2019 Bottle Share Tournament Summary
Date – March 23, 2019
Location – The ASIF Compound, aka North Avenue Rub & Chug
Participants – 17
Bottle Entrants – 34
#1 Overall Seed – Toppling Goliath Mornin Delight 2018
Champion – Fremont Brew 3000, Andy Sujecki
Full Bracket Results
We celebrated 5 years of tournaments in 2019. To mark the occasion, all regions were named after the 4 previous winning beers. Let’s look back at the 5th installment of the March Madness Bottle Share Tournament.
Abominable Region
The region holding the #1 overall seed had a rather diverse makeup, as far as typical regions though. It was all chalk as #1 Mornin Delight and Transient’s Bring the Ruckley both advanced to the Elite 8. One notable upset took place with 8th seed Veni Sancte Spiritus from The Referend beating some adjunct stouts from Transient and Cycle. 6th seed Hyper Paradise from The Rare Barrel rode its acidity past Rum BA Black Tuesday. Mornin Delight won the region to secure a spot in the Final Four.
Sumi Region
The Sumi region featured one of the more surprising #1 seeds in our history as it was lead by regular Bourbon County 2014. In another high seed, #2 was Transient’s Canuckley, another of the Buckley variants in the tournament.
This bracket featured several fruit beers including raspberries and cherries from 3 Fonteinen Hommage, Cantillon Nath, Rare Barrel Map of the Sun, and Cascade Sang Noir. The first round was won by all favorites, but it flipped in the second round as the underdogs Kuhnhenn BBBW and 3F Hommage beat higher seeded stouts. Hommage won the region keeping barleywine from emerging.
Caliente Region
We move to the Caliente region named after year 2 champion, Spiteful’s BA Malevolence Chocolate Caliente. This bracket featured two enormous coconut beers with my personal pick to win, Coconut Vibes b2 from Shared, as the #1 seed. Vibes was a beer I thought that was designed to win this event. A beer that frankly drinking 8 or more ounces of is difficult but is a welcome dessert assault in a small pour. In the three way match, Haymarket’s Clares Thirsty out lasted a barrel aged Dark Lord and BA El Zacaton from Hubbard’s Cave.
The coconut hitters Double Dose Benthic from Half Acre and Coconut Vibes won their first round matchups. Fremont’s Brew 3000 began to wreck adjunct stouts by first beating Shamrock Stout (an annual mint version of BCBS with chocolate and lactose,) followed by Double Dose Benthic, and then upsetting #1 Coconut Vibes b2 to arrive in the Final Four.
Modem Region
Lead by another #1 adjunct stout, Bottle Logic Fundamental Observation picked its way through early matches with Forbidden Root’s Radio Swan then later The Rare Barrel’s Tiki Party. Tiki Party pulled the rare upset in a 3 way matchup with Hill Farmstead’s Civil Disobedience 17 and Mikerphone BA Softly Spoken Lies. In the bottom half of the region #2 Kane Sunday Brunch knocked off a deep and complex lambic, Cuvee Rene Special Blend from Lindemans.
One of the first adjunct barleywines, BA Alter of the Orc Lord with coconut, cocoa nibs and vanilla beat a Cigar City member bottle, Criminal Commission, but ultimately lost to Sunday Brunch. Squaring off against #1 FO, The FoBAB winner Fundamental Observation lost to Sunday Brunch giving Kane their first Final Four beer in the history of the Bottle Share Tournament.
Final Four
After the first rounds finished, we were left with four beers from three different styles. Adjunct Pastry Stout, Fruited Lambic, and Barleywine with only one #1 seed to make it to the Final Four. Mornin Delight went up against Hommage which beat Mornin Delight, it’s second win over a maple stout.
On the other side Brew 3000 continued it’s savagery over adjunct stouts adding Sunday Brunch to it’s collection with the coconut stouts mentioned previously.
This set up 3 Fonteinen Hommage vs Fremont 3000 for the championship match. This would guarantee that for the first time in the Bottle Share Tournament’s history, the champion would not be an adjunct stout or winter warmer. Previously lambic had been to the Finals before but did not break through. This was the first time barrel aged barleywine made it this far.
In a split 2-1 decision Fremont Brew 3000 knocked off the Belgian mainstay Hommage to become the first brewery with a beer that’s won twice (previously Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb 2015)
Facts
- #The Vigne from De Garde became the first magnum ever submitted into the tournament.
- The Rare Barrel and Transient Artisan Ales tied for the brewery with the most submissions with 3 each.
- In the 5 years of the Bottle Share Tournament there have been 89 breweries with bottles in the competition.
- The Bruery still has the most submissions with 13 total over the history of the tournament.
Koel Story Bro 