Canadian Beer News

Entries categorized as ‘Beer Awards’

Vancouver Island Spyhopper Takes Medal at World Beer Championships

October 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment

vancouverisland_logoVICTORIA, BC - Vancouver Island Brewery have announced that their Spyhopper Honey Brown has won a bronze medal in the 2009 World Beer Championships.

Run by the Beverage Tasting Institute, the WBCs are North America’s oldest international beer competition. The judges awarded Spyhopper an 84 out of 100 (“Recommended”) in the Specialty Beers category, and recorded the following tasting notes:

Brilliant clear amber color. Very pleasant aromas of honeyed raisin toast follow through on a soft, satiny entry to a dryish medium body with a toasted grain, light molasses, and straw-like hops on the relaxed finish. An easy going, mellow beer to chill with.

Spyhopper Honey Brown is the latest addition to the Vancouver Island Brewery line-up, offered for the first time in April of this year to mark the brewery’s 25th anniversary.

Categories: Beer Awards · Brewery News · British Columbia

Canadian Brewing Awards 2009 Results

September 25, 2009 · 4 Comments

cbaTORONTO, ON – At a ceremony in downtown Toronto last night, the winners of the Canadian Brewing Awards for 2009 were announced and handed out to the deserving winners.

This year for the first time, the judging of the awards was registered by the Beer Judge Certification Program, and all judges were BJCP certified.

For those who missed CBN’s live tweeting of the event, the full awards results appear after the jump (courtesy of Great Canadian Pubs & Beer):

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Categories: Beer Awards

Golden Tap Awards 2009 Winners Announced

August 30, 2009 · Leave a Comment

goldentapsTORONTO, ON – Last night at a gala event at beerbistro in Toronto, the winners of the 2009 Golden Tap Awards were announced, representing the best in beer and brewing in Ontario. This annual awards event is overseen and organized by Cass Enright, founder of The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to covering and promoting the Ontario craft brewing scene.

The winners, as selected by online voting by the general beer-drinking public, were as follows:

  • Best micro/craft brewery in Ontario – Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill
  • Best micro/craft brewery in Ontario for cask-conditioned ale – Granite Brewery, Toronto
  • Best bar in the Ontario in terms of draught beer selection – C’est What, Toronto
  • Best bar in the Ontario in terms of bottled beer selection – Volo, Toronto
  • Best bar in the Ontario in terms of cask-conditioned ale – Volo, Toronto
  • Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario – Mill Street Brewpub, Toronto
  • Best regularly-produced craft beer brewed in Ontario – Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill
  • Best seasonally-produced craft beer brewed in Ontario – Black Oak Saison, Toronto
  • Best cask-conditioned ale brewed in Ontario – County Durham Hop Head, Pickering
  • Best of the Fest (based on votes last night) - Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill

Four Editor’s Circle awards were also handed out, recognizing significant achievements in the Ontario beer industry. The Editor’s Circle awards were determined by Enright and a panel of Bar Towel members and associates. They went to:

  • Cask Ale Crawl, a weekend long event held in Toronto earlier this year that featured cask ale being served at 6 different bars across the city.
  • Rob Creighton & Grand River Brewing, for Rob’s long participation on the Bar Towel forum and the brewery’s quick rise to being one of the best in the province.
  • Derek Hyde & Amsterdam Brewing, for their Strong Spring Bock, the first high-profile collaboration between a homebrewer and a commercial brewer in Ontario.
  • Jim Brickman, founder of Brick Brewing, for his pioneering contribution to the Ontario craft brewing industry.

And finally, the Ontario Craft Brewers presented a surprise award to Enright, recognizing The Bar Towel’s 10 years of support for the province’s craft brewing scene.

http://www.granitebrewery.ca/

Categories: Beer Awards · Ontario

Mission Springs Brewing Wins Label Award

August 16, 2009 · 2 Comments

missionsprings_bombshellaleMISSION, BC – Mission Springs Brewery Company have won a national beer label design award for their Blonde Bombshell Ale.

Announced by the Collectors of Canadian Brewery Advertising at their 30th annual convention in Winnipeg, the award recognizes the retro-styled label as the Label of the Year for 2008.

Designed by Ron Fiedler of Barnstorm Creative Group in Vancouver, the Blonde Bombshell label is an homage to the classic pin-up images that were painted on bomber jets in World War II.

Categories: Beer Awards · British Columbia

Canadian Breweries Take Medals at U.S. Open Beer Championship

July 6, 2009 · Leave a Comment

USOpen_logoThe winners of the first annual United States Open Beer Championship were announced on July 4th in Atlanta, and despite the name of the competition, a number of Canadian breweries entered and won medals in several of the 50 style categories.

