The Battle of the Breweries (2021) Winner Is….

It is finally time to announce the winner of the Battle of the Breweries (2021), and what a tournament it was! Obviously, like everything else we do here on The Beer Thrillers, it couldn’t be a normal tournament. Instead of doing regular March Madness style brackets of 32 or 64 (or even smaller ones of 16 or 8), we did 48. So right off the bat, things are going to get odd – ball crazy. With the finals being a Triple Threat that saw Isle of Que Brewing vs. Rubber Soul Brewing Company vs. Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Company, in one epic showdown final!

So without further adieu…..

Your 2021 Battle of the Breweries Champion is….

The Que Brew Crew themselves, the new, and possibly undisputed (we haven’t had any disputes yet) champion of The Beer Thriller’s arbitrary Battle of the Breweries (2021), and your people’s champion – The Isle of Que Brewing, straight out of Selinsgrove Pennsylvania.

A huge and massive shout out to them, as they racked up 3,744 votes in the final round to defeat Rubber Soul Brewing Company and Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Company. What an impressive final battle this was too!

The Triple Threat Cage Match

For anyone following along, voting, and checking the results, this was an extremely heated battle. Depending on what time you looked at the results on Saturday and Sunday you could have seen Rubber Soul up by two hundred, or you might have see the Que Brew up by fifty, or as they pulled ahead at the very end on Sunday, the Que Brew jumped to a nearly four hundred vote difference. The battle was extremely heated and intense between Que Brewing and Rubber Soul. Somewhere in this scuffle, Troegs Brewing was left far far and far behind, not sure how that happened, as they consistently got the most votes each round, but sadly, for the finals they only got a total of 90 votes; which in and of itself is a giant shocker.

This was a very fun finals match-up with lots of interesting Facebook and Instagram posts from both Que Brewing and Rubber Soul. Que Brew had a unique and interesting Facebook post each day hyping up the tournament and getting their votes, make sure you head over to their Facebook page to see some of their fun and interesting posts.

The final results and tallies for the Triple Threat Championship is as follows:

• The Isle of Que Brewing (third seed) won with 3,744 votes.
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (second seed) came in second place with 3,353 votes.
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Company (one seed) came in third place with 90 votes.

For a combined total of 7,187 votes.

This was the most votes of any round, and this time with only one question, versus the other rounds which all had more than one question to vote on.

Despite Troegs Brewing poor finals vote count, they were the big dogs going into the match-up against relatively unknown underdog Isle of Que Brewing and the new (opened during the pandemic, version 2.0, rebranding, and moved from Salisbury Maryland to Hummelstown Pennsylvania) Rubber Soul Brewing Company. All three breweries (competitors) did extremely well and deserve their place here in the finals.

The Battle of the Breweries (2021) Results

This was an extremely fun tournament to run and I hope all the breweries, fans of the page, fans of the breweries, and anyone reading the articles had just as much fun with it as we did here at The Beer Thrillers. Yesterday (Sunday, April 4th, 2021, Easter) broke our single day page view on the blog with a whopping 12K+ views. And for that alone, we can’t say thank you enough to everyone who took the time out of their busy lives to visit the blog and vote. Hopefully you all got to look at some of the other articles and liked what you saw here on the blog.

But let’s get to the results, how did we get here?

I already covered the full tournament (minus the finals of course) results in the previous article, where you got to vote, so you can check the results of the tournaments here: “The Battle of the Breweries (2021) – The Triple Threat Finals Match“.

But, let’s look at the road each of our finals competitors took to get to the finals match, and then lets also look at statistics of the tournament as a total.

Isle of Que Brewing Company is The Champion

The Isle of Que Brewing Company (or Que Brew Crew) was the definition of a Cinderella and was akin to a 16 seed in the NCAA March Madness tournament winning. What an incredible road they had to get to their finals victory!

In the first round they defeated Jackie O’s Brewery – as the 11th seed defeating the 2nd seed – 146 votes to 31 votes.

(After each round of voting, the tournament was reseeded, so it wasn’t a strict bracket like March Madness or others.)

In the second round they defeated Pizza Boy Brewing Company – as the 11th seed defeating the 2nd seed – 193 votes to 141 votes.

In the third round they defeated Fourscore Beer Company – as the 12th seed defeating the 1st seed – 149 votes to 115 votes.

In the fourth round they defeated Rotunda Brewing Company – as the 6th seed defeating the 1st seed – 212 votes to 79 votes.

In the finals, they were the 3rd seed vs. Rubber Soul (2nd seed) and Troegs Brewing (1st) seed, and won with 3,744 votes.

