with animatronic sharks and mounted deer heads enjoying a cold one. We’ve met hundreds (thousands?) of new people, fans of both Wired and beer, as we’ve taken some of these beer tastings to the general drinking public, and that really was the whole point in constructing this tournament: Getting others to enjoy some of the finest craft brews through a sense of community and appreciation we all don’t experience often enough.

Tonight, a champion will be crowned. Either Ninkasi’s Believer Double Red Ale or Devil’s Canyon’s Full Boar Scotch Ale. Oregon vs. California. Awesome vs. awesome.

In some way, it doesn’t matter who wins, because we’ve all already won. If any of you, Constant Readers, have learned of or experienced even one quality beer that you didn’t know about, or perhaps learned something new about your favorite beer, then this whole experiment was worth it. We started this contest to coincide with Octoberfest, and we never thought it would take this long to whittle 32 beers down to one, but that’s fine by us since it was always about the journey, not the destination.

And whether or not we ever do something like this again, we couldn’t have done without all of you. So thanks, and raise a glass of your favorite brew tonight, wherever you are.

Image: Flickr/tambako, CC

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Authors: Erik Malinowski

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