Happy New Beer!: Janée’s “Year In Beer” for 2014

Another year has come and gone. And you know what that means… It’s time for a recap, lists, some statistics, and maybe even a New Year’s Resolution!

Here’s my “Year In Beer” for 2014:

In 2014, I visited a grand total of 106 breweries!

What breweries did I visit? Well I’m glad you asked!

1. All Saints Brewing, Greensburg, PA – Jan. 4

2. South Street Brewery, Charlottesville, VA – Jan. 12

3. Champion Brewing Company, Charlottesville, VA – Jan. 12

4. Marzoni’s Brick Oven and Brewing, Hollidaysburg, PA – Jan. 21

5. Railroad City Brewing, Altoona, PA – Jan. 31

6. Otto’s Pub and Brewery, State College, PA – Jan. 31

7. Troegs Brewing, Hershey, PA – Feb. 6

8. Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD – Feb. 7

9. The Gamble Mill, Bellefonte, PA – Feb. 22

10. Four Seasons Brewing, Latrobe, PA – Mar. 1

11. Full Pint Brewing, North Versailles, PA – Mar. 1

(11.5) Rust Belt, Youngstown, OH – Mar. 11 (Worth listing, but I didn’t count, as it’s a brewery’s tap room not housed with the actual brewery.)

12. Hoppin’ Frog,  Akron, OH – Mar. 1

13. Great Divide, Denver, CO – Mar. 12

14. Jagged Mountain, Denver, CO – Mar. 12

15. Crooked Stave, Denver, CO – Mar. 12

(15.5) Breckenridge, Denver, CO – Mar. 12 (Worth listing, but I didn’t count, as it’s a brewery’s tap room not housed with the actual brewery.)

16. Pikes Peak, Monument, CO – Mar. 13

17. Bristol Brewing Co., Colorado Springs, CO – Mar. 1

18. Red Leg, Colorado Springs, CO – Mar. 13

19. Phantom Canyon, Colorado Springs, CO – Mar. 13

20. Fort Collins, Fort Collins, CO – Mar. 14

21. New Belgium, Fort Collins, CO – Mar. 14

22. O’Dell, Fort Collins, CO – Mar. 14

23. Funkwerks, Fort Collins, CO – Mar. 14

24. Equinox, Fort Collins, CO – Mar. 14

25. Twisted Pine, Boulder, CO – Mar. 15

26. Avery Brewing, Boulder, CO – Mar. 15

27. Epic, Denver, CO – Mar. 15

28. Trve, Denver, CO – Mar. 15

29. Renegade, Denver, CO – Mar. 15

30. Strange, Denver, CO – Mar. 15

31. Blue Mountain, Afton, VA – April 9

32. Small Batch, Winston-Salem, NC – April 10

33. Red Oak, Whitsett, NC – April 11

34. Carolina Brewery, Chapel Hill, NC – April 11

35. Three Notch’d, Charlottesville, VA – April 13

36. Elysian, Seattle, WA – April 24

37. Gordon Biersch, Washington, D.C. – May 9

38. Brewer’s Alley, Frederick, MD – May 11

39. Devils Backbone, Roseland, VA – May 26

40. Blue Mountain Barrel House, Nelson County, VA – May 27

41. Church Brew Works, Pittsburgh, PA – June 7

42. Roundabout, Pittsburgh, PA – June 7

43. Hop Farm, Pittsburgh, PA – June 7

44. Three Brothers, Harrisonburg, VA – June 13

45. Happy Valley, State College, PA – June 20

46. East End, Pittsburgh, PA – June 28

47. Penn Brewery, Pittsburgh, PA – June 28

48. Hitchhiker, Pittsburgh, PA – June 28

49. Natty Greene’s, Greensboro, NC – July 3

50. Lynnwood Brewing Concern, Raleigh, NC – July 5

51. Sub Noir Brewing, Raleigh, NC – July 5

52. Trophy Brewing, Raleigh, NC – July 5

53. Boylan Bridge, Raleigh, NC – July 5

54. Bull City Brewing, Raleigh, NC – July 14

55. Fullsteam, Raleigh, NC – July 14

56.Pig Pounder, Greensboro, NC – July 25

57. Foothills, Winston-Salem, NC – August 9

58. Hoots, Winston-Salem, NC – August 9

59. Double Barley, Smithfield, NC – August 17

60. Deep River, Clayton, NC – August 17

61. Raleigh Brewing, Raleigh, NC – August 17

62. Steel String, Carrboro, NC – August 17

63. Haw River Farmhouse Ales, Saxapahaw, NC – August 17

64. Shenandoah Valley Brewing Co., Staunton, VA – August 23

65. Redbeard Brewing, Staunton, VA – August 23

66. Queen City Brewing, Staunton, VA – August 23

67. 2 Witches, Danville, VA – August 23

68. Ocean City Brewing Co., Ocean City, MD – September 4

69. De Lazy Lizard Brewing Company, Ocean City, MD – September 6

70. Backshore Brewing Company, Ocean City, MD – September 6

71. Crank Arm, Raleigh, NC – September 12

72. Nickelpoint Brewing Co., Raleigh, NC – September 12

73. Gizmo Brew Works, Raleigh, NC – October 2

74. Lonerider, Raleigh, NC – October 2

75. Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery, Myrtle Beach, SC – October 18

