The Canadian Brewing Awards took place last weekend.
There was no shortage of British Columbia-produced beers up for medals in various categories and, as always, many west coast breweries returned home with hardware.
It would be hard to find a BC brewery that had a better showing than Smithers Brewing Co.
The small brewery in the sleep northwestern BC town took home one of the night’s top honours – Brewery of the Year – along with five medals for their creations.
Along with the top brewery title, Smithers also won gold medals for its Bootlegger Brown Ale and Great Craic Irish Red, silver medals for its Salz und Säuer Gose and Old Man Winter, and a bronze medal for its Feck Off Irish Stout.
“What an honour,” the brewery wrote on social media about its fruitful awards night. “We’re pretty blown away up here.”
While Smithers won more than any brewery in Canada, it certainly wasn’t the only BC brewery to earn hardware at this year’s awards.
Here’s a full list of the winning beers from west coast breweries, along with the category they won in:
Gold Medals
- Bellhop Porter from Abandoned Rail Brewing (Penticton) – American & British Porter
- White Noise from Giant’s Head Brewing (Summerland) – American Belgo-Style Ale & Belgian Blonde Ale (+13)
- Wedgehead Kolsch from Smugglers Trail Caskworks (Langley) – American Blonde Ale, American Wheat Beer & American Pale Ale (+10)
- Amber Ale from Poco Brothers Brewing (Port Coquitlam) – American Red Ale
- Operis from Four Winds Brewing (Delta) – Brett, Wild & Mixed Culture Beer
- Bootlegger Brown Ale from Smithers Brewing (Smithers) – English Mild & Brown Ale
- Czech Pilsner from Powell Street Craft Brewery (Vancouver) – European & International Pale Lager (+48)
- Imperial Pear Elderflower Love Buzz from Strathcona Brewery (Vancouver) – Fruit Beer
- Quick Witted from Grey Fox Brewing (Kelowna) – Gluten-Free Beer
- Winter Ale from Mariner Brewing (Coquitlam) – Herb/Spice/Chili/Pumpkin/Rye/Field Beer
- Spuced Up Gose from Mountainview Brewing (Hope) – Historic/Regional Beer
- Great Craic Irish Red from Smithers Brewing (Smithers) – Irish Red Ale
- Queens of Hops, Hoppy Lager from Coast Mountain Brewing (Whistler) – Other Hoppy Beer
Silver Medals
- Belgian IPA from Deadfall Brewing (Prince George) – American Belgo-Style Ale & Belgian Blonde Ale (+13)
- Odyssey from Curious Creatures Beer (Langley) – Australian, New Zealand & International Hoppy Beer
- Salz und Säuer Gose from Smithers Brewing (Smithers) – Berliner Weisse & Gose
- English Pale Ale from Train Wreck Brewing (Port Moody) – Bitter, English Blonde/Pale Ale & English IPA
- Jaro Pilsner from Land & Sea Brewing (Comox) – European & International Pale Lager (+48)
- Blue Dream Hazy IPA from Four Winds Brewing (Delta) – Experimental & Specialty IPA
- Ridgewalk Red Ale from Fernie Brewing (Fernie) – Irish Red Ale
- Widowmaker from Backcountry Brewing (Squamish) – Juicy Pale Ale, NEIPA & IIPA
- Kolsch from Patina Brewing (Port Coquitlam) – Kölsch & Altbier
- Kome Forest from Curious Creatures Beer (Langley) – Other Hoppy Beer
- Old Man Winter from Smithers Brewing (Smithers) – Scotch Ale
Bronze Medals
- Broken Sun from Smugglers Trail Caskworks (Langley) – Australian, New Zealand & International Hoppy Beer
- Tickity Boo from Twin City Brewing (Port Alberni) – Bitter, English Blonde/Pale Ale & English IPA
- Cherryoperis from Four Winds Brewing (Delta) – Brett, Wild & Mixed Culture Beer
- Peach Wit from Brittania Brewing (Kelowna) – Fruit Beer
- Buckwild Stout from Grey Fox Brewing (Kelowna) – Gluten-Free Beer
- Feck Off Irish Stout from Smithers Brewing Company (Smithers) – Irish Stout
- High Country Kölsch from Mt. Begbie Brewing (Revelstoke) – Kölsch & Altbier
- Salted Black Porter from Field House Brewing (Abbotsford) – Other Strong Beer
- Wild Matters Hazy Pale Ale from R&B Brewing (Vancouver) – Session Beer & Session IPA (+46)
Josh Duncan is the NowMedia news director and a craft beer lover. Reach him at [email protected]. His beer column appears every Saturday afternoon in this space.
