Golden Pint Awards 2015

I’m not generally known for my love of cask beer. But for the right beer, at the right time – and crucially, when it’s well kept – it’s a beautiful thing.

All three of these beers are a perfect example of that, the winner in particular just wouldn’t be the same on keg.

3rd: Track – Sonoma
2nd: Quantum – Stock Ale

1st: Buxton/Omnipollo – Yellow Belly Sundae

This was tough. There were so many to choose from you could ask me again tomorrow and get a different order or even an entirely different top three.

3rd: Kernel – Export Stout London 1980
2nd: Buxton Brewery – Wyoming Sheep Ranch

1st: Magic Rock – Magic 8 Ball

As above really. Almost impossible to choose three, let alone one. I’ve had a go though.

3rd: BrewDog – Born To Die 04.07.2015
2nd: Thornbridge – Bracia

1st: Marble – Marble Arch Inn 125 Barleywine

I so wanted Magic Rock to feature in this category, Cannonball and High Wire Grapefruit in particular as they’re stunning beers on keg. Unfortunately, they haven’t quite nailed the cans yet, hopefully next year!

3rd: BrewDog – Jackhammer
2nd: Beavertown – Black Betty

1st: BrewDog – Black Eyed King Imp

3rd: Arizona Wilderness – American Presidential Stout
2nd: Dogfish Head – 90 Minute IPA

1st: Ballast Point – Grapefruit Sculpin

While this was another tough and very competitive category with loads of beers vying for the top three, the 1st place is a clear winner.

3rd: Stone Enjoy By 02.14.15
2nd: Mikkeller – Nelson Sauvin Brut (White Wine Barrel Aged)

1st: Cantillon – Iris (2014)

3rd: Ballast Point – Grapefruit Sculpin
2nd: Westbrook – Gose

1st: Oskar Blues – Ten Fiddy

3rd: Põhjala / To Øl – Taanilinn Cognac BA
2nd: Mikkeller / Lindemans – Spontanbasil

1st: Mikkeller / 3 Floyds Brewing – Blå Spøgelse

It’s virtually impossible to name just one. But I’ve gone for this as it left me quite literally speechless. Not many beers do that.

1st: Cantillon – Iris (2014)

3rd: Beavertown
2nd: Omnipollo

1st: Magic Rock

1st: Magic Rock – Un-Human Cannonball

3rd: Magic Rock – Cannonball (can)
2nd: Mikkeller / 3 Floyds Brewing – Blå Spøgelse

1st: Omnipollo – Noa

The top two are certainties, although they could change position depending on my mood. The 3rd spot is somewhat up for grabs with honourable mentions going to Old Chimneys, Marble, Siren and BrewDog, amongst others.

3rd: Kernel
2nd: Magic Rock

1st: Buxton Brewery

3rd: Cantillon
2nd: Mikkeller

1st: To Øl

I know Cloudwater will clean up in this category. But when you open a brewery with seemingly unlimited funds, a team of staff with experience working for established breweries and somehow manage to get the biggest bars in the country to host your launch events, I think producing decent beer is the bare minimum required.

Whereas Chorlton are operating on the other end of the scale, from a tiny railway arch in Ardwick. Yet they’re turning out some of the most interesting and best quality modern sour beers in the UK.

They officially opened late in 2014 but I don’t think their beers were publicly available until 2015, I first had them in January 2015 anyway.

3rd: Vocation
2nd: Cloudwater

1st: Chorlton Brewing

5th: Il Santo Bevitore, Venice
4th: Buxton Tap House, Buxton
3rd: The Marble Arch, Manchester
2nd: Six Degrees North, Aberdeen

1st: The Grove, Huddersfield

3rd: Hop Locker, Southbank Market
2nd: Beermoth Cafe

1st: Magic Rock Tap

3rd: The Independent Manchester Beer Convention
2nd: Rainbow Project Launch @ Magic Rock Tap

1st: Leeds International Beer Festival

1st: Booths

1st: Epicurean, Didsbury

1st: BrewDog website. As well as selling their own beers at generally good prices (especially with shareholder discount) they have an excellent range of guest beers from UK breweries like Wild, Siren and Buxton as well as foreign beers from breweries such as Mikkeller, To Øl, Ballast Point (RIP), Oskar Blues etc..

Also, a special shout-out to Eebria, although their model of charging £5.99 delivery per brewery you order from is frustrating, the flipside is that beers are dispatched directly from the breweries meaning they’re usually super fresh.

I don’t read many but am currently enjoying Mark Dredge’s new book, ‘The Best Beer In The World’.

I’m pretty new to beer blogging and too busy running two blogs of my own as well as a business to read many others.

I do enjoy the occasional post from BoozyProcrastinator though. Bar some cross over in the middle we have pretty different tastes but I love his no-nonsense attitude (and also that he’s one of only two other people I know not taken in by the Cloudwater hype).

I’m ashamed to say I don’t even know who Simon Johnson is and hardly follow any beer people on Twitter. Mike from Chorlton Brewing does make me laugh a lot though.

1st: Untappd, obviously.

And a (pointless) shout out to my best beer friends and our beer orientated WhatsApp group. These awards wouldn’t be the same without them/it since they’ve shared in many of the above beers and days/nights out with me.

Although my productivity, bank balance and liver would be in a considerably better state.