Sierra is of course best known for its Pale Ale, which is the most popular craft beer in the country. But the Chico, California, brewery has much more to offer. And if the brews we tasted are any indication, the offerings are good.

The Public Library of Science was an apt place for the challenge in a number of ways. It’s not an actual, physical library, but a publisher of open-access scientific journals. They are all about the facilitation of getting science to the people: scientists, doctors, journalists, citizens. Wired’s beer tournament is all about the facilitation of getting beer to the people. Makes perfect sense, right? In addition, Wired wholeheartedly supports PLoS’s mission, and freeing up data and information in general. Besides, their staff really likes beer.

The Location: Public Library of Science headquarters, San Francisco

The Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California

The Beer: Torpedo Extra IPA and Kellerweis Hefeweizen

The Method of Dispense: Bottles chilled in tubs of ice

How They Fared: At this point in the competition, with just a few first-round challenges left to go, we’ve started to think we can predict the winners. This time we were wrong, and a very close competition ended in a one-point upset for the underdog.

The Torpedo Extra IPA was a solid beer and a favorite among the hop heads in the crowd. Colin Dixon of PLoS said the Torpedo was “really drinkable to the point that it could be addictive.” Beer tournament regular (and IPA fanatic) Matt Ahern said it’s Sierra’s best beer yet and “an absolute staple in the IPA market.” With fans like that, we expected Torpedo to run away with this one.

But the Kellerweis Hefeweizen crept up behind us and stole the victory. I’m not normally a hefeweizen drinker, but I wouldn’t have a problem drinking several of these in an evening. And I wasn’t alone. “I’m not a big fan of Hefeweizen usually, but this is a nice one — almost creamy,” said science journalist Peter Aldhous of New Scientist. Others liked that it was a little unusual, and that is was smooth. Seems PLoS likes things to be easy for people, which includes accessing science and drinking beer.

Coming up: Join us on October 13 at 5-7:30 p.m. at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco for beers from Ninkasi Brewing. On October 14, we’ll be at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park to kick off the second round of October Madness and celebrate Sharktoberfest.

Image: Betsy Mason/Wired.com

Stay tuned to @wiredplaybook and @beerrobot for updates on attending future October Madness events in the Bay Area. Follow us on Twitter at @betsymason and @wiredplaybook and on Facebook.

See Also:

• October Madness Kicks Off at Modern-Day Speakeasy
• Eye of the Hawk Ale Swoops In for Early Win
• Beer Battle at Twitter HQ Goes Black Butte’s Way
• Hopeful Giants Fans Score One For Ironwood Dark

Authors: Betsy Mason

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