Total votes for the tournament for Isle of Que Brewing was: 4,444. Quite the impressive number!

Rubber Soul Brewing Company – Second Place

Rubber Soul Brewing Company had a fantastic run and came in second place in the tournament. They had some stiff competition along the way to their second place finals finish as well.

In the first round they defeated Breaker Brewing – as the 10th seed defeating the 3rd seed – 65 votes to 57 votes.

In the second round they defeated Moo-Duck Brewing – as the 9th seed defeating the 4th seed – 168 votes to 116 votes.

In the third round they defeated Dewey Beer Company – as the 11th seed defeating the 2nd seed – 182 votes to 65 votes.

In the fourth round they defeated Ever Grain Brewing – as the 5th seed defeating the 2nd seed – 154 votes to 106 votes.

And in the finals (as the 2nd seed) they lost to Isle of Que Brewing. They had 3,353 votes in the final.

Rubber Soul Brewing Company’s total vote count was: 4,102.

Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Company grabs the bronze

Troegs Brewing is definitely one of the juggernauts of Pennsylvania Brewing, and were a very heavy favorite for this tournament as well (which also saw breweries from New York, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Indiana). Despite their poor showing in the finals, they still had a very impressive tournament run.

In the first round they defeated Saucony Creek Brewing Company – as the 4th seed defeating the 9th seed – 48 votes to 9 votes.

In the second round they defeated Swiftwater Brewing Company – as the 5th seed defeating the 8th seed – 126 votes to 32 votes.

In the third round they defeated Urban Artifact – as the 8th seed defeating the 5th seed – 145 votes to 96 votes.

In the fourth round they defeated Boneshire Brew Works – as the 4th seed defeating the 3rd seed – 143 votes to 117 votes.

In the finals they came up short with third place and only 90 votes.

Troegs Craft Independent Brewing’s total vote count was: 552 votes.

Tournament Statistics

The total vote count for our three finalists were 9,098 votes. The total vote count for the entire tournament was 16,640 votes. (Out of 46 questions, which means the average vote to question was 361.7391304).

(Copy and pasted results from the previous article: The Triple Threat Match).

Now let’s take a look at the round per round results…

Round One Results

Voting statistics:

• Total votes for round one: 3422
• Total votes for Triple H Division: 388
• Total votes for Ric Flair Division: 305
• Total votes for HEELs conference: 693
• Total “upsets” (any higher seed defeating a lower seed) in HEELs conference: 2
• Total votes for Stone Cold Steve Austin Division: 870
• Total votes for The Rock Division: 823
• Total votes for FACEs conference: 1693
• Total “upsets” (any higher seed defeating a lower seed) in FACEs conference: 7

Upsets:

HEELs Conference:

• Gearhouse Brewing Company (9) defeating Levity Brewing (4)
• Desperate Times Brewing Company (10) defeating Yellow Bridge Brewing (3)
• Chatty Monks Brewing (7) defeating Cox Brewing Company (6)

FACEs Conference:

• Three Heads Brewing (11) defeating Idiom Brewing (2)
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (10) defeating Breaker Brewing (3)
• Tattered Flag (9) defeating ShuBrew Brewing Company (4)
• Rough Edges Brewing (8) defeating Wolfs Ridge Brewing Company (5)
• The Church Brew Works (12) defeating Cushwa Brewing (1)
• The Isle of Que Brewing (11) defeating Jackie O’s Brewery (2)
• Molly Pitcher Brewing Company (8) defeating Mellow Mink Brewing (5)

Results of Round One

HEELs Conference: Triple H Division:

• Fourscore Brewing Company (1 seed) (52 votes) defeated Black Forest Brewing (12 seed) (15 votes)
• Urban Artifact (2 seed) (41 votes) defeated The Ministry of Brewing (11 seed) (23 votes)
• Mad Chef Brewing (3 seed) (39 votes) defeated ZeroDay Brewing Company (10 seed) (25 votes)
• GearHouse Brewing Company (9 seed) (39 votes) defeated Levity Brewing (4 seed) (33 votes)
• Swiftwater Brewing Company (5 seed) (43 votes) defeated Highway Manor (8 seed) (18 votes)
• Sun King Brewery (6 seed) (33 votes) defeated Braxton Brewing Company (7 seed) (27 votes)

HEELs Conference: Ric Flair Division:

