Third Space Brewing was on to something in 2017 when co-founders Andy Gehl and Kevin Wright concocted a beer fest celebrating just IPAs. And not just any IPAs, but only those made by Wisconsin breweries. That year, the now ubiquitous hazy IPA craze was just building steam. The winner, determined by a panel of judges, of the first Wisconsin IPA Fest was the more traditional Lakefront Brewery Single Hop Centennial.

“We love brewing IPAs, and back in 2017 the style wasn’t nearly as popular as it is today so we wanted to do something to celebrate the style and showcase the great IPAs that were brewed in Wisconsin,” said Gehl. “When we started the event, beers like our Upward Spiral were the ‘juiciest’ beers in the event, and it’s a West Coast Style IPA. By 2019, we started to see a total takeover of the event by hazy IPAs, when there wasn’t a single hazy on the list in 2017.”

The sixth iteration of Wisconsin IPA Fest is happening at Third Space (1505 W. St. Paul Ave.) from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5. Tickets for the unlimited-sampling event are $50 for general admission and $85 for VIP.

Back in 2017, 36 breweries attended the original fest. This year, 41 breweries will be there, and there might be a few more takes on the style than you might expect.

“Last year the scope of IPA sub-styles balanced out quite a bit,” explained Gehl. “There were still a lot of hazy IPAs but many brewers decided to enter more unique takes on the style. This year I’m expecting to see even more of a wide range in IPAs which makes it such a great event for people to experience. Many breweries will bring IPAs they have yet to release or that they brewed just for the event. It’s always fun to see and taste the lineup.”

2023 Participating Breweries

The list of this year’s participants includes quite a few locals mixed with breweries from all across Wisconsin:

1840 Brewing, 3 Sheeps Brewing, Amorphic Beer, Badger State Brewing, Broken Bat Brewing, Central Waters Brewing, Company Brewing, Component Brewing, Eagle Park Brewing, Explorium Brewpub, Faklandia Brewing, Fox River Brewing, Full Mile Beer Co. & Kitchen, G5 Brewing, Gathering Place Brewing, Good City Brewing, Hacienda Beer, Hillsboro Brewing, Hinterland Brewery, Lakefront Brewery, Lion’s Tail Brewing Co., Low Daily, Mosinee Brewing, New Barons Brewing Co-op, Oliphant Brewing, One Barrel Brewing, Ope Brewing, Public Craft Brewing, Raised Grain Brewing, Rhinelander Brewing, Rocky Reef Brewing, Rookery Brewing, Second Salem Brewing, Starkweather Brewing, Sunshine Brewing, Third Space Brewing, Vennture Brew, Vintage Brewing, Water Street Brewery, Working Draft Beer, and Young Blood Beer.

“What is most special to us is how many breweries continue to return every year and how excited they are to be a part of the event,” added Gehl. “We feel like every brewery puts their best foot forward for Wisconsin IPA Fest and we hear quite a few this year are working on some fun entries to the competition that they seem really excited about.”

Wisconsin IPA Fest Past Winners (Brewery/Beer)

2022: G5 Brewing / Anonymous Caller
2021: Raised Grain Brewing / Lonesome Citra
2020: No official winner; virtual event
2019: Sheboygan Beer Co. / Kadune
2018: Third Space Brewing / Upward Spiral
2017: Lakefront Brewery / Single Hop Centennial