FREDERICTON, NB – The winners of the Canadian Brewing Awards for 2014 were announced last night during a gala ceremony at the Fredericton Convention Centre, the final event in a two day conference that attracted brewers and other beer industry professionals from across the country.
Selected last month in a series of blind tastings by a panel of BJCP certified judges, the full list of winners for this year – including a second straight win for Toronto’s Great Lakes Brewery in the Brewery of the Year category – is as follows:
North American Style Lager
Gold: Brewhouse Pilsner, Great Western Brewing Co. SK
Silver: Premium Lager, Quidi Vidi Brewing Co. NL
Bronze: Stone Hammer Light, F & M Brewery ON
North American Style Premium Lager
Gold: 311 Helles Lager, Coal Harbour Brewing Co. BC
Silver: Islander Lager, Vancouver Island Brewing BC
Bronze: Iceberg Beer, Quidi Vidi Brewing Co. NL
European Style Lager (Pilsner)
Gold: Trailblazer Pilsner, Mission Springs Brewing Co. BC
Silver: Pilsner, Steam Works Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Hoyner Pilsner, Hoyne Brewing Co. BC
North American Style Amber Lager
Gold: Millennium Buzz, Cool Beer Brewing Co. ON
Silver: King Vienna, King Brewery, ON
Bronze: Sea Dog Amber Ale, Vancouver Island Brewing BC
North American Style Dark Lager
Gold: Side Launch Dark Lager, Side Launch Brewing Co. ON
Silver: Hermann’s Dark Lager, Vancouver Island Brewing BC
Bronze: 33 Acres of Darkness, 33 Acres Brewing Co. BC
Light (Calorie-Reduced) Lager
Gold: Stonewall Light, Cool Beer Brewing Co. ON
Silver: Great Western Pilsner Light, Great Western Brewing Co. SK
Bronze: Great Western Light, Great Western Brewing Co. SK
Bock – Traditional German Style
Gold: Spring Bock, Amsterdam Brewing Co. ON
Silver: Canoe Bock, Canoe Brewpub BC
Bronze: Big Bock, Hoyne Brewing Co. BC
Kellerbier
Gold: La Pitoune, Le Trou du Diable QC
Silver: Potts Pils, Moon Under Water BC
Bronze: Four Winds Pilsner, Four Winds Brewing Co. BC
Porter
Gold: Harry Porter, Great Lakes Brewery ON
Silver: Red Truck Porter, Red Truck Beer Co. BC
Bronze: Get Well Porter, Get Well Brewing ON
Strong Porter (Baltic)
Gold: Kiek in de Kok Baltic Porter, Cannery Brewing Co. BC
Silver: Pothole Porter, Half Pints Brewing Co. MB
Bronze: Rye Baltic Porter, Amsterdam Brewing Co. ON
Cream Ale
Gold: Portage Ale, Mill Street Brewery ON
Silver: Original 16 Pale Ale, Great Western Brewing Co. SK
Bronze: Begbie Cream Ale, Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. BC
Kolsch
Gold: Lug Tread, Beau’s All Natural Beer, ON
Silver: Harvest Moon Organic Hemp Ale, Nelson Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Arctic Ale, Swans Brewery BC
North American Style Amber/Red Ale
Gold: Boneshaker, Amsterdam Brewing Co. ON
Silver: 18 Karat Ale, Barkerville Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Red Racer India Style Red Ale, Central City Brewers and Distillers, BC
North American Style Blonde/Golden Ale
Gold: Capital Blonde Ale, Forked River Brewing Co.
Silver: Brakeman Session Ale, Junction Craft Brewing Co. ON
Bronze: Blonde Ale, Picaroons Brewing Co. NB
Brown Ale
Gold: Old Boy, Parallel 49 Brewing BC
Silver: Salt Spring Dry Porter, Salt Spring Island Ales BC
Bronze: Bytown Brown, Clocktower Brewpub ON
American Style Black Ale
Gold: Big Rig Black IPA, Big Rig Brewery ON
Silver: Malevolent BIIPA, Nickel Brook Brewing Co ON
Bronze: Grizzly Beer, Bellwoods Brewery ON
Scotch Ale
Gold: Wee Angry Scotch Ale, Russell Brewing Co. BC
Silver: Vicar’s Vice, Amsterdam Brewing Co. ON
Bronze: St. Ambroise Scotch Ale, McAuslan Brewing Inc. QC
English Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: Regina Pale Ale, Bushwakker Brewing Co. SK
Silver: Augusta Ale, Kensington Brewing Co. ON
Bronze: Red Devil Pale Ale, R & B Brewing Co. BC
North American Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: Rhyme & Reason, Collective Arts Brewing ON
Silver: Naughty Neighbour APA, Nickel Brook Brewing Co.
