Nominate IPAs for Enoteca's Elite Eight

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Nominate IPAs for Enoteca's Elite Eight

Posted By Lisa Waananen on Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 1:19 PM

In March, everything is better in brackets, and beer tasting is no exception. So it’s fortunate that Enoteca in Post Falls is hosting an IPA March Madness tasting that will pit eight excellent IPAs against each other in three rounds of blind taste testing.

The final eight are being decided now, with nominations and votes. They’ve already got a good list of contenders, but it would be great to see some more local names on the board. Head over to Facebook to see the leaders, nominate other ones and vote. (Or maybe start a bracket tournament?)

Voting closes on Saturday, March 23, and then the main event is the following Wednesday. This is Enoteca’s description of how it works:

“On the night of the IPA March Madness tasting, we pour the beers in blind head-to-head match-ups. They all come out in pitchers regardless of original packaging. You have an A glass and a B glass in front of you, and we pour each selection. You won’t know which two beers are in your two beer glasses, and you get to vote for your favorite. This takes brand name, price, and label out of the equation. What do you really like? The loser is revealed, and the winner proceeds to the next round.”

Tickets to the event cost $20, and more than half are already sold. You can register online here.

If you want to do a little IPA palate-conditioning ahead of time, Enoteca currently has four IPAs on tap for pints and growler fills: Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA, Beer Valley Leader Madness IPA, Laughing Dog Purebred Series Citra Single Hop IPA and Deschutes Hop Henge Imperial IPA. (The lineup changes frequently, so check their list online.)

And, if you’re up for an early start to St. Patrick’s Day weekend, Enoteca also has a free whiskey tasting tonight for Irish Whiskey Wednesday. Or combine St. Paddy’s and March Madness tonight at Twigs with the Marchtini Madness fundraiser. Just order a Shamrock Drop martini — similar to a Lemon Drop — at any Twigs location and a portion of the cost will benefit Holy Family’s Family Maternity Center.

Tags: beer , Food , Image