Golden Pints 2017

• By thenoisethatwemade
• •Jan
• 2018
• •

What are Golden Pints? 

Started by Andy ‘Beer Reviews’ Mogg back in 2009 alongside Mark Dredge and Fletcher. Evaluating the last 12 months of beers, events and more, before looking forward to the next. Why join in? A moment to reflect and share your beer journey (and discover others). This is my sixth year of Golden …

Why join in?

A moment to reflect and share your beer journey (and discover others). This is my sixth year of Golden Pints and it's a process I really enjoy going through, though struggle with finding time and energy to write these days with running Hop Hideout, Sheffield Beer Week and starting Indie Beer Feast. 2017's list has been put on the back burner time wise, due to getting married in January. So I'm sure you can understand. And yes we had a right good beery party at Northern Monk Brew Co, drinking New World Sour IPA, Sonoma Pale and Elusive's The Cat in The Hat (a pina colada inspired pale ale brewed by our good friend Andy for our celebration). I also ummed and arrghed about this for ages (which explains my May posting!) because if I'm honest I wasn't out as much beering due to having to save money towards getting married. However, it's not quantity, it's quality and I just love a GOOD list....

 

Drum roll...…

 

• Best UK Cask Beer – Hawkshead's Tiramisu imperial stout (10%) served from a wooden cask at the first 'SPBW Beers From the Wood Fest' in Castleford was a rich, chocolate and moreish delight. Also got to mention: Abbeydale x Ron Pattinson x Sheffield Beer Week 'Strong Scotch Ale No 1' 10.3%, disclosure I had a hand in putting this beer idea together. Exploring an historic Scottish recipe from beer historian Ron's archives. I first tried the beer around 3 months later and it tasted of sweet caramel and toffee, without the boozy nature you can often find from a barleywine-esque beer, dreamy. Must try with a creamy blue cheese like Gorgonzola I reckon.
• Best UK Keg Beer –  Track x Brew By Numbers - Two's Day Juice 4.4% session IPA was a summer stunner at the Pilcrow's Summer Beer Thing. Absolutely citrusy and delightful. A perfect sunshine beer for that summer-filled Sunday in Manchester.
• Best UK Bottled Beer –  Torrside's bottled Monsters Series. I've been suitably impressed with these hardworking home to commercial brewers in terms of ideas and delivery. One day all the hard work will pay off! All the Monsters beers I've tried so far have been bold and balanced flavours - from smoky impy stouts to barleywines and more. Do give them a try if you see them.
• Best UK Canned Beer – Magic Rock x J Wakefield x Slim Pickens - Engine #9 Cherry Cola Vice 5.5% This was a love it or hate it beer and I personally loved it. A crazy combination of flavours mimicking a tart fruity cherry cola style sour wheat beer. Personally the balance of flavours was perfect and I found it really suitably tart and refreshing. Funny though - if you took Ratebeer on its word you'd be sworn off trying this beer! I think they should rename that website RateIPAandBigStouts. Coming up a close second for the sheer drinkability and lovely citrus hopping was Northern Monk Brew Co's Sonoma Pale. Simple and perfect.

 

• Best Overseas Bottled Beer – Oud Beersel - Vandervelden 135 6.5% I drank this on my first Toer De Geuze Trip in 2017 and was knocked out by how good it was. Sparkling, vinous, acidic, lemony, earthy/woody, layers of flavour and complexity. It's a blend of 1-year-old lambic aged on foeders that were previously used for red Brunello di Montalcino Tuscany wine and of 3-year-old lambic on an old Oud Beersel foeder. This was one of the tougher picks for me as I had two additional standout beers from newly discovered breweries (though I'd heard a lot of good things via the 'word on the street' about both before sampling). De Leite's - Aged Pale was a powerful oaky sour number reminiscent of Petrus Aged Pale, superb. Brasserie Du Mont Saleve's Export Lager was a slick, thicker bodied, liquorice hinted and roasted porter like beer with a super crisp finish.
  

