Boston Magazine’s Malt Madness 2019: Round 4 Begins

The Elite Ales (and Lagers) are in. Eight New England breweries remain in the competition.


Photo by Toan Trinh

The Elite Ales (and Lagers) of New England—as picked by you, dear beer-loving readers—are in. Thanks to your votes, Boston magazine’s friendly Malt Madness competition is down to eight breweries. Now the competition is really tough, and voting for Round 4 is open through Sunday, March 24. With more than 2,300 votes—the most votes we’ve ever tallied for a round of Malt Madness—here’s how the Sudsy 16 poured out.

Hill Farmstead Brewery once again prevailed in the North Conference, this time besting even the super cool Bissell Brothers. Now it takes on the Maine original, Allagash Brewing Co.

An underdog victor ran away with things in the West Conference: The 7-seed Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company beat out stalwart Connecticut maker (and No. 3-ranked) New England Brewing Co. with nearly 70 percent of your votes. Now, Exhibit ‘A’ takes on the intimidating Tree House Brewing Co.—the No. 1 seed overall in Malt Madness 2019, based on average online ratings.

The East Conference saw a close one, but ultimately Mystic Brewery won out over Lamplighter Brewing Co. Now, it’s a Mystic River showdown, as the Chelsea beermakers take on Night Shift Brewing.

And get ready to drink a beer in honor of Vitamin Sea Brewing at the Springdale Barrel Room: the latter brewery proposed a bet last round that the winner of the South Conference would get to name a beer for a day at the other’s taproom. Here’s to friendly wagers and fresh brews—we’ll drink to that! In Round 4, the Weymouth startup faces the venerable Trillium Brewing Co.

Which of these breweries will make it to the Final Pour? Get to clicking, and let us know. And remember, one lucky voter will win a gift card to Craft Beer Cellar-Fenway.

Check out the Round 4 matchups below. Click the caption to enlarge the bracket, or the graphic to skip straight to voting.

Click here to enlarge the bracket.

Click here to vote in Malt Madness Round 4!