Categories with Canadian medal winners include the following:

English Mild Ale
GOLD – Bear Ass Brown, Silverton Brewery
SILVER – 10W30, Neustadt Springs Brewery
BRONZE – Black Cat, Moorhouse Brewery

Porter
GOLD – Black Butte Porter, Deschutes Brewing
SILVER – Big Dog Porter, Neustadt Springs Brewery
BRONZE – Sierra Nevada Porter, Sierra Nevada Brewing

Oatmeal Stout
GOLD – Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley Brewing
SILVER – Shipwrecked Stout, Maui Brewing
BRONZE – St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, McAuslan Brewing

Scottish Ale
GOLD – Old Chub, Oskar Blues Brewing
SILVER – Scottish Pale Ale, Neustadt Springs Brewery
BRONZE – Satan’s Pony, South Street Brewing

Irish Red Ale
GOLD – Cameron’s Auburn Ale, Cameron’s Brewing
SILVER – Alaska Amber, Alaskan Brewing
BRONZE – River Falls Red Ale, Thomas Creek Brewing

Munchner Dunkel / Dark
GOLD – Sprecher Winter Brew, Sprecher Brewing
SILVER – Cameron’s Dark 266, Cameron’s Brewing
BRONZE – Steelback Tiverton Dark, Steelback Brewing

American Cream Ale
GOLD – Schell’s Deer Brand Original, August Schell Brewing
SILVER – Cameron’s Cream Ale, Cameron’s Brewing
BRONZE – Genesee Cream Ale, High Falls Brewing

Fruit / Vegetable beer
GOLD – Samuel Smiths Organic Strawberry Ale, Samuel Smith Brewery
SILVER – Sam Adams Blackberry Wit, Boston Beer Company
BRONZE – St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale, McAuslan Brewing

Smoked / Rauch beer
GOLD – Smoked Hemp, Maui Brewing
SILVER – Stone Smoked, Stone Brewing
BRONZE – Church Key Holy Smoke Scotch Ale, Church Key Brewing

Categories: Beer Awards · Ontario · Quebec

Canadian Brewing Awards Call for Entries

July 5, 2009 · Leave a Comment

cbaTORONTO, ON – The call for entries has gone out for the 7th annual Canadian Brewing Awards (CBAs). The deadline for entries is July 31st and all products must be received by August 7th, with judging to take place in Toronto on August 15th. Applications and rules for entry can be found at www.canadianbrewingawards.com.

The CBAs are the premiere competition for Canadian-brewed beer, with judging overseen by 20 BJCP-certified beer judges with no commercial links to the industry. Awards are decided in over 20 categories, with each entry being judged on appearance, aroma, flavour, mouth-feel and overall impression.

This year’s CBAs Gala will be held at the Art Gallery of Ontario, with a date to be announced shortly.

The CBAs are proudly presented by TAPS Magazine, Canada’s only National Beer Magazine. For more information on the Canadian Brewing Awards or TAPS Magazine, go to www.canadianbrewingawards.com or www.tapsmagazine.com.

Categories: Beer Awards

Voting Opens for Golden Tap Awards 2009

July 2, 2009 · Leave a Comment

TORONTO, ON – Voting has opened for the the 2009 edition of the Golden Tap Awards, a “people’s choice” style awards event presented by The Bar Towel to honour the best in beer and brewing in Ontario.

Here is the full press release:

TORONTO, July 1 – The Bar Towel, Ontario’s Premier Beer Resource, is proud to announce the launch of voting for the 2009 Golden Tap Awards, the leading awards event recognizing the best craft beer achievements in Ontario. Now in its seventh year, the Golden Tap Awards is a democratic awards event, with all voting taking place online at www.goldentap.com until August 16th.

This year the Golden Tap Awards has undergone a significant restructuring and expansion. Awards are no longer segmented as Greater Toronto Area and outside of Ontario – all categories recognize the full province . Visitors to the web site can vote for any or all of the categories they wish, which include:

Category – Award
Breweries – Best micro or craft brewery in Ontario
Breweries – Best cask-conditioned brewery in Ontario
Bars – Best bar for draught beer selection in Ontario
Bars – Best bar for bottled beer selection in Ontario
Bars – Best bar for cask-conditioned ale in Ontario
Bars – Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario
Beers – Best regularly-produced craft beer in Ontario
Beers – Best seasonal or specialty craft beer in Ontario
Beers – Best cask-conditioned ale in Ontario

Complete nominations for each category including past winners can be found at the Golden Tap Awards official web site, www.goldentap.com.