• Dewey Beer Company (1 seed) (35 votes) defeated Couch Brewery (12 seed) (16 votes)
• Rotunda Brewing Company (2 seed) (37 votes) defeated Snitz Creek Brewing Company (11 seed) (14 votes)
• Desperate Times Brewing (10 seed) (30 votes) defeated Yellow Bridge Brewing (3 seed) (19 votes)
• Troegs Craft Independent Brewing Company (4 seed) (48 votes) defeated Saucony Creek Brewing Company (9 seed) (9 votes)
• Twisted Bine Brewing Company (5 seed) (30 votes) defeated Land-Grant Brewing Company (8 seed) (17 votes)
• Chatty Monks Brewing (7 seed) (30 votes) defeated Cox Brewing Company (6 seed) (20 votes)

FACEs Conference: Stone Cold Steve Austin Division:

• Ever Grain Brewing Company (1 seed) (85 votes) defeated Mt. Gretna Craft Brewery (12 seed) (49 votes)
• Three Heads Brewing (11 seed) (65 votes) defeated Idiom Brewing (2 seed) (59 votes)
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (10 seed) (65 votes) defeated Breaker Brewing (3 seed) (57 votes)
• Tattered Flag (9 seed) (102 votes) defeated ShuBrew Brewing (4 seed) (34 votes)
• Rough Edges Brewing (8 seed) (177 votes) defeated Wolf’s Ridge Brewing (5 seed) (40 votes)
• Boneshire Brew Works (6 seed) (70 votes) defeated Liquid Noise Brewing Company (7 seed) (67 votes)

FACEs Conference: The Rock Division:

• The Church Brew Works (12 seed) (82 votes) defeated Cushwa Brewing (1 seed) (43 votes)
• The Isle of Que Brewing Company (11 seed) (146 votes) defeated Jackie O’s Brewery (2 seed) (31 votes)
• Pizza Boy Brewing Company (Al’s of Hampden) (3 seed) (106 votes) defeated Taft’s Brewing Company (Taft’s Ale House) (10 seed) (29 votes)
• Funk Brewing Company (4 seed) (95 votes) defeated Olde Bedford Brewing Company (9 seed) (34 votes)
• Molly Pitcher Brewing Company (8 seed) (79 votes) defeated Mellow Mink Brewing (5 seed) (51 votes)
• Moo-Duck Brewing Company (6 seed) (81 votes) defeated Logyard Brewing Company (7 seed) (46 votes)

For more information about the Round One Results you can read the article for Round Two and the Round One results here. The Battle of the Breweries (2021) moves on to the conference round.

Round Two Statistics

Statistics:

• Total Votes: 2659
• Total votes in the HEELs Conference: 872
• Total Votes in the FACEs Conference: 1787
• There was no upsets in the HEELs conference.
• There was three upsets in the FACEs conference.

Upsets:

• The Isle of Que Brewing (11) defeated Pizza Boy Brewing Company (Al’s of Hampden) (2) by 52 votes.
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (9) defeated Moo-Duck Brewing (4) by 52 votes.
• Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery (7) defeated Rough Edges Brewing (6) by 46 votes.

Round Two Results

HEELs Conference:

• Fourscore Beer Company (1 seed) (71 votes) defeated GearHouse Brewing Company (12 seed) (61 votes).
• Dewey Beer Company (2 seed) (70 votes) defeated Desperate Times Brewing Company (11 seed) (67 votes).
• Rotunda Brewing Company (3 seed) (96 votes) defeated Chatty Monks Brewing (10 seed) (51 votes).
• Urban Artifact (4 seed) (79 votes) defeated Sun King Brewery (9 seed) (48 votes).
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Company (5 seed) (126 votes) defeated Swiftwater Brewing Company (8 seed) (32 votes).
• Mad Chef Brewing Company (6 seed) (117 votes) defeated Twisted Bine Brewing Company (7 seed) (54 votes).

FACEs Conference:

• Ever Grain Brewing Company (1 seed) (170 votes) defeated The Church Brew Works (12 seed) (119 votes).
• The Isle of Que Brewing (11 seed) (193 votes) defeated Pizza Boy Brewing Company (Al’s of Hampden) (2 seed) (141 votes).
• Funk Brewing Company (3 seed) (178 votes) defeated Three Heads Brewing (10 seed) (103 votes).
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (9 seed) (168 votes) defeated Moo-Duck Brewing (4 seed) (116 votes).
• Boneshire Brew Works (5 seed) (155 votes) defeated Molly Pitcher Brewing Company (8 seed) (134 votes).
• Tattered Flag Brewery and Distillery (7 seed) (178 votes) defeated Rough Edges Brewing (6 seed) (132 votes).

