MALT MADNESS

What was originally intended solely to be a cheesy way to tie into people's obsession with college basketball craziness that happens this time of year...grew into a quite interesting competition.

One day, the world famous Lolo plants the seed, "hey...we should do something like March Madness at The Irish Pol...but with beer." I, in turn, was the water, dirt, and sun. Of course.

So, we write down on scraps of paper all the beers we have on tap (we have 40, btw, thee MOST in Philly!) Throw all the scraps in a hat. For some strange unknown reason, the hat had a pancake on it! Or, was it a hamburger? Maybe a biscuit?!?!? What a stupid and shitty mascot any of those would be. Anyway, I digress. Because it made it easier working with brackets, the first 32 beers randomly drawn from the hat made it into the bloodthirsty contest.

Each day, 2 beers (sometimes 2 battles a day...meaning 4 beers total) would go head to head fighting for the love and vote from each patron. The beer that received the most votes moved on in the competition and, BONUS, was a $1 cheaper for the entire next day and night!

Sure, we could have cheated or rigged it, but it honestly was turning out to be way too interesting on it's own to intervene for any reason. The phrase "any given Sunday" was uttered frequently when people were astonished by some of the loses. For example, the great PBR fell to Odd Notion in the first round!?!?! Now, even though The Irish Pol is known for having great craft beers on tap...and the most of them, a percentage of Pabst Blue Ribbon is found in the blood of almost anyone who ventures in to The Irish Pol...and any other legitimate Philly bar. So, for PBR to lose to anyone in the first round was pretty damn surprising, but even more so to Odd Notion because Odd Notion is different every few months. Therefore, it is not really able to rely on branding to get votes. Had that battle went down on say a Friday or a Saturday, Pabst would have certainly gotten the blue ribbon! Same goes with Stone IPA losing to Guinness. Perplexing to say the least. St. Bernardus lost to Hop Devil? Astounding. River Horse Double White trumps Sawtooth. What!?!?! (Drink Pickles!!!)

In the end, after 19 days of blood, sweat, and beers, Big Eye from Ballast Point Brewing Company in San Diego, CA rose triumphant. The best part about Big Eye's victory is all that it had to endure to make it to the big show. It's competitor in the finals was Storm King Stout from Victory. Storm King's road was smooth in comparison to Big Eye. The King started with an easy win over Magic Hat's Lucky Kat. Then, onto an effortless defeat over River Horse Double White. After that, Storm King only had to go thru it's brother and sister, Golden Monkey and Hop Devil. On the other side, Big Eye had nothing handed to them. Out of the gate, it was a clench-fist fight against the popular Magic Hat #9. In the Sweet Sixteen, Big Eye had to scratch and bite is way to embarrass the favored Crotch Sniffing Bastard. Next up, Big Eye faced Troeg's Nugget Nectar. Now, this is a seasonal beer that our regulars like so much the boss always orders ton's of extra kegs so we can pour it, and pour it again, and then some more, long after other bar's Nectars are dry. Yet, somehow the Eye prevailed. Onto the Final Four. Big Eye vs. the famous indestructible IPA...Dogfish Head 90 Minute. Vegas bookies had Dogfish over Big Eye 12-1 odds. Gloves are off...punching...kicking...drinking...pounding...there was even some spillage. Malt Madness 2009 Champion: Big Eye IPA!!!

The ring ceremony will be next week...