Golden Pints 2013

Golden Pints 2013 - @PolymathTim

Best UK Cask Beer

1.    Thornbridge – Otter’s Tears

2.    Marble – Decadence (2011)

3.    Offbeat – Dotty DIPA

Honourable mentions go to Salopian Brewery “Automaton”, Blackjack Brewery/Otherton Ales “Phoneticus” and Durham Brewery “Hellfire”

Best UK Keg Beer

1.    Wild Beer/Good George/Burning Sky - Schnoodlepip

2.    Siren Craft Brewing – Half Mast QIPA

3.    Magic Rock - Dark Arts (Soured In Bruichladdich With Raspberries)

4.    Hopcraft – Statement of Intent

Best UK Bottled or Canned Beer

1.    Beavertown – Barley Champagne

2.    Buxton Brewery – Stronge Extra Stout

3.    Magic Rock – Un Human Cannonball

4.    Quantum – Barleywine USA

Best Overseas Draught Beer

1.    Emelisse - White Label Barleywine (Buffalo Trace BA)

2.    Toccalomato – Zona Cessarini (Cask)

Best Overseas Bottled or Canned Beer

1.    De Molen - Bommen & Granaten (Bordeaux BA)

2.    De Struise – Tsjeeses (Port Barrel Aged)

3.    Duvel - Triple Hop 2013 (Sorachi)

Best Collaboration Brew

It’s always fantastic to see the UK brewing scene engage enthusiastically with the UK homebrewing scene, so when news filtered through that Weird Beard & Elusive Brew would be upscaling Nelson Saison, I immediately added it to my wants list.  Cue a thoroughly good day out in Macclesfield for the official launch as part of the Macc Triangle Twissup to get my hands on some.

Best Overall Beer

This has to go to Magic Rock – Salty Kiss (Gooseberry), for being one of the best all round reinterpretations of an existing style to hit bars this year.

Best Branding, Pumpclip or Label

Branding wise Wild Beer Co has been streets ahead of the curve this year, clean and massively informative as branding should be.

Best UK Brewery

Last year was undoubtedly the year Magic Rock dominated UK brewing, this year however a shock of southern breweries have proved to be hot on the North’s trail.  Honourable mentions should go to Partizan, Howling Hops, Weird Beard et al. But Siren Craft Brewing just edges it out, for putting out there some really quite fantastic beers.

Best Overseas Brewery

De Rooie Dop and Toccalomato are my nominations for this category.  The former for seemingly having everything in place for a brewery in its infancy and for creating a damn fine beer in their “Utrecht Strong Ale”.  The later for proving without a doubt that there is definitely a place for Italian beers at the table.

Best New Brewery Opening 2013

Hopcraft arrived with a bang and have continued down an uncompromising route since; it helps that in the brew team they have the irrepressible Gazza Prescott, and a perverse love of hops.  That aside though every single thing that I’ve had out of the brewery to date has been well conceived and delivered bags of flavour.

Pub/Bar of the Year

Port Street Beer House, an excellent ever changing line up of beers, great beery events, knowledgeable and helpful staff... What’s not to like?!?

Best New Pub/Bar Opening 2013

For simply proving that it’s the little pub that can: The Craven Arms, Birmingham; in less than 7 months Chris and Sharon have laid down the blueprint for how a pub in Birmingham should be operating in the current climate.

    

Beer Festival of the Year

This was always going to be a difficult one for me to make a fair nomination for without cries of nepotism being bandied around due to my involvement in the festival committee for a beer festival this year.  So in the spirit of fairness (and because I only attended two this year), I am going to make a joint award here to Birmingham Beer Bash and Indy Man Beer Con.  Both festivals to my mind are excellent examples of how the modern beer festival should be no divisive restrictions on the delivery of beer, just good simple celebrations of beer in all its many forms.  Throw into that mix the brewers behind the beers and you have the trappings of a true “beer festival”.

  

Supermarket of the Year

Say what you will about supermarkets and their general debasement of beer as a whole, but for me this year Sainsbury’s have gone the extra mile with their Great British Beer Hunt.  Okay so the eventual winner was far from surprising, but for putting together a pretty well spread shortlist they get my vote.

Independent Retailer of the Year

For general aesthetic feel this goes to Beermoth; on my singular visit there this year, I was impressed by the depth of the overall range of beers on offer.  From domestic to the more fanciful and exotic, all well thought out and fantastically presented.

Online Retailer of the Year

AleselA are the only folks I’ve ordered any beer from this year; that aside their communication and delivery was attentive and ultra fast.

Best Beer Book or Magazine

Stan Hieronymus - For the Love of Hops: The Practical Guide to Aroma, Bitterness & the Culture of Hops

  

Best Beer Blog or Website

Of the blogs I have read over the last year the one that seems to me to be the most relevant to me is BeerSay, I could be accused of making this selection based on geographical proximity.  However I would counter that based on Phil Hardy’s involvement in arranging the Mac Triangle Twissup, which I am again going on record as saying was pretty spectacular day out.  (Just don’t mention the “Macclesfield Drop”).

Best Beer App

I’m quite partial to Brewing Assistant from Brewology101.com, nice easy to use brewing app for quick and easy recipe design when the mood strikes.

Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer

In its first year this should by all rights be awarded to Simon Johnson himself #RIPScoop

Best Brewery Website/Social media

Website wise there has been a quantum shift in the layout and overall feel of a lot of brewery websites this year and as much as it’s a cop-out there seems to be a common theme linking these improved sites in Lemontop Creative.  Similarly a lot of breweries have a grasp of social media and are happy to correspond with the punter on the ground, so it would be unfair to single any one out over the others.

Food and Beer Pairing of the Year

Original Patty Men (@OriginalPattyM) – Krispy Kreme Burger/Buxton Brewery – Axe Rocks (although I concede that the Krispy Kreme burger could well go with anything and be equally as good).