76. Gordon Biersch, Myrtle Beach, SC – October 18

77. Marietta Brewing, Marietta, OH – October 25

78. NoDa, Charlotte, NC – November 1

79. Birdsong, Charlotte, NC – November 1

80. Heist, Charlotte, NC – November 1

81. Sycamore, Charlotte, NC – November 1

82. Lenny Boy, Charlotte, NC – November 1

83. Triple C, Charlotte, NC – November 1

84. Ass Clown, Cornelius, NC – November 1

85. D9, Cornelius, NC – November 1

86. Fortnight, Cary, NC – November 8

87. Brueprint, Apex, NC – November 8

88. Draft Line, Fuquay-Varina – November 8

89. Aviator, Fuquay-Varina – November 8

90. Fonta Flora, Morganton, NC – November 21

91. Wicked Weed, Asheville, NC – November 21

92. Burial, Asheville, NC – November 21

93. Twin Leaf, Asheville, NC – November 21

94. Funkatorium, Asheville, NC – November 21

95. Sierra Nevada, Fletcher, NC – November 22

96. Oyster House, Asheville, NC – November 22

97. Wedge, Asheville, NC – November 22

98. Lexington Ave., Asheville, NC – November 22

99. One World, Asheville, NC – November 22

100. Hi-Wire, Asheville, NC – November 22

101. Asheville Brewing, Asheville, NC – November 22

102. Highland, Asheville, NC – November 23

103. Pisgah, Black Mountain, NC – November 23

104. Lookout, Black Mountain, NC – November 23

105. Triangle, Durham, NC – November 28

106. Appalachian Brewing Co., Harrisburg, PA – December 19

That includes brewery visits in 8 states, plus the District of Columbia.

If you’re looking to visit any of the breweries, I’ll be posting all of the reviews I didn’t get to within the next few months. But feel free to shoot me a message if you’re looking to make a trip and need some advice if I haven’t gotten to the review yet.

It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without some statistics on the entire last year. Here’s my personal thanks to Untappd for allowing me to be a contributing “Untappd Supporter” who has access to all these fun and crazy stats!

Total Beers in 2014: 1,189.

Shit. A brewery tweeted me yesterday that it looked like I drank more beers than they did, and that looks to be true! Note that my typical rule is that I need to have at least a 2 ounce pour to log the beer. Why 2 ounces? This is a common pour size at festivals. And my personal rule for someone tasting a certain beer for the first time is the “3 Sip Rule”. Give a beer 3 sips before you pass judgement.

Total Unique Beers in 2014: 902.

(This is the total number of beers I tried for the first time in 2014.)

New Beer Ratio: 76%

Three out of every four beers I drank in 2014 were beers I’d never had before.

Average Beers Per Day: 3

What’s that?… It was an APPLE a day?

Maximum Number of Breweries Hit In One Day:

8 in Charlotte, NC

My Top Venue: The Knickerbocker Tavern in Altoona, PA

Called it.

And My Most Consumed Beer for 2014: Flying Dog Dead Rise Old Bay Summer Ale

Here’s what’s on the radar for 2015!:

There are lots of exciting things on the beer blogging radar for next year.

I’ll continue to visit breweries and offer my honest reviews. On deck for this coming year so far for my big trips is a trip to SoCal in March and a trip to Chicago in April.

I hope to go to Savor in D.C. again in June. Last year was our first time there, and it was an awesomely amazing beer and food pairing event, as well as a great opportunity to meet a lot of cool people in the industry. There, we attended a beer and donut pairing salon directed by “Dr. Bill”, Stone Brewing’s Craft Beer Ambassador and resident Certified Cicerone.

Ben and I will also be building our beer cellar in our new home. Finally. I think our guests are a little sick of sharing the guest bedrooms with all of our beer!

We’ll definitely be brewing some good beers.

I’m planning to attend my first ever Beer Bloggers’ Conference in Asheville in July.

And as for my New Year’s resolution? I really don’t do resolutions. It seems to me that most New Year’s resolutions entirely fail or just fall off the radar by March. And this girl is on track and determined. So call it a resolution if you will. I’m going to be a Certified Cicerone by the end of 2015.

Just the thought of that gives me goosebumps! Eeek! So excited!

Here’s to an even better 2015.

Blog Fuel: Flying Dog Roasted Peanut Brown Ale from the 2014 Holiday mixed 12-pack.