Bronze: Pinball Wizard APA, Get Well Brewing ON
Wheat Beer – Belgian Style (Wit)
Gold: Dominus Vobiscum Blanche, Microbrasserie Charlevoix QC
Silver: The Seasonal Citrus Wit, Dead Frog Brewery BC
Bronze: Blanche de Pratto, Microbrasserie Pit Caribou QC
Wheat Beer – German Style (Weiss)
Gold: Belle Gueule Hefeweizen, Les Brasseurs RJ QC
Silver: Farnham 12, Farnham Ale et Lager Inc. QC
Bronze: This is Hefeweizen, Moon Under Water BC
Wheat Beer – North American Style
Gold: Rooster Tail American Pale Wheat, Northwinds Brewhouse ON
Silver: Sun God Wheat Ale, R & B Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Sir John A Honey Wheat Ale, PEI Brewing Co. PEI
Belgian Style Abbey Ale
Gold: La Fin du Monde, Unibroue QC
Silver: Blitzen, Steam Works Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Raftman, Unibroue QC
Belgian Style Strong Specialty Ale
Gold: Gros Mollet, Microbrasserie du Lac St-Jean QC
Silver: Flacatoune, Microbrasserie Charlevoix QC
Bronze: Portes de l’Enfers, Stack Brewing ON
Barley Wine Style Ale
Gold: Ale de Hardy, Brasseurs du Monde QC
Silver: Yuletide Barley Wine, Wellington Brewery ON
Bronze: Etoile du Brasseur Barley Wine, Microbrasserie Pit Caribou QC
Stout
Gold: Sasquatch Stout, Old Yale Brewery BC
Silver: All Out Stout, Bridge Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Shamrocker Potato Stout, Granville Island Brewing BC
Imperial Stout
Gold: Wreckoning RIS, Rockbottom Brewpub NS
Silver: Zombie Apocalypse, Indie Alehouse ON
Bronze: The Bottle Imp, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. ON
English Style India Pale Ale
Gold: IPA, Mill Street Brewery ON
Silver: True North India Pale Ale, Magnotta Brewery ON
Bronze: IP’eh Russell Brewing Co. BC
American Style India Pale Ale
Gold: Thrust! An IPA, Great Lakes Brewery ON
Silver: Karma Citra IPA, Great Lakes Brewery ON
Bronze: My Bitter Wife IPA, Great Lakes Brewery ON
Imperial India Pale Ale
Gold: Shoulders of Giants, Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery ON
Silver: Immodest IIPA, Nickel Brook Brewing Co. ON
Bronze: The Vicar’s Cross Double IPA, Boxing Rock Brewing Co. NS
French and Belgian Style Saison
Gold: Saison du Pinacle, Brasserie Dunham QC
Silver: Four Winds Saison Brett, Four Winds Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Farmhouse Classic, Bellwoods Brewery, ON
Special Honey/Maple Lager or Ale
Gold: Maple Stout, Cannery Brewing Co. BC
Silver: Sap Sucker Maple Porter, Fernie Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: Braggot, Parallel 49 Brewing BC
Fruit Beer
Gold: Ephemere Cerise, Unibroue QC
Silver: Pumpkin Head Brown Ale, Fernie Brewing Co. BC
Bronze: St. Ambroise Raspberry Ale, McAuslan Brewing Inc. QC
Wood and Barrel Aged Beer
Gold: Russian Imperial Stout, Parallel 49 Brewing BC
Silver: Maverick and Gose, Amsterdam Brewing Co. ON
Bronze: Two Weeks Notice, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. ON
Wood and Barrel Aged Strong Beer
Gold: Stalin’s Choice, Great Lakes Brewery ON
Silver: La Buteuse-Brassin Special, Le Trou du Diable QC
Bronze: L’Imperatrice-Brassin Special, Le Trou du Diable QC
Wood and Barrel Aged Sour Beer
Gold: Oud Bruin, Yaletown Brewing Co. BC
Silver: Co-hop V, A la Fut QC
Bronze: Flanders’ ‘Stasche, Indie Alehouse ON
Gluten Free Beer
Gold: Glutenberg India Pale Ale, Brasseurs Sans Gluten QC
Silver: Glutenberg Rousse, Brasseurs Sans Gluten QC
Bronze: Glutenberg Belge de Saison, Brasseurs Sans Gluten QC
Experimental Beer
Gold: The Chocolate Manifesto, Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery ON
Silver: Atelier des Saveurs, Microbrasserie du Lac St-Jean QC
Bronze: Smokey the Beer, Russell Brewing Brewing Co. BC
Beer of the Year – Sasquatch Stout, Old Yale (BC)
Brewery of the Year – Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
I’m all for legit beer competitions, but not when using such low caliber evaluations from BJCP amateurs. I know several technical beer professionals that after reviewing the tasting notes from past CBAs have described BJCP evaluations as anywhere from shamefully pedestrian to thoroughly embarrassing and outright stupid.
Hard to take the CBAs seriously until they start using professionally trained and regularly tested beer experts
Do you work for Molson -Coors?
No, but I can understand why you would ask. Let’s face it, the technical and sensory expertise of the big guys is so far above anything in BJCP or Canadian craft for that matter. From what I’ve seen, the BJCP is to brewing, as the paperboy is to journalism.
The BJCP is a decent tool, but there does need to be regular testing of judges and the competition sampling and tasting needs to be done transparently, fairly and unbiased (double blind testing for example). I think it’s as valid a tool, if not better than, appointing “industry experts” as testers.
But I will say, the technical and sensory expertise of a trained brewer (or QA person) is superior. I’ve seen the rigors that the brewers at Molson’s go through to maintain their certification, and I know that a lot of the small brewers are in that league, but some just don’t keep it up. But as long as any judge is tested to a valid standard at a regular basis, it would be the way to go.
(I will say that sort of sensory training tends towards looking for flaws rather than being able to distinguish superiority between beers of a style though.)
But in reality, beer judging is always going to be subjective.
I do find some of the results odd though. And the CBAs do seem a bit amateurish at times… almost like they transformed upon a homebrewing competition into a craft brewing one.
And I have to laugh at how they pick the “Brewery of the Year”. The most meaningless award ever. No offense Great Lakes Brewery… you do brew some good stuff, but there are plenty of more worthy brewers around the country that are more worthy of being considered “Brewery of the Year”.
I agree. Taps has known about this problem for a while now. It’s no wonder the big breweries boycott this event.
Here’s an example of how bad things are. There’s a beer writer / BJCP judge in NB who doesn’t seem to be able to identify a simple beer infection. His brew of choice is from a brewery that produces grossly contaminated beers.
It is a little off to see one brewery sweep the American IPA category with so many great one’s out there.