Golden Pints 2015

GOLDEN PINTS 2015

Well, not quite everyone is doing it but I'll throw in my selection for consideration and/or ridicule.

My year of beer started with the Manchester Beer Festival at the Velodrome, I'll miss that venue in some ways but not in others. Quickly followed by Bierfestival Brugge.
Next up was my my local beer festival, one I've been working at for over 30 years.
In March one just has to attend this and the following week the volunteers of Bieres Sans Frontieres descended on the fair City of Milan, four brewery visits and a beer festival, not bad for a weekend away!
July and we're back in Staveley for one of the best Beer Festivals in the land, don't miss it.
August brought GBBF and London Craft Beer Festival, some bloggers seemed to think LCBF was superior... I just don't see how.
September means Leeds International Beer Festival great fun to work at and great company.
October and my first visit to Indy Man Beer Con great venue, great beer, enthusiastic punters and many friends. Somehow ended up heading to the wrong bar for after festival drinks with Stu McKinlay and Dan Shelton.

Anyway, the awards...

Best UK cask beer:

Vocation Life and Death, a bit of a latecomer in the year for me as I first encountered it in November, but what a beer.

Best UK keg beer:

Hawkshead Chuckleberry Sour, one of the most refreshing beers I had all year, and what a colour!

Best UK bottled beer:

Fullers 2003 Vintage Ale, it was just so damn tasty.

Best UK canned beer:

Moor Nor'Hop justifying the decision to move over to cans, this (and the other Moor canned beers) show that canning has truly come of age.

Best Overseas Draught Beer:

Birrificio Italiano Tipopils, this time drinking it ​at Birrificio Italiano restaurant in Lurago Marinone.

Best Overseas Bottle/can Beer:

Sierra Nevada Torpedo, again because it's constant and downright delicious.

Beer of the Year:

Mad Fox Brewing Company Barrel Aged Crazy Ivan Russian Imperial Stout (cask at GBBF)

Best Pumpclip or Label:

Magic Rock distinctive and direct

Best UK Brewery:

Kernel or Wild Beer Co. or Hawkshead or... this is just impossible, we have so many excellent breweries in the UK, we should be ashamed.

Best Overseas Brewery:

Pohjala a superb introduction to their beers at Indy Man, loved every one of them.

Pub/Bar of the Year:

North Bar, again by a short head

Independent Retailer of the Year:

No idea

Online Retailer of the Year:

Don’t buy on line

Best Beer Blog or Website:

Tandleman & Zythophile are the only ones I visit regularly.

Best Beer Festival:

GBBF still the best, also enjoyed Leeds International Beer Festival and blown away by IndyMan 

Best city for beer in the UK:

Leeds

Supermarket of the Year:

Booths

Best Beer App:

Craft Beer London

Best Beer Book or Magazine:

Too many are just lists of beers so it goes to Stephen Beaumont for The Beer & Food Companion.

Bières Sans Frontières at large in Milan, a preview

     One of the beery highlights for many of GBBF volunteers who work on the Bières Sans Frontières

bar is the annual planning meeting. Over the years we have graced such varied venues as The Melborn in Bradford, Cantillon Brewery in Brussels, Bernard Brewery in Humpolec, Brugs Beertje in Bruges and many more in between. As the specialist International Beer Bar we think it responsible to travel to the Countries that we get our beers from, so far we've managed Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and The Czech Republic as well as regular meetings in England & Scotland, so this year we're off to Italy.


     Long in the planning stages our intrepid Italian volunteers have put together a program to whet the lips of any serious beer lover. According to Thrillist Italy ranks as the 10th best brewing Nation, and few could deny that the rise up the ranks is well deserved. A glance through guida alle birre d'italia and you'll find an astonishing number of Breweries that have sprung up in the past ten years or so. No longer do you have to settle for standard euro pils when you have such choice before you.
 Luca Giaccone, one of the Curatori of the guide, has been a regular of the BSF Bar and his knowledge of the Italian Beer scene is unparalleled, together with the inimitable Lorenzo Dabove, Allesandro Meroni, Anna Borrelli, Barbara Boero and other volunteers they have  ensured that we are set for a first class weekend.

     Our Italian odyssey begins in Milan where our intrepid organisers will attempt to herd cats, or rather shepherd BSF volunteers who will have traveled from USA, The Netherlands, Sweden, UK and Italy to immerse themselves in the wonderful world of Italian Craft Beer.
     We start with a Friday evening visit to Birrificio Lambrate for a Brewery tour with Giampaolo Sangiorgi then drinks at the BrewPub before heading across the City to Antonio Maiorano's Lambiczoon. Anyone who has had the pleasure of visiting The Sherwood Pub in Nicorvo will certainly look forward to visiting this bar.

     Of course the main purpose of our trip is to review last years BSF @ GBBF and see where improvements can be made and whether we have new markets to explore as more Breweries contact us wishing to get their beers into GBBF. We are thrilled to have been invited to host our meeting at Birrificio Italiano in Como where head brewer and founder Agostino Arioli will lead a tasting of some special beers.
So looking forward to this as Tipopils is one of my favourite beers. We have regularly featured Birrificio Italiano on the BSF Bar.

     Following our meeting and refreshment we will hit the road to Carate Brianza to visit Birrificio Menaresta, a return visit for me, to sample some beers partner and founder Marco Rubelli. On my last visit we joined the team for lunch at a cafe around the corner. Not your average cafe though as I noticed a well stocked beer fridge just inside the door which even had Westvleteren in. But the biggest surprise was seeing a Hand Pump on the counter with a  beer from Moor on offer, apparently Justin was due to arrive the next day.

     A further journey will take us to Monza and Birra Del Carrobiolo where head brewer and founder Pietro Fontana will host our final visit of the day.


     It's a tough job, planning for a Beer Festival, and we are happy to take on the onerous task so that you can enjoy GBBF 2015

     Our thanks go to the Breweries and Bars for opening their doors to us, we are really looking forward to our visit and we will do our best to ensure that Italian Craft Beer gets even wider recognition.

Salute