Fantasy Beer League: NC Edition

We are excited to announce our new concept called the Fantasy Beer League! We are running a beta test currently for North Carolina. The draft was held last week, with each player picking 4 North Carolina Breweries using a randomized Draft board online. The League will run 3 months this time: 12/25, 1/26 and 2/26 with new scoring posted once per month toward the end of each month. Here are the current scores for Month 1:

Detailed Scoring Info

Total Scores so far including Month 1 (12/25)
John		Rong		Greg
Burial Beer Co.	35	DSSOLVR	31	Highland Brewing	33
Hi-Wire Brewing	41	Resident Culture Brewing	45	Olde Mecklenburg Brewery	25
Bond Brothers Beer Co.	27	Fonta Flora	27	NoDa Brewing	29
App Mountain Brewing	24	Edward Teach Brewing	17	Ponysaurus Brewing	38
	127		120		125

Fantasy Brewery League - How Monthly Scoring Works

The Fantasy Brewery League (FBL) awards points to breweries each month based on real-world activity, quality signals, and public engagement. The goal is simple: reward breweries that are active, excellent, and relevant — not just popular.

Scoring is organized into three tiers, with higher tiers carrying more weight.

TIER 1 — Core Performance (Highest Impact)

Medals at competitions, seasonal style releases, national media coverage.

Why it matters: One strong achievement can swing a month.

Typical range: 0–10 points.

TIER 2 — Activity & Momentum

Collaboration beers, festivals, taproom events, regional media.

Why it matters: Active breweries stay competitive even without awards.

Typical range: 0–6 points.

TIER 3 — Popularity & Sentiment (Capped)

Google rating snapshot, Untappd brewery rating snapshot, Untappd check-in trend.

Why it matters: Adds context without controlling outcomes.

Typical range: 0–5 points.

Monthly Total = Tier 1 + Tier 2 + Tier 3

Tie-Breakers (in order):

1. Tier 1 points

2. Seasonal style bonus count

3. Awards or competition placement

4. Tier 2 activity volume

5. Popularity momentum (growth, not size)

6. Publicly logged random tie-breaker

All scoring inputs are public, snapshot-based, and collected monthly. This system rewards strategy, seasonal awareness, and real-world brewery activity — not hype or popularity alone.

What are your thoughts about the Fantasy Beer League? Please comment below if you can think of other markers we can use for scoring. I am trying to avoid over-using social media stuff because I think the larger breweries with a bigger budget may have more social media presence. Not sure how to handle that yet.