Roeg's Picks for 2014

So I haven't actually "Blogged" in a while, although I had every intention of catching up.  But that hasn't stopped me from actually trying new beers (actually the number of beers and trips has made it hard to keep up with blogging).  So I wanted to take a moment and acknowledge my favorites from 2014.  Here it goes:

Best Brewery

• Cigar City, Tampa, FL: Great time with my beautiful wife.  Nothing better than that, including the beer.
• Brew Dog, Scotland: How many of these great taprooms could I visit in a week? Not enough.
• Hill Farmstead, Greensboro Bend, VT: Where else would someone drive 5 hours (each way) to stand 2 hours in line for growler fills? 

Best Brewpub

• Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth, NH: Been visiting for 23 years, and I'm not stopping now.  Nothing better than nachos with an Old Brown Dog (unless its their Really Old Brown Dog).
• Peekskill Brewing, Peekskill, NY: Rate beer said it was New York's best, and I would have to agree.
• Bluejacket, Washington, DC: Hang out for 4 hours to sample over a dozen beers? How awesome is that!?!

Best Tap House

• Spring House Taproom, Lancaster, PA: No better place to hang out and chat.
• 7venth Sun, Dunedin, FL: If I wasn't on my own over committed schedule, I would have spent the day here.
• Green Bench Brewing, St. Petersburg, FL: A great place to stop off after the game.

Best Regional Bar

• Prohibition Pig, Waterbury, VT: Best place to stop for bar-b-que and all the great VT beers.
• Cajun Café, Pinellas Park, FL: What a surprise! Great food and the latest selections from the western FL beer scene.
• Great Lost Bear, Portland, ME: A must stop for food, cask beers and Allagash row.

Best English Pub

• The Baum, Rochdale, UK: CAMRA's pub of the year, the only reason I didn't stop at another Brew Dog pub.
• Devonshire Cat, Sheffield, UK: Only a short train ride from Derby, it was a hopping spot when I visited.
• Victoria House, Beeston, UK: Huge menu, friendly people, and great beers.

Best Belgian Café

• Monk’s Café, Philadelphia, PA: World famous place to get mussels and unique beers.  I love their tie to Russian River Brewing.
• Teresa’s Café, Wayne, PA: New to Draft magazine's top 100 list, it was a great place to stop in with family.
• Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, PA: With or without the tour, this place is great.

Best German Bier Hall

• Bier Garden, Portsmouth, VA: A great hole in the wall, you could hear them freshly beating the chicken schnitzel in the kitchen.
• Brauhaus Schmitz, Philadelphia, PA: Classic downtown Philly hotspot.
• Wolf’s Biergarten, Albany, NY: Family favorite for brunch or dinner.

Best Gastropub

• The Jeffrey, NYC, NY: A gastropub named after me, try the house made beef jerky.
• The Birch Bar, Norfolk, VA: Great food items with a rare bottle club that patrons could come and share.
• Peg’s Cantina, Gulfport, FL: Romantic location with phenomenal food.

Best Sports Bar

• The Ruck, Troy, NY: Good food and great beer, with lots of TVs to watch whatever is on.
• Fathead’s Pittsburgh, PA: Great Pittsburgh fans that welcome a visitor in a Flyers jersey.  What? I hate the Capitals too!
• World of Beer, Albany, NY: Many locations and tons of sports.

 Best Multi-Tap Bar

• Red Light, Red Light, Orlando, FL: Great taps.
• Sunset Grill, Allston, MA: Great taps.
• Church Key, Washington, DC: Great taps.

Best Bar for Bottle Selection

• D’s Six Packs and Dogs, Swissvale, PA: Go get a Chicago Dog and a six pack for the hotel room.
• Beer Run, Charlottesville, VA: Great place for breakfast, as well as looking for great VA beers, including 3 Brothers Resolute.
• Madison Pourhouse, Albany, NY: Good draft selection, plus hard to finds beers such as Founders KBS.

Best Bottle Shop

• Pinocchio’s Beer Garden, Media, PA: Always finding something new, with a pint of beer in my hand.
• Oliver’s Beverage, Albany, NY: Great place to kill an hour as I peruse the choices.
• The Beer Store, Southampton, PA: A bar to hangout at, letting you to stretch your legs as you look at the bottles.

Best Mail Order Beer

• 20 West Wine & Spirits: Great selection of the Midwest favorites, including Three Floyds Zombie Dust.
• Quality Liquor Store: West coast selection are outstanding.  I particularly enjoyed the Cascade Apricot.
• Best Damn Beer Store: Epic's Big Bad Baptist and Cascade's Noyaux and Sang Royal.

Best Beer Event

• Extreme Beer Festival, March 22^nd, Boston, MA: By far the best beer festival to find "hard to find" beers. 
• Friday the Firkinteenth #29, Philadelphia, PA: A personal tradition, 3 separate opportunities in 2015.
• Russian River Event #7, March 10^th, Monk’s Café, Philadelphia, PA: What could be better than Pliny the Younger for charity?  I'm a giver!

Best Local Bar

• Ruck, Troy, NY: Best food, best sports and a great selection of beer.
• Bier Abbey, Schenectady, NY: Close to work and home, my favorite place to pop in for a taster.
• Madison Pourhouse, Albany, NY: Personable service and a great selection of top notch bottles.

It was a great year.  I can't wait to see what 2015 has to offer. - 17005