Breweries from British Columbia win nearly 40% of all the awards at the 3rd annual Canada Beer Cup.
After two straight years of being won by BC breweries, the Canada Beer Cup is moving to Saskatchewan.
Pile O’ Bones Brewing of Regina wins with its Quark, Strangeness, Charm Witbier. Congrats to Pile O’ Bones!
Brewery representatives from across Canada were in attendance at the Gala Awards Night, which was held in New Westminster on October 18, and many of those folks from British Columbia were hoping to see the Canada Beer Cup stay in BC for a third year (Callister Brewing won in 2022 and Deadfall Brewing won in 2023).
Judging for the Canada Beer Cup took place in mid-September in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The panel of 32 judges included three from British Columbia, along with others from across Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe. As one of three Head Judges, I helped pick the panel and organize the judging ahead of time, but unfortunately, I came down with COVID just before the judging itself so I was unable to travel and participate in that part.
The Best of Show judging session featured an all-female panel of judges, including BC’s own Noëlle Phillips, a regular contributor to the BC Ale Trail blog.
Overall, breweries from British Columbia won 65 trophies out of a total of 166 awarded, including 18 gold awards, 24 silvers, and 23 bronze. BC breweries also swept two of four Packaging categories, a separately judged component that was added to the Canada Beer Cup this year.
Burnaby’s Dageraad Brewing came closest to keeping the Canada Beer Cup in BC with Tous Les Jours, a mixed-culture fermented table beer, which took a gold in the Low-ABV category and then was the bronze winner (second runner-up in the Best of Show judging that determined the overall winner). Dageraad also won a silver for Antigoon in the Belgian Golden Strong category.
Last year’s Canada Beer Cup winner, Deadfall Brewing from Prince George, took home the most awards of any single brewery in the competition, snagging five in total:
- Gold – Succession NEIPA
- Silver – Dark Mild
- Bronze – Belgian Dark Strong
- Bronze – Basal Brown Ale (2023 Canada Beer Cup winner)
- Bronze – Aurora Session Pale Ale
Penticton’s Tin Whistle Brewing was also a big winner with three beers winning awards and one packaging award:
- Silver – Cherry Blossom Sake Lager
- Silver – Core Series (series packaging)
- Bronze – Peach Cream Ale
- Bronze – Real Good Light Beer
Four Winds Brewing of Delta, BC won three silver awards:
- Silver – Nectarous Dry-Hopped Sour
- Silver – Ultralite IPA
- Silver – BBNOALC Non-Alcoholic Sour Beer
Gladstone Brewing from Courtenay, BC also won three awards:
- Silver – Gladstone Glad Light
- Silver – Gladstone Festbier
- Bronze – Gladstone Cerveza
Another notable winner was Vancouver’s Brassneck Brewery, which won two gold medals:
- Old Money – Brown British Ale
- Rosé Changeling – Specialty Fruit Beer
And two BC breweries also swept the Gluten-Free category:
- Gold: Grey Fox Brewing – Humble Lager
- Silver: Whistler Brewing – Forager Gluten-Free Lager
- Bronze: Grey Fox Brewing – Buckwild Stout
** Kelowna’s Grey Fox Brewing swept this category last year.
A new component to the Canada Beer Cup for 2024 was the Packaging Awards. BC breweries swept two of the four categories:
Packaging Single
- Gold: Showboat – Beva Brewing & Blending (North Vancouver)
- Silver: Neon Panther – Parallel 49 Brewing (Vancouver)
- Bronze: Flannel Pyjamas Grand Cru – Camp Beer Co. (Langley)
Packaging Series
- Gold: Tart Wild (Serie Selvatica) – Luppolo Brewing (Vancouver)
- Silver: Adventure Series – Tin Whistle Brewing (Penticton)
- Bronze: Branded Series – Main St. Brewing (Vancouver)
For the complete list of winners check the Canada Beer Cup site.
