This past weekend was a big one in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as breweries and brewing industry folks descended into town bringing welcome gifts in liquid form, not unlike the rain pouring down to quell the nearby wildfires. It was a weekend that people could get together within the industry to celebrate, learn, and grow against a backdrop of some good ol’ East Coast hospitality, for the second time in 5 years. 

While we celebrate all the winners across the 59 categories of the Canadian Brewing Awards, your pals here at the ACBB are here to bring you the AC summary of the CBAs. Last year, we had 19 Atlantic Canadian award-winners across all categories and this year we’ve added eight more on top of last year’s tally. In total, 18 different breweries from our region brought home accolades.

Here’s a breakdown by province of the 2023 award winners:

Starting at the top of the table, New Brunswick hit big with three gold winners in the following categories:

• French and Belgian Style Saison – Cheval D’or, Grimross Brewing
• Cream Ale – 8 Secondes, Novum Boreas
• Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Event Horizon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, Trailway Brewing

The other gold on the board came from a big weekend winner out of Newfoundland:

• North American Style Blonde or Golden Ale – James Blonde 00709, Secret Cove Brewing

Secret Cove, specifically out of Port au Port, also brought home another 2 awards, to complete the trifecta.

• Irish And Scotch Ales – Red Vinyl , Secret Cove Brewing – SILVER
• American Style Imperial India Pale Ale – The Great Auk, Secret Cove Brewing – BRONZE

Two other Nova Scotia breweries also scored a treble, interestingly enough, these two just released the Twin Shores collaboration beer together. 

• Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Barrel Aged Lambic Style Ale, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
• English Style India Pale Ale – India Pale Ale, Propeller Brewing  – BRONZE
• American-style Brett Beer – Wilder Brett IPA, Propeller Brewing  – BRONZE

• Baltic Porter – Two Rivers Baltic Porter, Tatamagouche Brewing – SILVER
• Cream Ale – Apres, Tatamagouche Brewing – BRONZE
• Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Tempest, Tatamagouche Brewing – HON. MENTION

We had a few breweries bring home a pair of awards as well and one of them has a Gold listed above, so we’ll list the rest of those doubles below:

• Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Pretty Please, Trailway Brewing – SILVER

• Oatmeal Stout – Boat Traffic, Lone Oak Brewing – HON. MENTION
• Low Alcohol Beer – Noble, Lone Oak Brewing – SILVER

• Barley Wine-Style Ale – Ol’ Fog Burner, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE
• Historic/Regional Beers – Spruce Beer, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE

Here is the full list of winners broken down by Province for the Atlantic Canadian winners:

New Brunswick

• English Style Pale Ale – Golden Grover, Foghorn Brewing – SILVER
• French and Belgian Style Saison – Cheval D’or, Grimross Brewing – GOLD
• Porter – Black Door, Hampton Brewing – BRONZE
• European Style Lager (Pilsner) – Operation Feed Pilsner, Long Bay Brewery – BRONZE
• Cream Ale – 8 Secondes, Novum Boreas – GOLD
• Belgian-Style Brett Beer – Into the Wild, O’Creek Brewing – BRONZE
• Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Pretty Please, Trailway Brewing – SILVER
• Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Event Horizon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, Trailway Brewing – GOLD

Newfoundland & Labrador

• Session Ale – Liquid Sunshine, Boomstick Brewing – HON. MENTION
• Gluten Free Beer – Gluten Free Lager, Port Rexton Brewing  – BRONZE
• Irish And Scotch Ales – Red Vinyl, Secret Cove Brewing – SILVER
• North American Style Blonde or Golden Ale – James Blonde 00709, Secret Cove Brewing – GOLD
• American Style Imperial India Pale Ale – The Great Auk, Secret Cove Brewing – BRONZE

Nova Scotia

• Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer – Bière de Coupage, 2 Crows Brewing – SILVER
• North American Style Amber/Dark Lager – Toller Red, Burnside Brewing – BRONZE
• Barley Wine-Style Ale – Ol’ Fog Burner, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE
• Historic/Regional Beers – Spruce Beer, Garrison Brewing – BRONZE
• German-Style Sour Ale – Girl, Hold My Earrings, Lunn’s Mill Beer Company – BRONZE
• North American Style Amber/Red Ale – Right Some Red, Nine Locks Brewing – BRONZE
• Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Barrel Aged Lambic Style Ale, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
• English Style India Pale Ale – India Pale Ale, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
• American-style Brett Beer – Wilder Brett IPA, Propeller Brewing – BRONZE
• Baltic Porter – Two Rivers Baltic Porter, Tatamagouche Brewing – SILVER
• Cream Ale – Apres, Tatamagouche Brewing – BRONZE
• Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer – Tempest, Tatamagouche Brewing – HON. MENTION

PEI

• Oatmeal Stout – Boat Traffic, Lone Oak Brewing – HON. MENTION
• Low Alcohol Beer – Noble, Lone Oak Brewing – SILVER

Congratulations to all of our winners and we hope all who visited Halifax for the awards and conference enjoyed our part of Canada; we hope that our readers can mark these breweries and beers for further exploration during their travels!

For the full gamut of winners from coast to coast, head on over to the Canadian Brewing Awards.