Golden Pints 2013

These are my Golden Pint 'Awards' for the beers I've drunk and the pubs, bars & beer festivals I've been to in 2013 with links to various blog posts & untappd checkins.

Best UK Cask Beer:
Loch Lomond Brewery Drayman's Travels - Cove & Kilcreggan Beer Festival. A chocolate-orange-candy stout infused with chillies, it made me smile *a lot*. Outstanding!

Best UK Keg Beer:
Summer Wine Brewery The Devil Loves Nelson Sauvin - The Knott, Manchester. I love Nelson Sauvin but sometimes it's a bit unbalanced; this was toned down just a tad and superb.

Best UK Bottled or Canned Beer:
Celt Experience Ogham Willow - bought from their own web-site. Excellent US/Euro Double IPA, but all the Celt Ogham & Shapeshifter beers I've had have been are great.

Best Overseas Draught Beer:
Brouwerij De Molen Amarillo - FyneFest. Seville oranges with added alcohol heat, yumm.

Best Overseas Bottled or Canned Beer:
Odell Brewing Co. Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout - bought from Valhalla's Goat.

Best collaboration brew:
Comarty Brewing and Tempest Brewing Cone Head - Cloisters, Edinburgh. Just picked toasted pinecones, lots of hops and Ardennes yeast, lovely.

Best Overall Beer:
It has to be Loch Lomond Brewery Drayman's Travels.

Best Branding, Pumpclip, Label or Beer Name:
Fyne Ales Spaghetti Western, aka The Good, The Bad and The @WillMill82

Best UK Brewery:
Cromarty Brewing. Consistency, consistency, consistency & brilliance.

Best Overseas Brewery:
Brouwerij De Molen (although not for the Raad & Daad).

Best New Brewery Opening 2013:
Six° North, Stonehaven. The 'The Belgian Brewers of Scotland' has worked out really well.

Pub/Bar of the Year:
Large scale - Inn Deep, Kelvinbridge, Glasgow.
Small scale pub - Railway Tavern, Kincardine.

Best New Pub/Bar Opening 2013:
St Andrews Brewing Co. Pub - South Street, St Andrews

Beer Festival of the Year:
FyneFest 2013 - Great people, great beer, a walk to a bothy in the hills - what more could a person want?

Best city for beer in the UK:
Edinburgh

Supermarket of the Year:
Aldi(Scotland) - 2 great Scottish Beer Festivals in the year, Summer & Winter.

Independent Retailer of the Year:
There's such a choice now in Glasgow and I can't possibly choose between Hippo Beers, Valhalla's Goat and Good Spirits Co.

Online Retailer of the Year:
AleselA - beer choice, packaging and service you can't beat.

Best Beer Book or Magazine:
CAMRA Ayrshire's Full Pints magazine is a good read.

Best Beer Blog or Website:
The Beercast - The Scottish Beer Website (by the 'legendary' Richard Taylor)

Best Beer App:
Untappd is pretty well the only one I use.

Simon Johnson Award for Best Beer Twitterer:
@broadfordbrewer - beer & (bad, hilarious) puns.

Best Brewery Website/Social media:
Siren Craft Brew - always informative blog

Food and Beer Pairing of the Year:
Whitebait & Loch Ness Brewery Ness Express - Benleva Hotel, Dromadrochit.


Happy New Year to everyone!