1) Best UK Draught (Cask Or Keg) Beer:
Good grief, difficult indeed. India Pale Ale Scanners Brodie’s/Kernel Collaboration really blew me away.
Runners up: RockStar (DarkStar/Magic Rock collaboration (both keg and cask were absolutely delicious and I simply want more of this beer), Sour Grapes (Lovibonds), such a wonderfully balanced sour beer. Jeff’s a wizard.
2) Best UK Bottled or Canned Beer:
Thornbridge Raven (needs no explanation).
Runner up: Fullers Past Masters Double Stout.
3) Best Overseas Draught Beer:
1) Cascazilla by Ithaca Brewing Co. on cask. A hop explosion in your mouth.
Runner up: Middle Ages Brewing Co. Impaled Pale Ale, for a less obscure option, Brooklyn’s Blast, or Southern Tier’s 2XIPA.
4) Best Overseas Bottled or Canned Beer:
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja, and always good, Orval.
5) Best Overall Beer:
Gulp. Nye on impossible. Three way split: IPA Scanners Brodie’s Kernel Collab, Buxton Imperial Black, and Carafa Jade, DarkStar (but this is really pushing it, honorable mentions should include Thornbridge Evenlode and Zona Cesarini by Toccalmatto as well.)
6) Best Pumpclip or Label:
OutThere Brewing Co. clips are really nicely designed, Adventure Brewing Co, simple, yet effective bottle labels. I also like WildBeerCo. branding.
7) Best UK Brewery:
Split again, Kernel and Magic Rock.
8) Best Overseas Brewery:
To Øl.
9) Pub/Bar of the Year:
Friends of Ham.
11) Supermarket of the Year:
Waitrose.
12) Independent Retailer of the Year:
BeerRitz, runner up Bottle Stop (Stockport).
13)Online Retailer of the Year:
Beers of Europe.
14) Best Beer Book or Magazine:
BYO magazine, and Mitch Steele’s book on IPA.
15) Best Beer Blog:
Leigh Linley’s The Good Stuff; Broadford Brewer’s blog.
16) Best Beer Twitterer:
@misterjk (Jay Krause).
17) Best Online Brewery presence:
RedWillow.
18) Food and Beer Pairing of the Year:
Attended a beer and food matched meal at Aumbry in Prestwich – winner was Grapefruit posset with Wild Swan, but all beers and dishes were really great.
19) In 2013 I’d Most Like To…
Brew some more fine beers at home, read more (offline), attend some more beer events, improve my espresso shots, and improve my knowledge of good beer spots in more towns and cities anywhere I happen to travel.
20) Open categories: Low ABV beers:
I love and would drink anytime: Windermere Pale, Magic Rock Rapture, Magic Rock Curious, Beagle Best Bitter, Beagle Pale Ale, HopHead, Marble Pint, Blackjack Shuffled Deck, RedWillow Wreckless and Headless.
