Acushnet Man Dominates New Bedford’s Rose Alley Beer Summit

Cheers for beers and the thrill of a frosty challenge.

The 16th Annual Rose Alley Ale House Beer Summit in New Bedford kicked off on February 1, challenging numerous participants to tackle 28 beers in 28 days.

For one determined competitor, it didn’t take nearly that long.

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Acushnet’s Tom Sylvia, 33, finished the summit in just five days, officially becoming the first to reach the finish line. That’s right – five days, 28 beers and one very satisfied champion.

A machinist at Titleist by day and a seasoned beer summit veteran by night, Sylvia has been tackling this challenge for a decade. He’s come close to finishing first before, but this year, he finally sealed the deal.

A Tradition Brewed Over Time

Sylvia first joined the Beer Summit on a whim, tagging along with a friend years ago. Now, it’s an annual tradition he refuses to miss.

He’s not just in it for the bragging rights, either; this year’s summit supports the Boys & Girls Club of Greater New Bedford, with a portion of proceeds going to the organization.

When asked about his favorite and least favorite beers from this year’s lineup, Sylvia didn’t hesitate.

“Favorite beer? Burlington Beer Company’s Sea of Air. Least favorite? Timberyard Brewing’s Toasted Coconut Porter – but that’s just because coconut and I don’t get along," he said.

Of course, no beer challenge is complete without the perfect food pairing. For Sylvia, that meant Gold Digger wings with house chips, a go-to menu item that kept him fueled through the summit.

Quitting Is Not An Option

Despite conquering the challenge in record time, Sylvia has no plans of hanging up his beer stein. In fact, he’s been doubling down on the summit for years.

“Six years ago, I started doing the summit list twice each year so I could earn a guest mug,” he said. “I’m currently working on that, so no retirement for me. Some years are just faster than others.”

For those wondering, yes, he played by the rules. The Beer Summit limits participants to six beers per day, and Sylvia paced himself perfectly.

With his victory sealed and another mug on the horizon, Sylvia proves that dedication, a love for craft beer, and a little friendly competition make for the perfect brew.

LOOK: Best Beers From Every State

To find the best beer in each state and Washington D.C., Stacker analyzed January 2020 data from BeerAdvocate, a website that gathers user scores for beer in real-time. BeerAdvocate makes its determinations by compiling consumer ratings for all 50 states and Washington D.C. and applying a weighted rank to each. The weighted rank pulls the beer toward the list's average based on the number of ratings it has and aims to allow lesser-known beers to increase in rank. Only beers with at least 10 rankings to be considered; we took it a step further to only include beers with at least 100 user rankings in our gallery. Keep reading to find out what the best beer is in each of the 50 states and Washington D.C.

Gallery Credit: Angela Underwood