Industry News: Canada: British Columbia: Vancouver celebrates craft beer perfection, at this year's BC Beer Awards

The overall mandate of the BC Beer Awards is to celebrate excellent beer, judging each hand-produced, artisanal beverage on its own merits. Craft Brewers across the province are well-known for their innovation and creativity, something that the BCBA organizers are keen to help honour. -BC Beer Awards

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - This past weekend the coastal city of Vancouver hosted the annual BC Beer Awards. A unique award ceremony, the BC Beer Awards recognize craft-brewing achievement throughout the province of British Columbia. This year, like the previous years, applauded numerous styles while reminding those in the 'States that great beer can be had in Canada.

We are thrilled to come back from the BC Beer Awards with an award for our Schwarzbock. We have invested heavily in our specialty beer program at PWB and will continue to innovate and play our role in the craft beer movement. Bringing home hardware as recognition from the craft community is great motivation. -Paul Mulgrew (Product Development Manager), Pacific Western Brewing

Preceding this year's ceremony, the BC Beer Awards & Festival offers visitors a rare opportunity to enjoy many of the beers which will later medal in the closing ceremony. Located on Commercial Drive inside the Croatian Cultural Centre, the event showcases

For those to lazy to read the complete results it can be reported that Yellow Dog Brewing Company, located in Port Moody, took home Best of Show for their Shake A Paw Smoked Brown Porter. Additional mult-medal winners include: 

We were very excited and surprised to bring home so many medals from this year's BC Beer Awards. We've just celebrated our 2nd anniversary last month and there have been so many new breweries open in the past year that we knew the competition would be stiff.

I was really, really stoked to win the Gold and Silver in the German Wheat category as that's our specialty at the brewery with the open fermentor and decoction brewhouse (Plus they're my favourite styles). Last year we won for our Weizenbock- which we didn't have any left to enter this year- so we'll be going for the clean sweep next year! -Owner & Brewmaster Clay Potter Moon Under Brewing

• 4 Moon Under Water Brewing, Victoria
• 4 Parallel 49 Brewing Company, Vancouver
• 3 Brassneck Brewery, Vancouver
• 3 Steamworks Brewing Company, Vancouver
• 3 Four Winds Brewing Company, Delta
• 3 Central City Brewing Co. Ltd., Surrey
• 2 Persephone Brewing Company, Gibsons
• 2 Phillips Brewing Company, Victoria
• 2 Driftwood Brewing, Victoria
• 2 Howe Sound Brewing Co, Squamish

For complete results and reactions (from various breweries) from the 2014's BC Beer Awards, please read below.

Best of Show

Yellow Dog Brewing Company - Shake A Paw Smoked Brown Porter

Light Lager - 22 Beers entered

• Turning Point Brewing Company - Stanley Park Noble Pilsner
• Okanagan Spring - 1516 Bavarian Lager
• Hoyne Brewing Company - Helios-Dortmunder Golden Lager

Pilsner - 22 Beers

• Steamworks Pilsner - Steamworks Brewing Company

 "...our winning beers have their origins in three of the world's great beer countries: Pilsner from the Czech Republic, Kölsch from Germany and our Blitzen Tripel from Belgium. That our team could come first three times with three completely different beers is a testament to the depth of talent and skill of everyone who works in the brewery". -Head Brewer Caolan Vaughan, Steamworks Brewing Company

• Barley Station Brew Pub - Canoe Creek Pilsner

We are pleased to have our Canoe Creek Pilsner recognized as a truly great beer. -Stu Bradford and Damon Robson, Barley Station Brewpub

• Russell Brewing Company - Lager

Special Lager - 17 Beers

• Tree Brewing Company - Captivator Doppelbock
• Pacific Western Brewing - Pacific Schwarzbock
• Persephone Brewing Company - Black Lager

Hybrids - 37 Beers

• Steamworks Brewing Company - Steamworks Brewpub Kolsch
• Phillips Brewing Company - Slipstream Ale
• R&B Brewing Company - Sun God Wheat Ale

German Wheat/Rye - 10 Beers

• Moon Under Water Brewery - This Is Hefeweizen
• Moon Under Water Brewery - Moon Berliner Style - Weisse
• Big Ridge Brewing Company - Big Ridge Dunkleweizen

UK Ales - 40 Beers

• Tin Whistle Brewing Company - Stag Apple Scotch Ale

Pleased and proud. The Stag is very personal to me, it's very much me from the powerful abv right down to my family tartan on the label, and I'm so proud to be able to do my clan, and my brewery, proud with this beer. The Tin Whistle is a tiny Okanagan Brrewery, and it just seems fitting that it's an 8% "fruit beer" that is making everyone take notice.- Jeff Todd, The Tin Whistle Brewery

