The Location: Shotwell’s, 3349 20th Street, San Francisco

The Beers: Ironwood Dark from Tied House (Mountain View, California) vs. Session Black from Full Sail (Hood River, Oregon)

How They Fared: In a tournament where dark beers have been dropping faster your 401(k), Tied House’s Ironwood Dark has proven its mettle time and again. First, it knocked off the lighter and crisper Alpine Gold. Next up was Magnolia’s Proving Ground IPA, and the only thing more volatile in this tournament than a dark brew has been an IPA, so Ironwood Dark prevailed easily.

This time around, Ironwood Dark managed to maintain its momentum from the Sweet Sixteen. Paul commented, “It was close, but the depth and warmth of the Ironwood Dark was so amazing on this cold, cold night.” Alex found it “way more flavorful” while web developer Evan preferred its “sweeter malt to the Full Sail’s more English — to me, soapy — notes.” Tom, in turn, fell in love with its “roasty, toasty, malty goodness.”

In the end, it was too much for Session Black, which previously defeated its cousin Wassail Ale as well as ThirstyBear’s Brown Bear Ale. could only muster a single-digit vote total to the Ironwood Dark’s 23. And so Ironwood Dark advances to the Final Four, where it will face off against Sierra Nevada’s Kellerweis Hefeweizen next Monday for a spot in next Thursday’s championship.

And check out the complete October Madness bracket, with recaps on all the tastings!

Image: Adam Hemphill/Wired

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See Also:

• Ninkasi Heads to Wired's Beer Tournament Final Four
• Full Boar Goes Full-On Into Final 4
• In Sweltering Heat, Boont Amber Ale Bests a Summer Seasonal
• Session Black Beats Brown Bear Ale, Slides Into Elite Eight
• Boont Amber Ale Beats Big Daddy IPA at Sharktoberfest Showdown …

Authors: Erik Malinowski

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