Skip to main content

The Inaugural Beermoose Awards: 2023

 What a year it has been! I finally decided/ had the time to start writing and I’ve loved every minute of it. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and comment on one of my blogs. 

I’ve decided to do some end of year awards! There’s no prizes, only pride! I’m going to group the categories together and the categories are Coasters, Cambridge United and Beer. No surprises there! Let’s get to it!

Coasters: 

In 2023 I rode 48 coasters in five different countries. Not as many as I’d like to have ridden, my course got in the way. 

Coaster Of The Year: F.L.Y. - Phantasialand.


2023 was the year I made my way back to my favourite place on earth, Phantasialand. Flying coasters aren’t usually my thing, but I thought F.L.Y was incredible. I can’t wait to return and ride it some more. 


Coaster Trip Of The Year - Finland & Estonia. 

A brilliant trip! 23 coasters, lots of laughs and beers! 

My friends and I visited Power Park, Särkänniemi and Linnanmäki in Finland. We rode some quality coasters, including:

Junker and Pits Special 

Taiga

Those of us that stayed longer and ventured to Estonia, rode every coaster in the country!

What a beast!

Flat Ride Of The Year - Break Dance No.1

There’s one clear winner for this award. I’ve gone from riding one for the first time, to becoming a massive fan! 



Break Dance No.1! My first Break Dance and boy did I start well! Break Dance No.1 is one of the bigger eight car models. Loud, fast and out of control! 

Coaster Person Of The Year 2023 - Emily (Retro Rollercoasters)

This is a tough award, there’s several people who could be in with a shout. However, one person stands out. Congratulations to Emily! Emily not only puts up with me on trips, but introduced me to Break Dances (Dancing?!), thank you Emily! Link to Emily’s blog Here




Cambridge United: 

Here are some stats from my 19th season supporting the U’s:



Away Day Of The Year - Derby County

It’s been far too long since I’ve seen an away win, so I don’t have any to choose from for this award. Derby away was a special day for me, it was my 500th Cambridge game! I got to watch it with some of my favourite people and had some great post match beers:


Ground Tick Of The Year - Oakwell - Barnsley


I obtained a total of nine ground ticks in 2023. I’d say Oakwell (Barnsley FC) was my favourite. A traditional stadium, with good facilities and a good atmosphere. 


Game Of The Year - The Derby


There can be only one winner for this award. My first proper derby at The Abbey and we won! I’d dreamt of this moment for years. Just an incredible feeling. 


Beer Awards! 

Here are some stats for you:


Cambridge Pub Of The Year - The Kingston Arms.


The Kingston Arms is everything I look for in a pub. Good for conversations, an ever changing beer line up and friendly staff. Congrats to Mark and the team for running such a superb venue. 

Non Cambridge UK Pub Of The Year - The Falcon, York.

I know, it’s a bad photo!


The Falcon (York) is awesome. Great music, comfortable chairs, amazing staff and most importantly great beer!

Like a pig in shit


International Beer Destination Of The Year: Põhjala, Tallinn.


Põhjala brewery tap is just awesome! I wrote about it in more detail Here. I could have stayed here all day, drinking impys! 


Beer Of The Year 2023 - Enn Barrel, Põhjala


I’ve been fortunate enough to sample so many good beers this year. Enn Barrel by Põhjala stands out as the best. An imperial stout, aged in whiskey casks and that tastes like coffee. That’s a bit of me all over! 


Final thoughts: 

Firstly thank you for reading The Beer Moose Awards 2023 and all of the other blogs I’ve written. Beer Moose has taken off much quicker than I expected and I love writing for it. Have a great new year and see you soon for another Moose On The Loose blog! Any guesses of where I’m off to in the new year?

Ein Prost!









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Smile Like You Mean It: The Story of My Friendship With Rach, Mental Health and Our Latest Adventure.

 I’m very fortunate to have great friends in my life, I don’t think you can put a value on good people. People who have your back, make you laugh, pick you up if you need it, advise you, complement you and at times challenge you. I’m not a great lover of texting or messaging, because it just isn’t the same as being together in real life. To me, a sign of a great friend is someone you can spend weeks or months away from, but when you do meet again, it’s like you were never apart. People come and go, the best people stay.  In 2011, whilst at secondary school, I was elected to Sports Council. At this time I was failing to accept that my rugby playing days were nearly over. I have a lifelong problem with my back, it was getting worse. I was seeing two physios a week, hours of laying on my front having my back looked at, coupled with loading up on whatever pain relief the Dr would prescribe me. That was all to try and get through the rugby matches. Eventually, my consultant, Dr Jen...
2 comments
Read more

A RADical Improvement To The Cambridge Beer Scene: The Rad Preview Night!

  It’s so good to see Cambridge’s smallest pub back open! I was invited to the preview night and had a great time. For most of my drinking life, this pub was fairly rubbish. The beer, although cheap, was terrible. Most of it came from a brewery, which no longer exists. I don’t miss it. Enough about rubbish beer though, what’s the new Rad like?  Well, in my opinion, it’s just what Cambridge needed. The beer scene in Cambridge is sadly dominated by Greene King, there are too few places where you can get both a good range of beer and beer served in good condition. The Rad had one of the best ranges of beer, I’ve seen in ages. There was literally something for everyone. From sours, to various types of IPA, impy stouts, lager and bitter! There were some preview night teething issues with the beer screens, but it’s so good to be able to see the beer list, style of beer and strength so clearly! The condition was excellent, as expected.  I sampled beers from Marble, Two Flints an...
2 comments
Read more

Moose On The Loose: Manchester - February 2024: This Is The One

  Manchester is probably the most diverse beer city in The UK. It’s got traditional pubs, taprooms and trendy ‘craft’ places, the vast majority of places I’ve been in Manchester have been excellent! This is the story of my second pub trip to Manchester and I’m joined by legend of blog, Rach!  The trip started with a massive error, and it’s not having a night out before an away day, because that is always a good idea. It is using trains. I should have driven, still I got do my first delay and repay. Anyway, on to the beer!  We started at Hops & Boogie, as we needed to do some shopping in Sale.  The Squawk Porter went done a treat!  We then hopped on the tram and headed towards a strong contender for best taproom in The UK, Track.  Rainbow beer board! My least fave type of glass Track’s taproom is spacious, light and has good seating options. Oh and great beer! What more could you want?  Living my best life. We then headed to another taproom, Suresho...
2 comments
Read more