It's never too soon to plan for March Madness. We’re not talking hoops; we’re talking hops! And the NIPAC —the ultimate IPA tournament.

Brewing News is thrilled to annouce the 3rd Annual National IPA Challenge. As with last year, participating IPAs from across the nation will be randomly chosen for a 1:1 single elimination bracket tournament. Winners of the first round will advance to the next. The complete IPA tournament bracket will be published in the February/March issue of Great Lakes Brewing News and posted on-line. The events will be held at beer festivals across the nation, beginning February 14, 2010. The judges will all be brewers.

As with last year, IPA lovers will be able to choose their winners for each round on-line. They will log onto the web and read a brief description of your beer as well as view an image (be sure to fill out the description on the entry form, as well as send an image or logo via email). Prizes will be awarded for readers with correct NIPAC brackets. The top prize will be a free case of the 2010 NIPAC championship IPA. Results of each round will be posted on-line within twenty-four hours of each round. Final results and winners will be published on-line and in our April/May 2010 issue.

•••••Click here to sign up for our Beer Brackets email!••••
Email subscribers will receive first notice when results have been posted. (Please note: The email sign up is separate from your bracket registration.)

Review Previous Competitions [Locker Rooms and Brackets]

Get your friends involved! Link to NIPAC with a NIPAC button! Click here for details.

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. Sign up for Beer Brackets email, and we'll notify you once the results are posted.

Contest Rules: Only ONE entry per person. Multiple entries will result in that contestant being disqualified. All entries must be submitted by the entry deadline—February 14, 2010, 12:00 pm EST/9 AM PST. NIPAC winners will be determined by the total points earned from each round. (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. Good luck!

Click here to visit the Locker Room and Enter the Contest by Choosing Your Predictions

•••••Remember: Click here to sign up for our Beer Brackets email! We'll let you know when results are posted. ••••