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For the fifth year in a row, HopCat and Siciliano's Specialty Market topped RateBeer's annual best list. (MLive photo and courtesy photo)



GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- HopCat and Siciliano's Specialty Market continue to do their part to bolster Grand Rapids' reputation as Beer City USA.

For the fifth year in a row, the brewpub and craft beer retailer ended up at the top of RateBeer's 2016 best list in their respective categories, which were announced this week.

Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo once again was named Michigan's top brewer of 2016, and earned accolades for its Black Note Stout, which was declared the best beer in the state. Royal Oak's ROAK Brewing Co. was proclaimed the year's best new brewer in Michigan.

When it comes to beer tourism, RateBeer's recommendations likely outrank TripAdvisor.

"People look at this and think, 'That is the place I have to go,' " said Chris Knape, HopCat's vice president of marketing.

HopCat is mentioned along with Russian River Brewing in California, New Albanian Brewing Company Pizzeria and Public House in Indiana, Redlight Redlight Beer Parlour & Brewery in Florida, and Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Escondido in California.

"It's pretty good to be in that company," said Knape. "These are places on a beer enthusiast's bucket list of places to visit."



For HopCat, there's a lot of options of beyond the original downtown Grand Rapids location. HopCats are now in 11 cities and growing.

The best beer, breweries and retailers in the worldwide craft beer industry are determined using the same Bayesian estimate formula used by Internet Movie Database to score movies.

Stephen Siciliano credits his employees for the store taking the award five years straight. They are passionate about beer and can knowledgely talk about the hundreds of craft beers (and fine wines) on the store's shelves.

He and his wife, Barb, bought a struggling party store near the corner of Lake Michigan Drive and Collindale Avenue NW 25 years ago. With a plan to specialize in quality beverages, they were among the first to begin stocking craft beers and carrying brewing supplies.

The store was also among the first to sell individually-priced craft beer bottles and mix-n-match six-packs, making it easy for beer connoisseurs to take advantage of the store's extensive selection.

Siciliano's customers take a certain pride in the store being the only Michigan retailer to top RateBeer's annual list.

"It's like their team winning the Super Bowl," Siciliano said.