                             

• Best Overseas Canned Beer – Mikkeller's Drinkin' Berliner Yuzu is a simple kettle sour with this Japanese fruit that has lemongrass hints but extremely flavoursome for the low 2.7% strength. I've got a big thing for beer with yuzu in plus it was my first hen do beer on the day. Coming up second was a big US crowler - that's a litre can from Cereberus Brewing brought to share at our Hop Hideout's hosted Indy Man Beer Con tasting by Rich, hauled from his hometown. A big imperial stout with bags of coffee. It was also voted favourite beer of the day by the crowd!
• Best collaboration brew – @fontaflorabrew x @toolbeer x @bruscph Block rock'n'Beets barrel aged imperial stout with beetroots. Or the purple prince as I'm now naming it. I tried this beer during our visit to Brus in May for Mikkeller Beer Week. It was such an earthy deep beetroot flavour, bright purple and with rich chocolate flavours that balanced the earthiness. I'm still dreaming about this beer! Burning Sky x Harvey's Anglezarke's IPA - from the Great British Beer Festival on keykeg. Great to see modern meet tradition and winning together with a classic India pale ale.

• Best Overall Beer – Oud Beersel - Vandervelden 135. This is definitely on my list of 'forever beers'.
• Best Branding – Burnt Mill Brewing came out of nowhere last year, with a significant investment, an industry known brewer (Sophie de Ronde) and eye-catching branding focusing on the landscape around their farm based Sussex brewery.
• Best UK Brewery – North Brewing Co - Leeds. This brewery has gone from strength to strength with balanced and great tasting core beers like Transmission IPA to more experimental fruity kettle sours and collaborations. With their history (North Bar ltd) it's no wonder they've been going about things the right way. They will definitely be ones to watch for the future with ambitious plans no doubt too.
• Best Overseas Brewery – Tired Hands, Philadelphia / Fonta Flora. I love the off-centre creativity and singular visions.
• Best New Brewery Opening 2017 – Burnt Mill Brewing, getting everything right from the start....

• Pub/Bar of the Year – Wild Beer Wapping Wharf, Bristol. Light and airy space, loved the wooden beer board and back bar with chunky wooden tap handles. Food menu had a great inventive choice, plus nice to see the fish options take centre stage (fitting with the harbour side location). Was very impressed with Wild Beer Co for making sure I got my investors card to use in time for my first trip to their bar.
• Best New Pub/Bar Opening 2017 - as above. I tried going in a few new bars in Bristol on my hen do, but it was so busy for Up Fest I couldn't actually get in to the ones I wanted to try!

• Beer Festival of the Year – Mikkeller Beer Celebration / Pilcrow's Summer Beer Thing. It's difficult to really beat MBC for me; high quality selection of breweries from around the world and phenomenal beers each year. Breweries really do strive to bring their A game. Pilcrow's summer event was fun and relaxed, no madness, no queues, nice food, great selection of beers, great company. Easy and fun with good beer and food. I liked the breakdown/organisation of the menu and bars on the day too (as pictured above) - might need to work on that 'Other' category naming though hehe.
• Best Beer Book or Magazine – I'm still reading through some of my beer books (shame on me, I know). So far enjoying Pete Brown's Miracle Brew.
• Best Beer Blog or Website – oh dear....I may have stopped frequenting the blogosphere. Been spending far more of my free time listening to records and running. I think I need to re-discover a few!
• Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer – Ladies That Beer - high fives to this group of women who are doing ace events and engaging women in beer. Such a shame to hear the UK has one of the lowest percentages of women drinking beer in the world as per recent study Gender Pint Gap. It's great to see LTB making a positive impact.
• Best Brewery Website/Social media – Lambic.info Hugely dedicated online information resource on lambic. Sometimes it may be a little Cantillon focused but everyone's got a favourite ;)