Canadian Brewing Awards Conference

All posts tagged Canadian Brewing Awards Conference

The 2024 Canadian Brewing Awards & Conference is in the books and this year’s awards ceremony saw a very strong showing for Atlantic Canadian breweries, one we believe is the best we’ve ever seen from the region. A total of 25 medals are being brought home from Hamilton by some very proud brewers, amongst those are 7 gold, 10 silver, and 8 bronze spread across all four provinces, with seven from New Brunswick (3G/2S/2B), two from Newfoundland & Labrador (1S/1B), twelve from Nova Scotia (4G/6S/2B), and four from Prince Edward Island (1S/3B).

The biggest story for Atlantic Canada, and Nova Scotia in particular, is the 3 golds and the “Brewery of the Year” title won by Shelburne’s Boxing Rock. This is the first time since 2012 when Picaroons won, that a brewery from this end of the country has taken home the biggest prize. A huge congratulations from us to Emily and Henry and their entire team at Boxing Rock who will have something extra special to celebrate at their 11th Birthday Party in July.

Other multiple winners included Fredericton’s Grimross, Halifax newcomers The Brewery by Quinn’s, Mahone Bay’s Tanner & Co, and Tatamagouche Brewing. The full list of our region’s winners appears below. You can also view the entirety of the results at the CBAC site (check out the rad map link if you’re planning a beer-drinking trip this summer and want to sample some bangers!)

Big ups all around to all the breweries who brought home hardware to our little corner of the world and to those who stuck their noses (and wallets) out to participate. We suggest you celebrate all of them with a beer! No word yet on the location for the 2025 Awards & Conference, but we’ll keep you in the loop once we hear!

New Brunswick

Newfoundland

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

ps. We’re thrilled to be back and publishing, and have some Profiles in the works for the region’s expanding beer, cider, and mead landscape! Chat again soon!

Here we are, starting February with a hum, as we couldn’t get a post out last week due to real life. This week, we’re at least trying to get something out there in honour of Shubenacadie Sam, so this will be mostly a quick hitting summary post, with little to no commentary. Let’s hammer down and get right into it!

Starting with a trio of tidbits from Tatamagouche Brewing, they have one brand new beer and two returning favourites. New to the fold is Fröhlick, a German Pilsner. Made with local hops from Island Hop Company on PEI, this is 5.0% and available in small puppy 355ml cans. Returning after a few years away is Dreadnot, an India Black Ale. It uses debittered black malt, while the hop bill of El Dorado, Chinook, and Centennial bring fruit, citrus, and a bit of pine to the flavour party. It’s 7% and available in cans from the brewery. Also returning is Flanerie, a Belgian Blonde. This one is locally-focused using Horton Ridge malt and whole-leaf hops grown in Oxford, Nova Scotia. It’s 5% and available in cans from the brewery. 

A new one from Propeller enters the crushable category of Session IPAs as Anytime IPA is out now. It’s just 4.5% and 26 IBU but packed with juicy tropical citrus flavour and aroma. It’s canned and available now directly from Prop Shops or private stores.

There are a pair of new lagers out of Trailway to tell you about. Fire On The Mountain is an Imperial Pilsner named after the Grateful Dead song. It’s a 6.8% Pilsner with a great balance of sweetness, crispiness and bitterness. Last week saw the release of Eclipse, a Dark Lager that is in collaboration with Banished Brewing of Paradise, NL. Malt forward and toasted, it’s 5.2%, canned and available at both locations (plus in Paradise!), just like Fire On The Mountain. 

Staying on the lager train, Timber Ship Brewing has a brand new one with Miramichi Classic Pilsner. Named after a locally designed salmon fly using the city’s colours, the beer is a celebration of craftsmanship, drinkability and flavour. It’s 5.1% and 15 IBU. This will be canned soon but available on tap at a few places around Miramichi. 

A couple of new cans out of Tanner & Co Brewing comprise a Best Bitter and a returning Belgian Blonde. First up, the bitter uses a new malt they’re working on with Horton Ridge, trying to locally replicate the English Maris Otter malt. This one is perfectly balanced and 4.5%. The Belgian Blonde is also classically made to the true Belgian style and returns after a few months away. This one is 7% and available in cans. 

Rounding out our double release news is Burnside Brewing, who had a pair of new canned goodies come out last week. First up is Werewolfe, an American Porter (in Burnside). It’s 5.5% and roasty toasty, with just the right balancing sweetness. Second is a release from their Brew Lab series, a Hazy Pale Ale #1.2, which changes up the yeast and ups the dry-hopping from the previous version. The Brew Lab releases focus on small batch brews (that are still canned) that they want your feedback on. This one is 4.5% and both of these beers are available at all Burnside locations. 

Creamy friends in foam, Stillwell Brewing sees their Cream Ale return to cans and taps at the brewery. They think it is probably their best batch yet. If you need a reminder, it’s true to the classic North American style and very crisp and tasty at 4.8%

In other beer news, we wrote about Canadian Beer News closing their taps at the end of 2023, but it appears those taps were taken over by Canadian Brewing Awards & Conference. Stay tuned to their Instagram page and website to see what will be going on with the blog. 

As a note to brewers who may not have seen it, the CBAC is within their window for shipping entries now for the 2024 Awards and Conference that will take place in Hamilton. Check out the details here. It’s too late to enter, but if you are entering best be getting on with that packaging and shipping!

The big miss we had last week was not being able to mention 2 Crows Brewing and their seven new releases for their 7th anniversary. While you may have seen on our Instagram that we were there, we thought we should at least run down all the new beers that are available, just for the record. The seven new cans are as follows and you can check the taprooms and website to pick them up. 

Alright Alright Alright, 4.1% –  Farmhouse-style beer with Raspberry, Lime, and Sea Salt. This beer was sneakily launched on draught in November, while the canned product conditioned away. For fans of their 2023 collaboration with OK Sea Salt, OK OK OK, this one’s for you! 

SAL, 5.1% . This Italian Pilsner is the beer for 2 Crows Oxford and a collaboration with Yeah Yeahs Pizza. This is only available online and at 2 Crows Oxford, where they share a space with YY. 

Feral Fox, 9.1%. A Tart Wild Ale with Apricot, it is delicious and dangerous. 

Squeezie II, 5.1%. This smoothie sour goes more to the berry side for its second release. Make it a slushie and enjoy this one, especially on tap at Brunswick street.

Red Piquette: Pino Noir + Kekfrankos, 4.4%. This is not beer! It’s a piquette. 

Space Words, 10.1%. This Triple IPA is back, baby! 

7, 9.2%. Yes, the beer is named 7 and no, they won’t tell you what style it is. So, you have to buy it to try it!


Editor’s Note: If you think there’s a chance we skipped posting last week solely to avoid doing full write-ups on seven new 2 Crows beers, we suggest you zip your yap and keep walking, slappy.

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:

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

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:

  • 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