Golden Pints, Golden Moments

Golden Pint Awards 2012

As a devotee of a good list, especially one which compiles a ‘best of’ sentiment looking back over the year, remembering those good time memories and golden moment beers, I couldn’t resist this. It’s like putting a mixtape together for a friend of your favourite tracks of the year, hoping they’ll find the same bliss that you did in those tunes. Well here goes.


The Golden Pint Awards was started a few years ago by a number of beery writers and if you’re a lover of beer and lists take a mosey over HERE.


Side A


Best UK Draught (Cask or Keg) Beer

Kinver ‘Black Rammoth Stout’ brewed for Birmingham Beer Festival back in Oct as a tribute to Black Sabbath. As powerful as Ozzy’s vocals, circa Vertigo days.

Honourable mention: Camden Town Brewery ‘Camden Ink’ 4.4 per cent. Highlight drink on a trip to London and a so called quick stop at the Euston Tap pub, the first time I’d heard of Camden Town Brewery and made me endeavour to find out more.

Best UK Bottled or Canned Beer

Marble ‘Earl Grey IPA’ 6 per cent.

Tea and beer two of my much-loved things. Another example of a great collaboration between two breweries from across the sea, in this case the North Sea, with Dutch brewery Emelisse.

Honourable mention(s) (couldn’t leave out The Kernel!): Thornbridge ‘Raven’ Black IPA 6.6 per cent. World Beer Award winner this year, couldn’t agree more with five malts (including Maris Otter, Black Patent and Chocolate malt) and six hops (including these three - Nelson Sauvin, Centennial and Sorachi). Combining the hop levels from an IPA and the colour and body of a porter.


The Kernel ‘Export Stout’ (1890 London) 7.8 per cent. Thick dark chocolaty roasted goodness.

Durham Brewery 'White Stout' 7.2 per cent. Ever imaginative beer explorations; just great to drink.




Best Overseas Draught Beer

Rogue ‘Hazlenut Brown Nectar’

Sounds like it could have that marmite effect, I’ve never been a fan of classic brown ales but this was such a taste surprise, memorable for all the right reasons. A 2012 World Beer Championship Gold winner.

Honourable mention: Kirkstall ‘Framboise’ 3.6 per cent it's brewed in Belgium so I’m allowing this one in here as an honourable mention and it was a tart raspberry kick at the Leeds International Beer Festival in September, a beer which stood out on the day and was a great accompaniment to the sunshine.

Best Overseas Bottled or Canned Beer

Ska Brewing ‘Modus Hoperandi’ 6.8 per cent. Tins of beer full of hop flavour.

Honourable mention: AMA series brewed by Amarcord brewery in Italy and Brooklyn’s Garrett Oliver. Brewed late 2011 but I didn’t have the opportunity to sample this till GBBF in 2012. I tried the AMA Bionda which has the addition of Italian orange blossom honey from Sicily. Stunning.















Best UK Brewery

Magic Rock exceptional beer one after another. From surreal stout ‘Dark Arts’ to their Imperial brown Stout ‘Bearded Lady’ and ‘Clown Juice’ an India wit ale. Huddersfield's finest, like Patrick Stewart.








Honourable mention(s): Marble, Thornbridge, Buxton and Durham Breweries; all outstanding beers.





Best Overseas Brewery

Odell family brewery begun in the late 80s in Fort Collins, Colorado. Constantly evolving they added a wood-aging cellar and 750ml bottling line in 2010 which has produced some wondrous beers in the Woodcut and Cellar series. I fell in love with the block print illustration of the labels, Mona Caron’s work made me feel as if I was part of an Arthur Rackham fairytale.


Pub/Bar of the Year

The Sheffield Tap, varied huge selection, I don’t even care if I don’t get a seat and they’ve just converted their storeroom to a brewery. What more can you ask for from your local.!?!


Honourable mention(s): Camden Town Brewery Bar, as you can drink unfiltered Hells Lager 4.6 per cent on draft and nibble the good food on offer in the courtyard. Railway arches never seemed so good in 2012.

Euston Tap

The Euston Tap, some of the nicest bar staff I’ve had beer conversations with. Not a bad choice too with 8 rotating cask ales, 20 keg beers and 150 bottled beers (plus The Cider Tap over the road).

Side B

Beer Festival of the Year

Birmingham Beer Festival, I’m a little biased as I organised the entertainment. But only Birmingham, the home of metal, could host a tribute to Brummie legends Black Sabbath. Music and beer are a good combination, fact. With beer brewed specifically for the festival such as Two Towers 'Tipple of Doom', Bird's 'Ozzymandias', Kinver 'Black Rammoth Stout', Morton's 'Sabbra Cadabra', Revolutions 'Paranoid Porter', Stringers 'Release the Bats' and Quart 'Paralenoid’. In addition to free beer tasting workshops hosted by beer sommelier Jane Peyton (as seen on the Great British Food Revival).


Honourable mention(s): IMBC, Manchester and The Green Man Festival for their real ale bar.



Independent Retailer of the Year

The Dram Shop, Crookes, Sheffield. Beer digging at its best.









Honourable mention: Stirchley Wines & Spirits , Birmingham. Due to Krishan's enthusiasm and range of beer, he always has the newest beers available.


Online Retailer of the Year

www.beerritz.co.uk and partly as I enjoyed the man behind this - Zak Avery’s noodlings on US underground house music and craft beer at IMBC.



Best Beer Book or Magazine

Dave Law and Beshlie Grimes ‘The Homebrew Handbook’.

Well put together, really easy recipes to follow, great introduction pages. Something I’ll be using for a long time.










Best Beer Blog or Website

I always enjoy Pete Brown’s writing and learn something along the way.

Honourable mention: Brooklyn brewery website and blog as Garrett's always up to something beery fascinating, all the time.




Best Online Brewery presence

Thornbridge Brewery due to their in-depth brewery blog.

 

In 2013 I’d Most Like To……do all the things I never managed on my 2009, 2010 and 2011 lists erm or even one of them would do. Travels to numerous countries (or towns) that spells out BEER and drink beer…..Belgium, Eugene (well it’s the nearest place to Portland that begins with E)…two Es could be spoiling this last minute jaunt idea….I think I’ll leave it at that.

Open Category: Albums of 2012 – Frank Ocean ‘Channel ORANGE’, Lucy Rose ‘Like I Used To’ , Gregory Porter ‘Be Good’, Oddisee ‘Odd Renditions’ EP, The Invisible ‘Rispah’, Damian Jurado ‘Maraqopa’, Zaf presents ‘Private Wax’ compilation and Band Skulls ‘Sweet Sour’.