Missing Logo Festival (AKA Golden Pint Awards 2012)

                                                      The Golden Pint Awards 2012 "LOGO"
Hello,                                                               

     after 3 and a half years blogging, initially just for me and Davefromtshop and the dubious benefit of my friends, usually under duress, I have decided to contribute to the Golden Pint Awards 2012. Its tremendously exciting, since it appears that this is what real bloggers do.

That said, Stupid Blogger (for it is they) have still failed to offer me the chance to upload images, so this is no doubt going to be the only Golden Pint Awards post in 2012 with no chuffing logo. So, erm, not like a real blogger after all then....

Anyhoo, that's enough fannying about with caveats and explanations, here's some cold hard listing :

1. Best UK Draught (Cask or Keg) Beer : Magic Rock Bearded Lady Bourbon Cask (Keykeg...) - the end is nigh basically. Liking a Keykeg beer is not something that sits comfortably with a miserable old caskard like me, but I can't get past how incredible a drinking experience it was. Fifty matchless minutes sat in the Sheffield Tap, drinking one half.

2. Best UK Bottled or canned beer : Thornbridge Highland Reserve Imperial Stout (2006). Does this count? Only, I opened it a couple of months back, so despite being brewed in the black and white era, its a beer I opened in 2012. It was my penultimate bottle of six from the batch I purchased at some cost. Not had a bad one yet. Not had any that were less than "wow" beers to be fair.

3. Best Overseas draught beer. Maui Coconut Porter, again at the Sheffield Tap. Took 10 minutes (seemingly) to pour, but was worth the wait, and the price.

4.Best Overseas bottled or canned beer : Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast. Sorry, I know this is a bit like saying that happiness is one of my favourite feelings but BGB is a very rare thing. I really wanted to pick unusual or off the wall choices on the whole but am afraid that having tried this its impossible to pick anything else really. A not bad wallet lightening agent.

5. Best Overall Beer : Thornbridge Halcyon. Because I enjoy it on cask, on Keykeg and even in bottles. That's some crossover.

6. Best Pumpclip or label : Anything by Stroud brewery. Old school ultra traditional and not a lurid colour in sight.

7. Best UK Brewery : Mallinsons. From a shortlist of 5, because everything of theirs I drink I like. And helpfully, some of it is actually incredibly, not just pretty damn, brilliant.

8.Best Overseas Brewery : Nogne. Because I like the sound of everything they do, even if I have only tried about 4 of their beers (and loved every one).

9. Pub/Bar of the Year : well, according to blog mentions/tag cloud numbers, and with one having only being open a year, its a dead heat between Shakespeares Sheffield, and DAda bar. My dream Tuesday line up.

10. Beer Festival of the Year : New Inn Cropton Great Yorkshire Brewery 2012. Just a fantastic occasion.

11. Supermarket of the Year : A question much like "who's your favourite dictator?" See below....

12. Independent Retailer of the year : Always go independent. Try Archer Road Beer Stop for starters.

15. Best beer blog : I like the comments on Boak and Bailey. Am not sure if this is a compliment or not. Also, Timbo at "A Swift One" is concise, like what I want to be.

16.  Best Beer Twitterer : @sparklepete - because he writes about pubs. Although mainly on his blog, less so on Twitter. Maybe should have skipped this category in the absence of a relevant answer....

17. Best Online Brewery Presence : Revolutions Brew. Lots and lots and lots of UP TO DATE information. The indecipherable note readers best friend, and nicely themed.

18. Food and beer pairing of the year : A pork pie in the Blake, Sheffield, with any beer they have on.

19. In 2013 I'd most like to : Upload pics to my blog again.

20. Best Tegestological undertaking by a brewery : Brampton's. Beermats that wouldn't look out of place in the 1930's. As all such cardboard advertisements should be.

So that's it then, my first exciting foray into writing down 20/18 things that are good, with a beer theme. I look forward to rubbing shoulders with the beer prose aristocracy as a direct result. Or a few stats. Or just a stat. Please help me....

Wee Beefy