To read more about Round Three and the Round Two Results, you can click here to see the Round Two Results and Round Three voting page.

Round Three Statistics

Statistics:

• Total Votes: 1,447 (six questions)
• There was four upsets (out of six match-ups)

Upsets:

• Isle of Que Brewing (12) defeated Fourscore Beer Company (1) – 149 to 115
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (11) defeated Dewey Beer Company (2) – 182 to 65
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing (8) defeated Urban Artifact (5) – 145 to 96
• Boneshire Brew Works (7) defeated Funk Brewing Company (6) – 118 to 115

Results of Round Three

• Isle of Que Brewing (12 seed) (149 votes) defeated Fourscore Beer Company (1 seed) (115 votes)
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (11) (182 votes) defeated Dewey Beer Company (2 seed) (65 votes)
• Rotunda Brewing Company (3 seed) (127 votes) defeated Mad Chef Brewing Company (10 seed) (101 votes)
• Ever Grain Brewing Company (4 seed) (129 votes) defeated Tattered Flag Brewery (9 seed) (108 votes)
• Troegs Brewing Company (8 seed) (145 votes) defeated Urban Artifact (5 seed) (96 votes)
• Boneshire Brew Works (7 seed) (118 votes) defeated Funk Brewing Company (6 seed) (115 votes)

To read more about the results of round three, and the voting for round four, you can click here to read about it – this was the last round before the championship (round five) (current round).

Round Four Statistics and Results

In a shocking twist, all three match-ups from Round Three were won by the underdogs. (I re-ranked the seeds after each round.) The number six seed Isle of Que Brewing has kept their Cinderella tournament streak alive and pulled a major upset over Rotunda Brewing Company. Rubber Soul Brewing Company (fifth seed) posted a big upset over Ever Grain Brewing Company, and despite being the big dog in Pennsylvania, but ranked lower (due to ranking being based on Untappd average score) Troegs Independent Craft Brewing (fourth seed) pulled up an upset over Boneshire Brew Works.

Results:

• Isle of Que Brewing (sixth seed) (212 votes) defeated Rotunda Brewing Company (one seed) (79 votes).
• Rubber Soul Brewing Company (fifth seed) (154 votes) defeated Ever Grain Brewing Company (second seed) (106 votes).
• Troegs Independent Craft Brewing Company (fourth seed) (143 votes) defeated Boneshire Brew Works (third seed) (117 votes).

There was a total of 811 votes for round four.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

I cannot underestimate how awesome this was, and how appreciative I am of everyone who came to the site and blog and voted. Who visited our social media pages (our Facebook, our Twitter, and our Instagram). This was such a tremendous and huge turnout, I am already thinking of March Madness 2022! Which will definitely be an even bigger Battle of the Breweries! I’m thinking of keeping it the same theme – only breweries I’ve visited, and maybe including ones that Josh has also visited, and ones that some of our writers have as well. And putting no limits on it. So by March 2022, this could be a list of two hundred or more breweries competing! Could do it state by state leading to when the states are down to their final one or two and then moving on into a bigger tournament. Not sure yet, if you have any ideas or suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments or leave us some feedback through our contact page.

If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, or anything you’d like to say about how the tournament was ran, made, or done, or anything at all really, you can always leave a comment here on each blog post, or you can contact us specifically using the CONTACT US page. This directly e-mails your comment to use (as well as leaving one in a specific folder only viewable to us, on the site).

I want to give a huge shout out to Isle of Que Brewing and Michael Salter who was promoting the tournament nearly daily on their media pages. Big kudos for them for winning the tournament. Hopefully we can do something with them in the future to celebrate!

Also a big shout out to Rubber Soul Brewing Company for such an impressive run in the tournament. Coming so close to winning it, with the tremendous year they had in opening, and the pandemic, and everything going on.

And of course a shout out to Troegs Brewing as well for reaching the finals. This was definitely a very interesting tournament, and was great to see one of the “OGs” – original pioneers – of Pennsylvania’s brewing scene make it to the finals.

Thank you everyone who visited, voted, and shared. We appreciate it so much. And again, big time congratulations to our champions of the inaugural Battle of the Breweries (2021) – The Isle of Que Brewing Company. We can’t wait for March 2022 and see if they are able to repeat as champions!

Cheers everyone, please stay safe, and make sure to use Uber when driving, now that bars and everyone is open more fully, and don’t have to sell food, make sure you are taking care of your liver, and more importantly, taking care of yourself and others on the road.

Cheers!

-B. Kline

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