Hophouse IPA Month Champion Is Barley Brown's Pallet Jack

During the past month of January, both Hawthorne Hophouse and 15th Avenue Hophouse, held its annual IPA Month. This is when Hophouse selects a lineup of twelve Oregon brewed IPAs to go head to head in a challenge for your favorite one.

After a month of tallying over 800 votes from patrons ordering and choosing their favorite IPA from a blind taster tray, Barley Brown’s Pallet Jack took top honors, replacing 2014 winner Boneyard RPM. The honor of winning will mean that Pallet Jack will be on tap for the rest of the year at both locations.

The list of IPAs that one could choose their favorite from consisted of the following twelve breweries and IPAs.

• Boneyard RPM
• Fort George’s Vortex
• Double Mountain Hop Lava
• Ninkasi Total Domination
• Crux Outcast
• Barley Brown’s Pallet Jack
• Breakside
• Gigantic
• Migration Luscious Lupulin
• Goodlife Descender
• Hop Valley Alphadelic
• Laurelwood Workhorse

Attempting to guess all twelve IPAs correctly and then choosing your favorite was a tenuous task. Of course we were up for this challenge!

The day when we took the IPA Challenge, our choice along with our colleague, Brian Yeager, was Laurelwood Workhorse. Our second place vote getter was the people’s choice, Barley Browns. However, my guess at our favorite was incorrect with Breakside Brewing. We were fooled but nonetheless, it was a fun time to do the challenge.

IPA month at Hophouse was quite a success. With line-up of 12 of Oregon’s staple hop-bombs matched against each other in a blind taste competition, selecting just one of these beers as a favorite was an unquestionable test of the pallet. However, the polls had proof that four of these beers stood-out in flavor.

Pallet Jack took a dominant lead straight out of the gate, while Boneyard’s RPM hovered in second place until the final week. Laurelwood’s Workhorse lived up to its name, trotting along in a stable and unbroken fashion among the top four spots. As an intensifier, Breakside charged into second place after a couple weeks of a drastic surge in votes.

To celebrate this victory, Barley Brown’s Brewer, Tyler Brown, will be present at both Hophouse locations on February 21st. Tyler will be at Hawthorne Hophouse from 4:00-5:15 PM, and at 15th Avenue Hophouse from 5:45-7:00 PM at Fifteenth Avenue Hophouse. Four Barley Brown’s beers will be pouring for $3 a pint at both pubs.

Hawthorne Hophouse
4111 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97214

Fifteenth Avenue Hophouse
1517 NE Brazee St
Portland, OR 97212