2016 BC Beer Awards: All the Winners

October 16, 2016

A packed crowd of craft beer fans filled the Croatian Cultural Centre in East Van last night for the Seventh Annual BC Beer Awards. A total of 73 BC breweries — about two-thirds of our province’s beer producers — entered samples this year.

[CBC’s Stephen Quinn]

As in previous years, CBC’s Stephen Quinn hosted the awards portion of the event. The festival’s grown to include two rooms filled with brewers across BC, translating to an amazing variety of pours!

Food came in the form of bratwurst and giant pretzels indoors with Tacofino’s food truck parked just outside the entrance, close enough to avoid getting a good soaking of rain.

In fact, we forgot all about the BC storm once inside the cozy hall, running into friends and familiar faces at some of our favourite breweries.

[Steamworks collects five BC Beer Awards plus Best of Show!]

Steamworks Brewery topped the awards — and placed Best in Show with newly-released Flagship IPA. Stephen Quinn also pointed out that Julia Hanlon, the woman behind Flagship, is also the first female brewer to win the coveted Best of Show prize at the BC Beer Awards.

Rookie of the Year prize went to Abbotsford’s Field House Brewing while Boombox Brewing Company (one of the two new brewing teams at Callister Brewing) won People’s Choice Award for their Pablo Esco Gnar IPA.

Brassneck Brewery won the Timber Brewers Challenge for its Old Money Mild; other big winners included Nelson Brewing, 33 Acres Brewing, Central City Brewers + Distillers and Dageraad.

Here’s the list of winners in each category:

INTERNATIONAL LAGER
1: 33 Acres of Darkness – 33 Acres Brewing Company 
2: Vienna Lager – Moody Ales 
3: Red Racer Pils – Central City Brewers + Distillers

GERMAN PALE LAGER
1: Red Racer Old School Lager – Central City Brewers + Distillers 
2: Keller Pilsner – Persephone Brewing Company 
3: Steamworks Pilsner – Steamworks Brewing Company

KÖLSCH
1: Steamworks Kölsch – Steamworks Brewing Company 
2: High Country Kölsch – Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. 
3: Arctic Kölsch – Swans Brewery

GERMAN AMBER BEER
1: Gladstone Altbier – Gladstone Brewing Co. 
2: Vienna Lager – R&B Brewing Co. 
3: Potts Pils – Moon Under Water Brewery & Pub

EUROPEAN DARK BEER
1: Dark Lager – Steel & Oak Brewing Co. 
2: Baltic Porter – Cannery Brewing Company 
3: Red Racer Dopplebock – Central City Brewers + Distillers 
Honorable Mention: Brewmaster’s Black Lager – Okanagan Spring Brewery

GERMAN WHEAT BEER
1: Demimondaine Dunkelweizen – Barkerville Brewing Co. 
2: This is Hefeweizen – Moon Under Water Brewery & Pub
 3: Weizenbock – Steel & Oak Brewing Co.

BRITISH BITTER
1: English Bitter – Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co.
 2: Red Devil Ale – R&B Brewing Co. 
3: Beacon ESB – Lighthouse Brewing Company

BRITISH PALE ALE
1: Clover IPA – Big Ridge Brewing Co. 
2: Paddywhack Organic IPA – Nelson Brewing Company 
3: English IPA – Strathcona Beer Company

[BC Ale Trail debuts at the awards]

BRITISH BROWN ALE
1: After Dark Ale – Nelson Brewing Company
 2: Tall Timber Ale – Mt. Begbie Brewing Co.
 3: Aethelred the Mild – Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co.

SCOTTISH AND IRISH ALES
1: Classic Scotch – Steamworks Brewpub
 2: Irish Stout – Ravens Brewing Company
 3: 1880 Export Stout – Moody Ales

BRITISH STOUT
1: 52 Foot Stout – Barkerville Brewing Co. 
2: Perfect Storm – Townsite Brewing Inc. 
3: 710 Oaked Stout – Faculty Brewing Co.

STRONG ALE
1: Thor’s Hammer – Central City Brewers + Distillers
 2: Wee Heav – Persephone Brewing Company
 3: Wobbly Bob – Red Collar Brewing Company

[Tin Whistle Brewing Company  wins First Place for their Pinot Noir Raspberry Blonde]

FRUIT BEER
1: Pinot Noir Raspberry Blonde – Tin Whistle Brewing Company 
2: Red Truck Raspberry Ale – Red Truck Beer Company
3: Tropic Vice – Dead Frog Brewery

[A poster packed with Parallel 49 Brewing’s artwork!]

