PORTLAND, Ore. — In poring through contenders in the 2021 Oregon Beer Showdown's fourth round, those casting ballots for their favorite brewer may themselves stymied by their choices.
That's understandable. The matchups feature one venerable alemaker that's fared better this year than ever, two upstarts that figure to play major roles in Portland brewing going forward and five beer mainstays that have either won or fared well in previous Showdowns.
The bracket-style contest, in which readers choose their favorite Oregon-based brewers, is co-presented by KGW and the Portland Business Journal. Here's a look at who's squaring off in each of the four brackets.
- Last year's champion — actually, the champion over the last two years — Ecliptic hopes to extend its streak. To do so, it must get past Wayfinder, which ousted the mighty Deschutes in the round of 16.
- That doesn't mean Deschutes doesn't have a dog in the fight. The company bought Boneyard Beer Co. earlier this year. And Boneyard is looking to overcome Portland's Migration Brewing, which, as the PBJ's Brandon Sawyer wrote Monday, "has been true to its name, branching out from its original brewpub on Northeast Glisan to new locations in North Portland, Gresham and a downtown rooftop."
- Breakside Brewing, no stranger to the Showdown's semifinals, must overcome the Bend favorite Crux Fermentation Project to get there in 2021. Both breweries are national award-winning enterprises that count plenty of fans among those who enjoy bigger barrel-aged beers and lighter fare, such as pilsners, alike.
- The other quarterfinal pits Buoy, the Astoria brewery that has long embraced the Showdown (it started as a No. 16 seed in 2013, our first year, and advanced to the finals, then subsequently won the Showdown twice) against pFriem, the 2018 Mid-Sized Brewery of the Year (collecting the honor at the Great American Beer Festival) honoree.
A reminder that duplicated votes are tossed out at the end of each round, which could lead to a discrepancy between counts on the PBJ website and the final results. Our voting rules are here.
The voting ends Sunday, Dec. 5, at 11:59 p.m.
Click here to see the current bracket for Round 4
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