hit this year losing Boulder Beer, Wild Woods, and seeing a transfer from Cellar West to Longmont, but with Ska Street Brewstillery, 4 Noses’ new spinoff coming on board and Outworld opening recently, they’ve got young talent rising up through the ranks and will be back in just a few years.

UCLA vs Florida State

Los Angeles’ beer scene has seen tremendous development over the last few years and so despite splitting the field with USC, UCLA is still able to overcome the Cinderella run by FSU. Three Chiefs is is already making major waves among beer nerds nationally, and is primed to become force in the LA beer scene. UCLA advances.

Elite Eight

Texas vs UCLA

Texas’ three-headed monster continues to give teams fits as UCLA’s Hollywood story finally comes to a close. With two of the best Lager producers in the country and one of the best in Wild/Sour Ales, just down the road, Austin is just too much to handle.

West

Gonzaga – Spokane, WA
Breweries: Whistle Punk, NoLi, Iron Goat, Perry Street, Black Label, Community Pint, Humble Abode Brewing

Prairie View A&M (Prairie View, TX) / North Carolina Central (Durham, NC)
Breweries: Huff Brewing, Lone Pint Brewing vs Barrel Culture, Ponysaurus Brewing, Hi-Wire Brewing

The Matchup: Like UCLA, North Carolina Central shares a beer city with another school in Duke University. So we’ve split the city as best as possible due to proximity and in this scenario, North Carolina Central Advances past both Prairie View and buoyed by Barrel Culture also upsets Gonzaga.

LSU – Baton Rouge, LA
Breweries: Tin Roof Brewing Company, Southern Craft, Rally Cap Brewing, Parish Brewing Co, Urban South Brewing

Oklahoma – Norman, OK
Breweries – Lazy Circles, (405) Brewing, Black Mesa, Brewhouse Brewery, Beer Is Good

The Matchup: Neither school has world beaters in their immediate proximity but if you look farther out, LSU has the slight nod if you were to look down the road to NOLA with Parish and Urban South.

Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI
Breweries: HOMES, Jolly Pumpkin, Wolverine State, Hop Cat, Schramms

Yale – New Haven. CT
Breweries: New England Brewing Company, East Rock Brewing, No Worries Brewing, Fox Farms, Two Roads Brewing Company, OEC Brewing

The Matchup: If this tournament were about extended beer scenes, Yale might stand a chance with contenders like Two Roads, Fox Farms and OEC within hour drives away, but Michigan wins this one with Homes and Jolly Pumpkin right within their backyard.

Oregon – Eugene, OR
Breweries – Alesong, Oakshire, Ninkasi Brewing, ColdFire Brewing, Falling Sky Brewing

New Mexico State – Las Cruces, NM
Breweries: Bosque, Spotted Dog, Icebox, High Desert, Picacho Peak Brewing

The Matchup: While Bosque Brewing is extremely strong and has won numerous GABF medals, Oregon’s beer scene in Eugene is far and away the winner in this matchup.

BYU – Provo, UT
Breweries: Strap Tank Brewing

Indiana – Bloomington, IN
Breweries: Upland Brewing, Function Brewing, Switchyard Brewing, Bloomington Brewing

The Matchup: Strap Tank brings senior leadership as Utah’s first brewery. And Indiana is also led by an advanced upperclassman in Upland Brewing, who’s home base is located in Bloomington. In a true veteran battle, Upland prevails easily to move on.

Seton Hall – South Orange, NJ
Breweries: Gaslight Brewery, Magnify, Twin Elephant Brewing, Bolero Snort Brewing, Four City Brewing, Brix City Brewing

Eastern Washington – Cheney, WA
Breweries: Whistle Punk, NoLi, Iron Goat, Perry Street, Black Label, Community Pint, Humble Abode Brewing

The Matchup:
While neither school’s most local beer scene offers much to be desired, they both have some talent nearby. Unfortunately for Eastern Washington, their closest options were already claimed by Gonzaga in Spokane so this one goes to Seton Hall.

Arizona – Tuscon, AZ
Breweries: Pueblo Vida, Tap N Bottle, Iron John’s, Wren House (Phoenix)

Texas Tech – Lubbock, TX
Breweries: Yellow House Canyon, LBK Brewing, Triple J Chophouse and Brew Co, The Plains

The Matchup: Pueblo Vida makes Tuscon the obvious choice here, but also with Phoenix nearby, it’s a no contest, Arizona moves on.

San Diego State – San Diego, CA
Breweries: Modern Times, Pure Project, Societe, Abnormal Brewing, Fall Brewing, Stone Brewing, Ballast Point

UC Irvine – Irvine, CA
Breweries: Gunwhale Ales, Tustin Brewing, TAPS Fish House, Good Beer Company, Bruery Terreux

The Matchup: San Diego State is the number one seed in this region, but they face a surprisingly difficult first-round matchup in UC Irvine who has a strong lineup in Gunwhale Ales, TAPS, Tustin and The Bruery down the road. Still, it’s nearly impossible to see a 12 upend a 1 seed, so San Diego State survives the first-round scare.