• Bowen Island Brewing - Snug Cove ESB

The formation of Bowen Island Brewing dates back to the mid 1980's, when craft beer was first being introduced to BC and much of the Pacific Northwest. We were recently blowing the dust off the old Bowen Island recipe book and came across the original ESB recipe from back in the mid-80's. We re-launched the brew as Snug Cove ESB and are really excited to think that a recipe as old as this one still has relevance and popular appeal in 2014! -President Bill Hsu, Bowen Island Brewing

• Moon Under Water Brewery - Wee Woody

North American Ales - 48 Beers

• Main Sreet Brewing Company - Main Street Sessional IPA
• Phillips Brewing Company - Coulrophobia IRA
• Rossland Beer Company - Paydirt Pale Ale

We would like to thank the BC beer awards for this great award and more importantly running this event that promotes and supports craft beer.

We only had a chance to submit one beer this year so for it to place we were obviously ecstatic. There are so many great beers and breweries at this event that we feel very privileged to be a part of such a excellent event.

Porter/Brown - 30 Beers

• Yellow Dog Brewing Company - Shake A Paw Smoked Brown Porter
• Powell Street Brewing Company - Dive Bomb Porter
• Lighthouse Brewing Company - Road Trip Fresh Hopped Dark Ale

Belgian/French - 45 Beers

• Driftwood Brewing Company - White Bark Witbier
• Dageraad Brewing - De Witte
• Four Winds Brewing Company - Juxtapose Brett IPA

Vegetable/Spice Beer - 27 Beers

• Parallel 49 Brewing Company - Lost Souls
• Howe Sound Brewing - Pumpkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale
• Fuggles & Warlock Craftwerks - Bean Me Up Espresso Milk Stout

Being our first year it was a pleasant surprise to place 3rd at the BCBA, we haven't been this surprised since we found out Samus was a girl in the Metroid game series. -Fuggles & Warlock

Stout - 24 Beers

• Persephone Brewing Company - Dry Irish Stout
• Dead Frog Brewing Company - Commander Imperial Stout (2013)
• Dead Frog Brewing Company - Commander Imperial Stout (2014)

It's an honour to have our beer ranked amongst the best in BC. As examples of strong ales improving with age, we're delighted to have both of our Commander Imperial Stouts win these prestigious awards. -Marketing Coordinator Dylan Redekop Dead Frog Brewery

North American IPA - 44 Beers

• High Mountian Brewing Company - 5 Rings IPA
• Four Winds Brewing Company - Four Winds IPA
• Central City Brewers and Distillers - Red Racer IPA

Imperial IPA - 14 Beers

• Brassneck Brewery - One Trick Pony
• Central City Brewers and Distillers - Red Racer Imperial IPA
• Bomber Brewing Company - SuperPest

We were extremely proud to show so well against all the amazing beers in this province. We are especially excited that Superpest, one of our personal favourites, was able to medal in such a strong category.-Operations Manager Rachaal Steele, Bomber Brewing Company

Fruit/Sour - 24 Beers

• Driftwood Brewing Company - Bird Of Prey- Flanders Red
• Parallel 49 Brewing Company - Schwarzwald
• Brassneck Brewery - Peach Changeling

Strong - 16 Beers

• Steamworks Brewery - Steamworks Blitzen
• Townsite Brewing Company - Biere D'Hiver

Townsite is particularly pleased with this win as Brewmaster, Cedric Dauchot considers this his best recipe to date and you know what they say; happy Brewmaster, happy Brewery. -Brewery Manager Chloe Smith, Townsite Brewing Company

• Howe Sound Brewing - Wooly Bugger Barley Wine

Specialty - 29 Beers

• Granville Island Brewing - Lost In The Barrels

It's always a thrill to bring home a medal, but it’s particularly exciting when it's for first place", said Vern Lambourne. "Lost In The Barrels was a particularly fun Small Batch Series for Granville Island Brewing, as it was our first attempt at brewing a beer with Brettanomyces. A special thanks to Chuck Hallett for the idea, and for lifting those heavy malt sacks. -Head Brewer Vern Lambourne

• Moon Under Water Brewery - Year 2
• Parallel 49 Brewing Company - Salty Scot

Smoke/Wood - 16 Beers

• Central City Brewers and Distillers - Thor's Hammer Barrel Aged
• Parallel 49 Brewing Company - Braggot
• Brassneck Brewery - Inertia II

CBC People's Choice Award

1. Four Winds - Sovereign Super Saison

The Brewer's Challenge

Bridge Brewing - Purl

Dan Small Homebrew Award

1. Matt Anderson - Anderson Estate IPA - Fresh Hopped
2. Grayson Barke - Harvest Rye IPA
3. Brad Johnson - Squashmonster