My 2018 - UK beers of the year and other stats

Think we usually have a UK-and-friends thread on this each year when it’s released, so thought I’d kick it off. Feel free to chip in with anything from your 2018 stats…

Weirdest stat:
Most rated beer styles - cider and bitter tied first, then stout next. Got bored of pale ales/gold’s and rather avoided them, plus seem to have a newfound love of goneoffapplejuice. Bet no-one else has that top 3?!

Pleased with:
Despite only having 214 different beers (pretty average for me), they were from 164 different breweries, of which 76 were new breweries to me. Always like to try as many different breweries as possible and seem to have achieved that.

My top beers of 2018 (quite a few tied in 10th, so stuck to top 9) - dark beers dominate for me as usual:
Screenshot_20190103-232453~2

864 beers from 452 breweries. I was looking to hit 2,000 rates but didn’t realise I was near 1,000 for a year. Feel I could have put more effort in:) I did have a chest infection at one stage so went a week with no rates.

My top 15:

1284 new beer rates from 729 different breweries, 285 of which were new to me, 9 being started up in 2018.

I did a fair bit of beer tourism last year which also shows in 120 new place reviews and the top five styles below.

Top Five Styles were;
Golds, IPA’s, American-Pale Ales, Bitter and Pilseners.

Top Beers;

1 Cloudwater Bourbon Chocolate Imperial Stout 13.0% Stout - Imperial 3.81 4.4 February 5
2 Ommegang Gnomegang 9.5% Belgian Strong Ale 3.71 4.3 January 13
3 Rowton Jim’s Special Reserve Portly Stout 5.3% Stout 3.19 4.2 March 4
4 Struise St. Amatus - Oostvleteren 12 11.0% Abbey Quadrupel / Abt 3.89 4.2 June 20
5 Fuller’s Vintage Ale 2011 8.5% English Strong Ale 3.63 4.1 June 18
6 Cloudwater / To Øl Christmas Cake Imperial Stout (Bourbon BA) 12.0% Stout - Imperial 3.65 4.1 February 5
7 Savour British Blonde 5.8% Golden Ale / Blond Ale 3.2 4.1 June 30
8 Cloudwater Imperial Stout Chocolate Speyside BA 12.0% Stout - Imperial 3.77 4.1 July 5
9 Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) 12.3% Stout - Imperial 4.28 4.1 July 20
10 North Riding Ice Cream Porter 4.5% Porter 3.59 4.1 July 26

Footnote
I doubt very much that I will rate over 100 beers per month ever again, the thrill has left me since the site began to crumble and it’s just not the same fun anymore. Will still rate of course, but at a more leisurely pace (I am 65).

<*))))))><

2099 new beers from 732 breweries
This is a record for me, highest year ever, due to best beer distribution in my lifetime ever.

235 new breweries

Top 5 styles tried all pale ales/IPAs/golden ale, no surprise there

Top 5 beers

Top Rated in 2018, 4 pale ales and a fruity lambic

Name ABV Style Avg My Score Date
1 Bearded Iris Ever Clever - Double Dry Hopped 8.5% IPA - Imperial / Double 3.75 4.5 April 7
2 Toppling Goliath pseudoSue - Galaxy Dry Hopped 6.2% Pale Ale - American 3.86 4.5 May 15
3 Cigar City Guayabera Citra Pale Ale 5.5% Pale Ale - American 3.64 4.5 August 17
4 Cantillon Framboise Vanille 5.0% Lambic - Fruited 4.09 4.5 September 20
5 The Kernel Pale Ale Citra Mosaic Chinook 5.8% Pale Ale - American 3.66 4.5 December 17

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