Check out beer columnist Bob Townsend’s 2009 Beer Bracket — a sweet sixteen competition of American-style India Pale Ales in honor of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. He pitted 8 from the West against 8 from the East in a blind tasting.

Townsend asked me to be one of the judges — not that I have any expertise, but I like to taste new things and says words like “grapefruity.” 

I don’t think I’d have been a good judge for Belgian ales — many of which I find too sweet. (A waitress recently talked me into a Saison Dupont, which tasted like a mouthful of cloves — not my thing.)

But I’ve learned to love big American IPAs, with their citrus aromas and flavors and their full-tilt-boogie bitterness on the finish. 

In fact, the beer pictured here — the Titan IPA from Great Divide Brewing in Denver — has become my go-to draft beer at the new Leon’s Full Service in Decatur. It makes for a fantastic after-work pint and is a great friend to food. 

If you love IPAs, you can vote for your favorite online here.