Gold: Kate the Great 2012, Portsmouth, NH – An entire day dedicated
to a special beer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGvkddJCQo0,
check me out at 0:52) that was rated a 100 by Beer Advocate. I was encouraged
by my friend Wayne to come out, and I was glad I did since it was the last time
that Tod Mott was going to brew his beer for the Portsmouth Brewery. To even get the right to buy a bottle of Kate
you had to by scratch tickets for the limited time that they were
available. We waited ~5 hours in the
cold to get inside. The beer, a 10% ABV
Russian Imperial Stout, was dark and luscious, truly awesome with a fantastic
mouthfeel. The alcohol was definitely
present in the taste, and the dark roasted malt comes out in spades. I loved it, and we each got a few more to
enjoy the beer with the room full of fans.
We hung out for over three hours (the kegs were kicked around 6:45PM) before
getting our bottles to go. It was a
great day, a good time with a good friend, and an excellent beer to mark off my
list. 
Silver: Friday the Firkenteenth (#24 - #26,
Grey Lodge Pub, Philadelphia, PA – An event based on the calendar, this past year had three events. The 24th Edition occurred in
January and was by far my favorite since I was able to share it with my brother
and cousin, and we had great seats to see the initial tapping. My favorite cask from #24 was Desiato’s Cider
(dry and delicious), #25 was the Yards Brawler (an English Dark Mild), and from
#26 was Prism’s Summer of ’69 (brewed with pineapple). I am looking for someone to go with me
September 2013.
Bronze: Solihull Cask Festival, Solihull, UK – I attended a few
cask ale festivals in the UK on my trips, but my favorite turned out to be the
one in Solihull. As soon as my airline
plans had me going in and out of Birmingham, I knew I was going to attend. The Royal British Legion hall was hosting the
14th annual Solihull & District Beer Festival, so I got my souvenir
glass for 1/3 pint pours and went to work.
I met one of the event’s organizers, and for travelling the farthest they
took a picture, and sent me a copy of their newsletter. Of the 12 casks tried, my favorites were the Churchend
Stout Coffin (great name for a thick stout) and the Thornbridge Galaxia (using
the Galaxy hop for a citrus aroma and bitter finish). In Jenn’s honor I even tried the Millwights
Rum Cask Cider, a dry cider aged in barrels from the Jamaican Rum Company. I think a beer festival will always be on the
agenda for my future trips.
Special Award: To be honest, I was
able to do a lot this year so I actually had some real choices in this category,
and a special nod needs to go to assisting my friend Wayne as the Portsmouth
Brewer for the Day. Tod Mott was brewing
a saison, and Wayne and I got to help in the process. Wayne was even able to help troubleshoot
fixing the miller, using his honed engineering skills from the shipyard to say,
“That doesn’t sound quite right.” I had
a great day with a good friend doing something with beer that I had never done
before in a place that has always been a favorite to me. With that kind of buildup it sounds like sounds
like a special award was in order.
Honorable Mention: My
honorable mentions have to go to the events of my own making. I went on a Vermont Beer Trek in search of
the #3 beer on Beer Advocates Top 100 beer list, The Alchemist’s Heady
Topper. That’s where I found out that
this gorgeous Imperial IPA sold in cans was liquid gold, selling out in stores
almost as soon as it arrives. I made it
to the brewery (and discovered for myself how good Prohibition Pig was) to buy
a case, and have enjoyed sharing the beer with friends ever since. Finally, I set up my own Stone Vertical
Tasting, wrapping it up with a Jeroboam of the 12.12.12. It truly has been a great year in pursuit of
my passion."Where brewing is an art and partaking is a passion." – The Ommegang Slogan, and is apparently applied wherever great beer is brewed or served.
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