TORONTO, ON – Last night at beerbistro in Toronto, the winners of the 2011 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 Microbrewery in Ontario – Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill
- Best Brewery for Cask-Conditioned Ale in Ontario – Granite Brewery, Toronto
- Best Bar for Draught Beer Selection in Ontario – Bar Volo, Toronto
- Best Bar for Bottled Beer Selection in Ontario – Bar Volo, Toronto
- Best Bar for Cask Ale in Ontario – Bar Volo, Toronto
- Best Brewpub or Tied House in Ontario – Granite Brewery, Toronto
- Best Regularly-Produced Beer in Ontario – Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill
- Best Seasonal or Specialty Beer in Ontario – Black Oak Ten Bitter Years, Toronto
- Best Cask Ale in Ontario – Granite Hopping Mad, Toronto
- Best Beer of the Festival (based on votes at the event) – Bar Towel 10th Anniversary Belgo-CASScadian Dark Ale (a one-off collaboration beer brewed at Great Lakes Brewery by a few dozen Bar Towel members, in honour of the Bar Towel discussion forum’s 10th anniversary)
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:
- Adam Grant of The Monk’s Table
- Ron Keefe of Granite Brewery
- Corks Beer & Wine Bar at Longo’s Maple Leaf Square
- Jed Corbeil & Curt Dunlop of The Griffin Gastropub, Muskoka Beer Festival and Session Beer Festival