Well, that didn’t take long.
The first round of the Cincinnati’s Favorite Beer championship has already busted a bunch of brackets. No. 1 seed Girl Next Door from Wooden Cask – THE Cinderella story of last year’s tourney – fell in the first round to No. 8 seed Boston Lager from Samuel Adams.
– VOTE HERE on the current round –
Boston Lager came into the bracket limping, having lost as a No. 4 seed in the first round of 2025, followed by a weak nomination round in 2026. But has the big-boy brewery gotten the ship straightened out for a run at its first title?
Girl Next Door came into this year’s championship riding its high horse after stunning the city with upset after upset as a No. 11 seed in 2025, all the way to the Final Four before losing to the eventual champ, Crazy Norse (Barleycorn’s).
That wasn’t the only top seed to find trouble in the first round. Former two-time champ No. 1 seed Bohemian Special Brew (Wiedemann) pulled out a victory by only 3 votes over No. 8 seed Bossie (Wandering Monsters).
Speaking of a close shave, Cincinnati couldn’t decide a winner between No 5. Nut Brown Ale (Mt. Carmel) and No. 4. Monarch (HighGrain). … Both beers received the same amount of votes, and – as a winner could not be chosen based on previous round totals – the winner was decided by a digital coin flip. We’ll see if the Nut Brown Ale can ride that luck into the Sweet 8 round.
The top vote-getter of the first round was (narrowly) No. 1 seed Gettin’ Twisted from Third Eye with 234 votes, handily beating No. 8 Cartucho (Cartridge) with the biggest point margin of the round. The pretzel beer is seeking revenge for its Third Eye brother beer, Untapped Potential, which lost in the final round in 2025. But can the top-seeded bracket rookie make a deep dive?
As always, YOUR votes will decide. Check out the full results from the Round of 32 below. And get in your picks for the next round!
– VOTE HERE on Bitter 16 matchups Tuesday, March 10 –
Full beer bracket Round of 32 results
1. Crazy Norse (Barleycorn’s) – WINNER
231 votes
8. Golden Hour (Mellotone)
153 votes
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4. Cincy Light (Rhinegeist) – WINNER
227 votes
5. Muskie Lager (Burger)
171 votes
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3. Vlad (Fretboard) – WINNER
190 votes
6. Garage Beer (Braxton)
162 votes
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2. Suh, Brah? (Streetside) – WINNER
212 votes
7. Backbeat Coffee Blonde (Big Ash)
131 votes
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2. You Betcha! (Sonder) – WINNER
230 votes
7. Paraiso (Esoteric)
111 votes
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3. Tail Wagger (MadTree) – WINNER
208 votes
6. Gadget (Urban Artifact)
137 votes
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4. Heller Bock (March First) – WINNER
203 votes
5. Berry David (GlendAlehouse)
129 votes
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1. Bohemian Special Brew (Wiedemann) – WINNER
171 votes
8. Bossie (Wandering Monsters)
168 votes
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8. Boston Lager (Samuel Adams) – WINNER
173 votes
1. Girl Next Door (Wooden Cask)
158 votes
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5. Dunkel (Hofbrauhaus) – WINNER
191 votes
4. Supertzar (Nine Giant)
143 votes
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3. Coast to Coast (Fifty West) – WINNER
178 votes
6. Grateful (Little Miami Brewing Company)
155 votes
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2. G.I.L. – German Irish Lager (West Side) – WINNER
178 votes
7. Pathinator Doppelbock (Narrow Path)
153 votes
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2. Helles Real (Grainworks) – WINNER
217 votes
7. Wake Up Betty (Hearth)
110 votes
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3. Moozie (Brink) – WINNER
172 votes
6. Son of a Nutcracker (Common)
154 votes
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5. Nut Brown Ale (Mt. Carmel) – WINNER, coin flip
162 votes
4. Monarch (HighGrain)
162 votes
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1. Gettin’ Twisted (Third Eye) – WINNER
234 votes
8. Cartucho (Catridge)
100 votes
Cincinnati’s Favorite Beer 2026 dates
Round of 32: Monday, March 9.- Bitter 16: Tuesday, March 10.
- Sweet 8: Wednesday, March 11.
- Final 4: Thursday, March 12.
- The Finals: Friday, March 13.
Previous CFB championship winners
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.cincinnati.com ’
