Here's my own personal round-up of the best beers, breweries, and pubs I have encountered over the past 12 months....
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It doesn't seem 12 months since I was going through my favourites of 2023. Well actually it isn't quite, as I didn't get to do it until the first week in January, but I didn't want to let it slip again, so here in a more timely fashion are my favourites of the year. As ever, whilst celebrating the best, there are of course some breweries that have unfortunately closed down this year, such as Elland and Chapter Brewing, whilst there have been regular shenanigans again this year from Carlsberg Marstons who seem to be doing the best they can to undermine the cask ale market.
The Beers
It is difficult to grade these as it very much depends on the setting, the way you feel, as well as the actual beer itself. But the most objective way I can think of is to look at the beers that I have rated as being a 4 or above on the NBSS (National Beer Scoring System) scale used by CAMRA. So here's a list of the 4 star beers I have drunk in 2024 (with the exception of those I have drunk in the pubs I frequent locally in Halifax and Brighouse when I have been 'off duty', as it were). And looking back it is interesting to see what those beers were. There is a tendency towards hoppy pales, as that is my favourite style, but there are a few traditional bitters and even a "spiced pumpkin ale" courtesy of Thornbridge.
I awarded 13 beers the coveted NBSS 4 rating during 2024, with no beer achieving a 4.5, but plenty receiving a 3.5. The first 4 I awarded was back in January when I took a trip over to South Manchester, where the Track Sonoma was on excellent form at the Station Hop in Levenshulme. As I wrote at the time "I ordered a pint and went to sit at the bench in front of the bar. Wow, the beer was spot on. This 3.8% session pale with its underlying bitterness, touch of sweetness, and citrus flavours is one of the best beers around and when its on form it takes some beating. Probably because there were several more beers on keg, I wasn't perhaps expecting the cask to be so good, which is a little unfair, but this was definitely worth a 4."
Another beer that impressed me was my first encounter with Sureshot's 3.9% hazy pale Small Man's Wetsuit, which I came across on Good Friday at the Port House Beer House, also in Manchester. Again I waxed lyrical..."a 3.9% which to quote the brewery's blurb is a "petite pale dry hopped with Idaho 7, Citra & Galaxy. Submerged in hops with a gentle tropicality. Soft corners, light bitterness, and a stonefruit edge." And I'm not going to argue with that; it was juicy, refreshing, and delicious, and I went back for another half as I enjoyed it so much." And I have continued to enjoy it when I've seen it elsewhere, although that first pint has never been beaten.
Meanwhile, a trip to the Midlands not long afterwards afforded the opportunity to try one of the region's classic beers at the King & Castle, based at the terminus of the Severn Valley Railway in Kidderminster. "The pub was busy, with a mix of football fans, railway geeks, families, and pub lovers. There were 8 hand pumps on the bar...but there was one beer they had that I just had to try. It was several years since I had enjoyed a pint of Bathams Bitter, a classic beer from a legendary small, family-run brewery in the Black Country who started out in 1827, and two hand pulls at either end of the bank testified to its popularity here. I ordered a pint...and went outside where we sat at one of several tables under the station canopy. The beer was excellent: pale, fruity, not too bitter, sweet with a dry finish...very refreshing...sessionable despite its 4.3% ABV (NBSS 4). And paired with a cheese salad cob (as they call their butties in these parts), and sat amidst...old suitcases, potted plants, and piles of second hand books with the sun shining...made for a most enjoyable visit to this fine pub."
And, including those 3 which were probably my favourite pints of cask all year, the full 13 (down from 17 in 2023) and where I drunk them is here, in no particular order:
1. Track - Sonoma, Station Hop, Levenshulme, Manchester; 2. Hop Back - Summer Lightning, Swan, York; 3. Two By Two - Sabro Citra, House of Trembling Madness, York; 4. North Riding - Pale Ale, North Riding, Scarborough; 5. Sureshot - Small Man's Wetsuit, Port Street Beer House, Manchester; 6. Bathams - Best Bitter, King & Castle, Kidderminster; 7. Round Corner - Bell Hotel, Hebden, Hebden Bridge; 8. Farm Yard - Splish Splash, City Arms, Manchester; 9. Milltown - Platinum Blonde, Dusty Miller, Longwood, Huddersfield; 10. Empire - Golden Warrior, Monkey Club, Armitage Bridge, Huddersfield; 11. Camerons - Strongarm, Anchor, Hartlepool;12. Thornbridge - Woodlands, Piccadilly Tap, Manchester; 13. Yorkshire Heart - Blonde, Duck & Drake, Leeds
A few unexpected ones looking back, I would never expected Camerons Strongarm to be in there if you'd asked me at the start of the year, likewise beers from two of Huddersfield long-standing small breweries. Hop Back Summer Lightning was a journey back down Memory Lane. And I had never had a beer from Leicestershire's Round Corner brewing before nor have I since, so I look forward to trying them again soon.