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Categories: Beer Awards · Events · Ontario

Yukon Brewing Fares Well in UK Cask Festival, Sends Ice Fog IPA to Alberta

May 26, 2009 · 1 Comment

yukon_logoWHITEHOUSE, YK – As we reported back in February, Yukon Brewing was invited to participate in this year’s JDW Beer Festival, a cask ale event that takes place each April at J.D. Wetherspoon pubs throughout the UK. Brewer Alan Hansen flew to England and brewed a special batch of Yukon’s Lead Dog Ale at the historic Banks Brewery in Wolverhampton, England.

The Festival included a competition, with drinkers invited to vote online for their favourites, and Lead Dog ended up finishing second behind St. Peter’s Golden Ale. Congratulations to Yukon and Hansen for the great showing.

In other Yukon news, their Ice Fog IPA has been shipped to Alberta and should be on store shelves soon.

Categories: Alberta · Beer Awards · Beer Releases · Brewery News · Yukon

Ontario Brewing Awards 2009

April 14, 2009 · 1 Comment

TORONTO, ON - The 6th annual edition of the Ontario Brewing Awards took place today, with a presentation and sampling event at the Esplanade Bier Markt in Toronto. Here’s the complete winners list for this year:

NORTH AMERICAN LIGHT LAGER
GOLD: Cool Stonewall Light
SILVER: Flying Monkeys Antigravity Light
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Cool Stonewall Light

PILSNER
GOLD: Steam Whistle Pilsner
SILVER: King Pilsner
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: King Pilsner

DARK LAGER
GOLD: King Dark Lager
SILVER: Steelback Tiverton Dark
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: King Dark Lager

AMBER ALE
GOLD: Old Credit Amber Ale
SILVER: Great Lakes Devil’s Pale Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Flying Monkeys Hoptical Illusion

BITTER
GOLD: Grand River Galt Knife Old Style
SILVER: Mill Street ESB
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Grand River Galt Knife Old Style

SPECIALTY
GOLD: Mill Street Belgian Tripel
SILVER: Great Lakes Winter Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Grand River Curmudgeon IPA

FRUIT BEER
GOLD: Black Oak Summer Saison
SILVER: Nickel Brook Green Apple Pilsner
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Black Oak Summer Saison

WHEAT BEER
GOLD: Mill Street Belgian Wit

NORTH AMERICAN LAGER
GOLD: Wellington Trailhead Lager
SILVER: Cool Beer
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Cool Beer

CREAM ALE
GOLD: Mill Street Stock Ale
SILVER: Nickel Brook Draught
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Cameron’s Cream Ale

AMBER LAGER
GOLD: Creemore Springs Premium Lager
SILVER: Great Lakes Red Leaf
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Creemore Springs Premium Lager

PALE ALE
GOLD: Mill Street IPA
SILVER: Black Oak Pale Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Mill Street Tankhouse Ale

HONEY BEER
GOLD: Steelback Red Maple
SILVER: Old Credit Holiday Honey Beer
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Old Credit Holiday Honey Beer

DARK ALE
GOLD: Muskoka Dark Ale
SILVER: Black Oak Nut Brown Ale
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Wellington County Dark Ale

PORTER/STOUT
GOLD: Scotch-Irish John By Imperial Stout
SILVER: Black Oak Nutcracker Porter
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Black Oak Double Chocolate Cherry Stout

BOCK
GOLD: Creemore Springs urBock
SILVER: Mill Street Helles Bock
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Creemore Springs urBock

Categories: Beer Awards · Ontario

CAMRA Vancouver Announces Results of Members Poll

January 22, 2009 · Leave a Comment

camrabc_logoVANCOUVER, BC – The Vancouver chapter of CAMRA BC recently held their annual general meeting, and in addition to electing their new executive, the group announced the results of their annual members poll which recognises the best in Vancouver and BC brewing.

The full press release, including the list of winners, appears below:

CAMRA RECOGNIZES VANCOUVER’S BEST IN BEER

The Vancouver chapter of the Campaign for Real Ale has announced the results of its annual members poll recognizing local and regional excellence in brewing and beer service. Dix BBQ & Brewery was awarded Best Local Brewpub; The Alibi Room is Best Local Beer Cafe, Pub, or Restaurant; and Brewery Creek, Best Local Liquor Store for beer selection.

“While it may seem curious that the best beer is in Surrey and the best brewery in Victoria, this year’s results reflect the growth in popularity of real ale in Vancouver,” explained CAMRA Vancouver President, Rick Green. “We are fortunate to have brewers throughout the province willing to meet the demand here.”

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Categories: Beer Awards · British Columbia