Revelstoke’s Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. took the top prize at the 2017 Canadian Brewing Awards in Ottawa.
There are now 50 more great reasons to hit BC’s ale trails, after the province’s breweries enjoyed a stellar night at the CBA gala on May 27.
BC’s beer makers won a total of 49 individual awards, while the coveted Brewery of the Year award went to Mt. Begbie.
The Revelstoke brewery, which is part of the Kootenay Rockies East Ale Trail, won two gold awards, for its High Country Kolsch and Begbie Cream Ale, and a bronze for its Brave Liver Scotch Ale. An Instagram post from the gala showed Mt. Begbie head brewer James Bell struggling to hold onto all the hardware.
But it was a great night for BC’s brewing industry in general, with 35 of the province’s breweries — from Victoria in the west to Fernie in the east — taking home at least one medal.
Other big BC winners on the night included Vancouver’s Powell Brewery, which won a gold award, two silvers and a bronze. Most impressively, the gold was for its L’Hazy Daze IPA in the North American IPA category, probably the most competitive category of the awards.
Vancouver breweries win one of every 10 awards
Taking home a hat-trick of awards were Vancouver’s Adanac Street neighbours Off The Rail Brewing Co. (one gold, two silvers) and Bomber Brewing (one silver, two bronze). One of every 10 awards was won by a Vancouver brewery, proof positive of the city’s importance in Canada’s craft beer industry.
Other BC breweries that struck gold included Coal Harbour Brewing Co., R&B Brewing, Strathcona Beer Company (Vancouver), Steamworks Brewing Co. and a Steamworks/Dageraad Brewing collaboration (Burnaby), Cannery Brewing Co. (Penticton), Central City Brewers + Distillers (Surrey), Foamers’ Folly Brewing Co. (Pitt Meadows), Moon Under Water Brewery (Victoria), Townsite Brewing (Powell River), Trading Post Brewing (Langley) and Whistler Brewing Co. (Whistler).
Congratulations to all the winners! There’s no word yet on any expansion plans as BC’s breweries try to figure out where to display all these awards…
For a full list of winners, see the Canadian Brewing Awards website.
