Happy New Year! Welcome to 2016. As we look forward to some new beginnings, it's also the time of year that we reflect on 2015 and everything that came with it. For instance, a year in review of one of the Pacific Northwest's favorite topic: craft beer.

Those of us in the good old PNW (truly the best region in America) love our craft beer. And if it isn't beer, it's craft cider. 2015 was a booming year, especially in Washington, Oregon, and our distant beer-sister-state, Colorado, for grabbing a cold one. Here's some details about the most popular and critically acclaimed brews from this last year.

Whether you like IPA's, lagers, stouts, pale ales, or porters, the World Beer Awards took care of them all.

First: let's break down some of these silly acronyms I'm about to use:

--ABV%: Alcohol by volume

--IBU: International Bitterness Unit (hoppyness)

According to the World Beer Awards, the best beer of 2015 was said to be the Fish Tale Ale's Beyond the Ale beer. In fact, this won five different awards, including World's Best Beer, and World's Best Pale. It's 5 perceny ABV and brewed in the U.S., in our neck of the woods -- Olympia, Washington.

The World Beer Awards named the Best Dark Beer to be Vander Ghinste Oud Bruin out of Belgium. The WBA describes it as "dark ruby red with fruit notes on the nose and sourness on the tongue." I'm not one for a dark beer all the time, but I'd be willing to try this best dark beer in the world, at 5.5 percent ABV.

The Best Stout/Porter Award went to a stout from a personal favorite brewery of mine, Deschutes Brewery's Obsidian Stout. At 6.4 percent, this was brewed in the PNW as well, in Bend, Oregon. It's won an award from the WBA six times in the last eight years. I've actually tasted this one, and as far as stouts go, it definitely lives up to it's hype. Visit the Deschutes website to check out the rest of their awesome and tasty brews.

The World's Best Lager went to Kronenbourg 1664 Millesime. It's a 6.7 percent ABV lager from France. The WBA describes it as a "buttery aroma with dried fruit and a mahogany note on the finish." When I think lagers, I typically think Budweiser and Rainer, American college classics, but I'd be eager to mix it up with the world's best.

It was interesting to see different beers around the world winning different awards. Some of them several, and others just one. However, after finishing the list, which is extensive and can be viewed here, I think it's safe to say that the Pacific Northwest was very well represented. Cheers to beer and living in the best region for it!