Trans-Canada flights from Halifax to British Columbia will be carrying some extra weight early next week as representatives from BC breweries return home with their medals!
The 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards were announced in Halifax on Saturday, June 3, and once again this year, craft breweries from British Columbia fared extremely well on the national stage.
Overall, 39 BC breweries won 51 awards, including 16 golds, 17 silvers, 12 bronze medals, and six honourable mentions (HM).
The biggest winner from BC was Twin City Brewing from Port Alberni, which racked up four awards, including one silver and three bronze medals:
- Obscura Berliner-Style Weisse w/ Plum – Silver (German-Style Sour Ale – Berliner-Style Weisse)
- Bottlecap Cherry Cola Sour – Bronze (Experimental Beer)
- Nocturne Belgian-style Quadrupel – Bronze (Belgian-Style Quadrupel)
- Unicycle Sour IPA w/ El Dorado – Bronze (American-style Sour Ale)
Twin City is no stranger to winning awards, including our own Best Brewery Experience award in 2020 and Best in Show at the 2018 BC Beer Awards.
Four Winds Brewing, which coincidentally celebrated its 10th anniversary on Saturday with a big party at its brewery in Delta, won three awards:
- Four Winds Pale Ale – Silver (North American Style Pale Ale)
- Greg – Bronze (American Style India Pale Ale)
- La Maison – Bronze (Session Ale)
Several breweries won two awards, most notably Vancouver’s Powell Brewery, which won two golds for Party Time!! 10th Anniversary DIPA and Dancing In the Dark Lager.
Another notable winner of two medals was Small Gods Brewing, which just opened in Sidney last fall and already managed to win a gold for Promised Land (Session Ale) and a silver for Neverending (European Style Pilsner).
The rest of the double award winners were:
- A-FRAME Brewing – Squamish: Arctic Lake Czech Dark Lager (gold); Cup Lake Lemon Earl Grey Sour (silver)
- Fernie Brewing – Fernie: Ridgewalk Red Ale (gold); The Professor Amber Lager (HM)
- Hoyne Brewing – Victoria: Finnegans Irish Stout (gold); Helios Dortmunder Golden Lager (HM)
- Mt. Begbie Brewing – Revelstoke: Tall Timber Ale (silver); Revelstoke Lager (silver)
- Parallel 49 Brewing – Vancouver: 10th Anniversary Brett Saison (gold); Jerkface 9000 (silver)
Of the other nine gold medal winners from BC, special attention goes to Kelowna’s Grey Fox Brewing, which won a gold for its Quick Witted in the Gluten Free category. This is a pretty big achievement for a brewery that just opened last December!
Another notable gold medal from a new brewery went to Penticton’s Abandoned Rail Brewing for its Bellhop Porter. Abandoned Rail Brewing opened early in 2022.
The other gold medal winners from BC were:
- 33 Acres Brewing – Vancouver: 33 Acres of Euphoria (Belgian-Style Tripel)
- Bomber Brewing – Vancouver: Georgie’s Best Dry Hopped ESB (North American Style Amber/Red Ale)
- Camp Beer Co. – Langley: Lagerkoller Vienna Lager (Kellerbier/Zwickelbier)
- Dog Mountain Brewing – Port Alberni: Friar Belgian Quad (Belgian-Style Quadrupel)
- La Cerveceria Astilleros – North Vancouver: El Valle Salado Salted Lime Lager (Herb and Spice Beer)
- Monkey 9 Brewing – Richmond: Cosmic Kolsch (German Kolsch Style)
- Smugglers’ Trail Caskworks – Langley: Canoe Chase IPA (English Style India Pale Ale)
Other BC Ale Trail breweries that won awards included:
- Ace Brewing
- Barnside Brewing
- Boardwalk Brewing
- CrossRoads Brewing and Distillery
- Dageraad Brewing
- Dead Frog Brewery
- Electric Bicycle
- Field House Brewing Co.
- Fisher Peak Brewing Company
- Île Sauvage Brewing Co.
- Locality Brewing
- North Point Brewing Company
- Persephone Brewing Company
- Riot Brewing Co.
- Sooke Oceanside Brewery
- Steamworks Brewing Co
- Ucluelet Brewing Company
- Whistle Buoy Brewing Co.
- Whitetooth Brewing
For the complete list of award winners, visit the Canadian Brewing Awards website.