SPICED BEER
1: Jackline Rhubarb Grissette (Lighthouse Brewing Company 
2: Spruce Tree Ale (Tofino Brewing Company
 3: Hibiscus Wit (Brassneck Brewery

SMOKE AND WOOD AGED BEER
1: Entropy Series No. 1 – Dageraad Brewing
 2: Inertia II – Brassneck Brewery 
3: Thor’s Hammer Bourbon Barrel Aged – Central City Brewers + Distillers

SPECIALTY BEER
1: Roggen Weizen – Steel & Oak Brewing Co. 
2: Londen – Dageraad Brewing 
3: Sour Wheat Gose – Field House Brewing Co.

NORTH AMERICAN LIGHT BEER
1: Hooligan Organic Pilsner – Nelson Brewing Company
 2: Jerkface 9000 – Parallel 49 Brewing Co. 
3: Cypress Honey Lager – Granville Island Brewing

NORTH AMERICAN BLONDE ALE
1: Organic Wild Honey Ale – Nelson Brewing Company 
2: Postmark Blonde – Postmark Brewing
 3: Dutch Pale Ale – Field House Brewing Co.

NORTH AMERICAN PALE ALE
1: Chase My Tail Pale Ale – Yellow Dog Brewing Co. 
2: One Hop Mind – Callister Brewing Company 
3: East Side Bitter – R&B Brewing Co.

NORTH AMERICAN AMBER ALE
1: 33 Acres of Life – 33 Acres Brewing Company
 2: Troller Bay Ale – Howe Sound Brewing 
3: Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale – Tree Brewing Co.

NORTH AMERICAN BROWN ALE
1: Bandit Brown – Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co.
 2: Slipstream – Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
 3: Kim-Ach-Touch Ale – Tree Brewing Co.

NORTH AMERICAN PORTER AND STOUT
1: Commander Imperial Stout – Dead Frog Brewery
 2: Stag and Pheasant Imperial Stout – Main Street Brewing Company 
3: Russian Imperial Stout – Moody Ales

NORTH AMERICAN IPA
1: Flagship IPA – Steamworks Brewing Company 
2: Play Dead IPA – Yellow Dog Brewing Co. 
3: The Ultra Deluxe – Boombox Brewing

[Add another one to the list: Andina Brewing will soon open in Vancouver!]

SPECIALITY IPA
1: Blonde IPA – Dageraad Brewing
 2: White ISA – Red Truck Beer Company 
3: YVR ISA – Steamworks Brewing Company

IMPERIAL IPA
1: 187 On An Undercover Hop – Parallel 49 Brewing Co. 
2: Cosmic Wave Double IPA – Tofino Brewing Company 
3: Second Anniversary Double IPA – Main Street Brewing Company

BELGIAN ALE
1: Jongleur Wit – Strange Fellows Brewing Company 
2: Bier de Garde – Old Abbey Ales
 3: White Gold Witbier – Barkerville Brewing Co.

BELGIAN STRONG ALE
1: Dageraad Blonde – Dageraad Brewing 
2: Saison #7 – Main Street Brewing Company 
3: Old Barn Saison – Fernie Brewing Company

TRAPPIST ALE
1: 33 Acres of Euphoria – 33 Acres Brewing Company
 2: Central City Belgian Strong – Central City Brewers + Distillers 
3: 10 Degrees – Dageraad Brewing 
Honorable Mention: 8 Degrees – Dageraad Brewing

EUROPEAN SOUR ALE
1: Raynard – Strange Fellows Brewing Company
 2: Cantus Fermus – Main Street Brewing Company
 3: Bizarro – Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.

NORTH AMERICAN WILD ALE
1: Bodhisattva – Parallel 49 Brewing Co. 
2: Sour Raspberry – Old Abbey Ales
 3: Little Red One – Strange Fellows Brewing Company

BEST IN SHOW
Flagship IPA – Steamworks Brewing Company

RICHARDS BUELL SUTTON LLP ROOKIE OF THE YEAR AWARD
Field House Brewing Co.

DAN SMALL HOMEBREW AWARD
Sho Ogawa

[Central City Brewers + Distillers ]