Update: Asheville's success with 'Beer City USA' title bodes well for Grand Rapids craft brew industry

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — The results are in and the title of "Beer City USA 2012" belongs to ... Grand Asheville?

The two cities tied Sunday night when the voting closed at 11:59 p.m. Grand Rapids and Asheville, N.C. each ended up with 32 percent of the vote.

(Grand Rapidians deserve kudos for a last-minute push. We trailed by by 4 percent going into Sunday).

The results more or less mirror the neck-and-neck horse race over the last couple weeks. The lead seesawed between the two cities between May 1 and 14.

So, now what?

Charlie Papazian, the home-brewing pioneer and author who started the non-scientific poll a couple years ago hasn't chimed in yet on his Examiner blog.

Update 1:30 pm: Papazian has called it a "shared" title and "statistical tie."

Apparently, a tie is not unheard of in this Internet contest, despite it being only four years old. Asheville has claimed the title of "Beer City USA" for the last three years but they actually tied with Portland, Ore. in 2009 before winning each successive year.

This year, Grand Rapids, a newcomer, was the only real challenger despite the presence of some heavyweight beer cities like Portland, Ore., and San Diego, Calif. The credit for that has largely been laid at the feet of Founders Brewing Co., although Grand Rapids is home to numerous other breweries, home brewers, brewpubs and even a startup brewery co-op.

Related: GR's nomination in Beer City poll reflects diverse craft brewing community

In the comments below the poll, the idea was floated about Asheville and Grand Rapids hosting some kind of "Beer Summit." Tony Kiss of the Asheville Citizen-Times reports that the Asheville Brewers Alliance has invited Grand Rapids breweries to the fall Brewgrass festival, Sept. 15 in Asheville.

Despite some trash-talking from each side, it's clear that many craft brew fans around the country now have West Michigan on their "brew-dar."

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