TORONTO, ON – On Saturday night at beerbistro in Toronto, the winners of the 2012 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 – Great Lakes 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 – Muskoka Mad Tom IPA, Bracebridge
- 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) – Great Lakes My Bitter Wife
Five Editor’s Circle awards were also handed out, recognizing significant achievements in the Ontario beer industry, as determined by Enright and a panel of Bar Towel members and associates:
- Muskoka Brewery for its successful re-branding efforts
- Niagara College for its pioneering Teaching Brewery
- The Only Cafe for its 30th anniversary
- Bellwoods Brewery for its impressive debut
- Paul Dickey of Cheshire Valley Brewing for his many contributions to Ontario’s craft brewing community