I have drunk more cask than keg this year and because I don't give them a score like cask beers, it is hard to rank them. But aside from some excellent beers from that I have enjoyed in nearby pubs and bars, a couple stood out in particular when I was going through the blogs. First, an encounter at Cafe Beermoth in Manchester with the latest iteration of the flagship Jack D'or from Sheffield's St Mars Of The Desert: "the beer highlight of the day; a 5.8% Belgian-style Farmhouse Ale, brewed with European hops and saison yeast, with a more neutral strain then added to give a second fermentation. The result? A beautifully balanced, aromatic, dry and slightly spicy golden beer, with a tingling natural fizz. A true beer with which to sip and relax."
Next up was a beer I tried only a few weeks ago at The Record Cafe in Bradford, a 6.66% ABV beer brewed for Halloween, described thus in Wylam's blurb "Slasher is a hauntingly bold and refreshing IPA that will send chills down your spine. Featuring a sinister blend of Superdelic, Citra, and El Dorado hops, the beer slashes through your palate with juicy, tropical aromas and a sharp, citrus bite. This beast of a beer is perfect for thrill-seekers who crave an IPA that is as action-packed as classic slasher films... and will have you screaming for more."
The Breweries
And so to those artisans whose craft is what keeps us going back for more. It is extremely difficult to come up with the best breweries and like all best-of-lists could change tomorrow. But most of the time these would be in it. And, yes I know, there are plenty of fantastic breweries that I could have included, but I have gone for breweries whose beers I have drunk regularly.
Top 5 Cask - Two By Two, Track, Marble, Pentrich, Thornbridge
Top 5 Keg - Deya, Track, Pollys, Floc, Beak
Brewer of the Year - Anyone who knows me well won't be surprised that once again it is Newcastle's Two By Two (opening image), whose juicy, hazy unfiltered beers are now regularly available locally to me at the Crafty Fox in Brighouse. They make some wonderful keg beers but it is on cask where their true craftsmanship and skill shines through. I first came across their beers a few years ago when they were still brewing at their original site in Wallsend, enjoying them at places like the Left Luggage Room at Monkseaton Metro Station. Now based in a larger plant at Ouseburn, not far from the legendary Free Trade Inn, their beers are being seen more regularly away from their native North East, such as in Leeds, York, and Harrogate, and their name is getting better known. Their distinctive, circular pump clips feature the signs of the zodiac around the perimeter, with the name of the hops used which typically is also the name of the beer (although some do have specific names like Snake Eyes and Leapfrog) at the bottom of the clip, with their keg beer font clips a scaled down version. The sight of one of their pump clips on a bar is an invitation to indulge in a an hour or two of unbridled pleasure.
The Best Pubs of 2024
Based on where I visited in my blogging travels, the best 20 pubs I went to this year are as follows, again in no particular order:
Heaton Hops, Stockport; Reasons To Be Cheerful, Burnage, Manchester; Boleyn Tavern, West Ham, London; Port Street Beer House, Manchester; City Arms, Manchester; Swan, York; Blue Bell, York; Crown Posada, Newcastle; North Riding Hotel, Scarborough; Coopers Tavern, Burton-on-Trent; Belvedere, Liverpool; Robin Hood, Pecket Well, nr Hebden Bridge; Record Cafe, Bradford; Duck & Drake, Leeds; Rat Race, Hartlepool; Swan & Railway, Wigan; Just Beer, Newark; Monkey Club, Armitage Bridge, Huddersfield; King & Castle, Kidderminster; Boltmakers, Keighley
And so to my Pub of The Year for 2024! After much deliberation, I have decided to award this to the City Arms in Manchester, which was in excellent form every time I called in this year. As I wrote on one of my visits it is "a small pub which is nearly 200 years old and comprises a small bar, a small lounge-like room a step down at the back of the pub, plus a drinking corridor as you enter to the rear of the bar. It is usually busy...but today it was decidedly chilled out, which made for a pleasant half an hour or so sat in the back room. I'd ordered a pint of Odin, the popular 3.8% Blonde from Radcliffe brewers Brightside, which was a bit lively and so the girl behind the bar offered to bring it over to me when she'd sorted it...The room was quiet when I walked in with only a couple of tables occupied. Walls painted in a warm yellow feature several famous drinking-related quotations." It has the feel of a local pub in the heart of the city and is a must-visit if you are in this part of Manchester.
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| The City Arms, Manchester |
There were a number of other pubs in Manchester that I enjoyed visiting this year. As well as Port Street Beer House which made the Top 20, just missing out were both Cafe Beermoth and North Westward Ho!, whilst I enjoyed my visits to old favourites like the Smithfield Tavern, the Crown & Kettle, and the Marble Arch. And so to conclude I have once again enjoyed some wonderful beers in some great pubs throughout 2024, and I am looking forward to more of the same in 2025....
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