Roeg's Picks for 2011

1. Best Brewery: Cigar City, Tampa Bay, FL – Great brewery with many taps.  Offered their standards and specialty beers, had a beer event the following day (damn return flight), and offered a specialty cask when I sampled.  Over two days, I got to try 22 different beers.  It was heaven.  I love this place. Runners Up: Brew Dog from Scotland, The Bruery in CA
2. Best Brewpub: Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth, NH – I know I’m biased, but this brewpub continues to shine.  I love the nachos and their Old Brown Dog, and think their Thaizenheimer is fantastic.  Smuttynose bottles their big beers, and there is always a cask available downstairs (but you have to remember to ask for it since it is not on their beer list). Their specialty beer is Kate the Great a RIS that is only released once a year (3/7/11). Runners Up: Derby Standard, Derby, UK and People's Pint, Greenfield, MA
3. Best Regional Bar: The Beveridge, Seattle, WA – No food at the Beveridge, but you can order in, and I enjoyed a glass of Deschutes Dissident Sour Ale.  I followed it up with a Full Sail Black Gold Imperial Bourbon Stout, aged in bourbon barrels, and totally quaffable.  Checking my records confirmed that this beer was my 11,000 beer, a milestone that has sort of snuck up on me.  The bartender was impressed with my beer book and the story of my travels, and gave me a bottle of Full Sail Imperial Bourbon Porter ’08 for good measure.  Runners Up: Bocktown Beer, Pittsburgh, PA and Babington Arms, Derby, UK
4. Best English Pub: The Harrington Arms, Aldsworth, UK - The Harrington Arms is a beautiful pub with a large garden area in the back where the whole town could be found on a weekday night.  We met my friends Steve and Rob, and settled in for a while.  The beer was outstanding (best pint of Bass in the UK, and the food looked delicious).  I got to try a couple of beers on cask from Tollgate, including the house special, the Earl’s ale and their TSB (Tollgate Special Bitter?).  It was a great evening, and I can’t wait to go back. Runners Up: Kelham Island Tavern, Sheffield, UK and The Old Toad, Rochester, NY
5. Gastropub: Armsby Abbey, Worcester, MA – Armsby Abbey has been getting rave reviews in beer periodicals, and they host a Farmhouse Brunch.  The draft menu was outstanding, including at least 10 beers I hadn’t tried before, and fortunately for me they offered flights.  The food menu offered a similar number of great choices.  Jenn ordered the stuffed French toast; thick slices of homemade honey oatmeal bread stuffed with a brown sugar-roasted peach mascarpone filling and served with their homemade bacon-bourbon infused maple syrup.  I got the pigs & grits; chili cumin braised pork, with roasted red & poblano peppers, sweet onion, creamy cheddar grits, bacon braised greens, covered in an ancho hollandaise and a poached egg.  Best brunch I ever had, and that is not just the beer talking.  On a return trip, I got the cheese plate with bourbon soaked cherries, and the best beef chili I’ve ever eaten. Runners Up: Dirty Truth, Northampton, MA and The Farmhouse, Emmaus, PA
6. Sports Bar: World of Beer, Orlando, FL- The WOB had great beers, allowed you to bring your own food, free internet, and had a ton of TVs.  I found a safe location in the back corner, right in front of Phillies vs. Diamondbacks baseball game.  I was able to chat with Jenn through Skype for most of the evening.  The Phillies blew open the game in the late innings, giving Cliff Lee his 13^th victory on the way to a 9-2 win.  Runners Up: Boston Beer Works, Boston, MA and Fatheads, Pittsburgh, PA
7. Multitaps: Brouwer’s Café, Seattle, WA –The beer selection was fantastic (how can you go wrong with 64 taps), the wait staff was knowledgeable, and they even had a Mannekin Pis statue in the entrance way.  I started with the Silver City Fat Bastard scotch ale, followed by their 6^th anniversary commemorative beer, an imperial stout brewed by HUB.  To wrap up my selections, I tried the Sierra Nevada Black Vapor Steam beer.  Runners Up: Sunset Grill, Allston, MA and Church Key, Washington, DC
8. Bottle Selection: Ebenezer’s Pub, Lovell, ME – Although for my journey I did not try the bottles (I had to make it back), the private tour of the beer cellar was impressive.  Chris gets beers shipped to him from breweries to taste (how do I get that job?), and he stores quite a bit for special occasions.  And at Ebenezer’s they’ve chosen not to carry a lot of the everyday beers to pump up their numbers.  And with their unique selection, they don’t have to.Runners Up: D's Six Packs and Dogs, Swissvale, PA and Mahar's, Albany, NY
9. Bottle Shop: Bottleworks, Seattle, WA – A must for me is to be able to grab a draft while searching, and I got to try the Mikkeller Green Gold on draft.  Limiting myself to twelve, some to take back and some to drink here, I found some Maui brewing cans and some unique beers from Japan.  Of particular note was the Mikkeller Two Gypsies Our Side Saison, done with Stillwater, and the Lost Abbey Deliverance, a mix of their brandy Angel’s Share and bourbon barrel Serpent’s stout, and the Stone Belgo Anise Russian Imperial Stout.  Runners Up: Pinnochio's, Media, PA and Utobeer, London, UK
10. Best Beer Event: Friday the Firkenteenth, Grey Lodge Pub, Philadelphia, PA – An event based on the calendar, this past year had one event.  I travelled by myself since I was heading out of town the following day, and found a seat upstairs where I enjoyed my Lodge steak to go with the cask ales.    My favorite cask was Wells Banana Bread beer, best summarized as dessert in a glass.  There are 3 Fridays in 2012, and I can hardly wait. Runners Up: Portlans ME Brewfest and Decicco's Founders Tasting in Brewster, NY

Happy New Year!!! - 5956/11758

"They speak of my drinking, but never think of my thirst." – Scottish Proverb