2020 Canadian Brewing Award Results

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a weird year for craft beer. With Covid causing uncertainty amongst craft breweries across the nation, forcing changes in business strategy, and sadly numerous closures, it’s just been hard. So, when the Canadian Brewing Awards released their final list this past weekend, needless to say it’s going to be an odd mix of results.

Now, let’s preface that by saying by no means are we taking away from the deservingness of each of the breweries that have won this year. All these brewers work hard, and have surely earned their right to these awards. The question remains though, since this is such an “off year” how has that affected the overall results, and would it look entirely different if Covid had never struck?

We may not be able to answer those questions, but perhaps time will tell. If the results reflected this year continue to trend in future years, then we will know for sure that we aren’t just looking at an anomaly.

So why all the upfront disclaimer you ask? Well, for the last seven years, the Canadian Brewing Awards has been dominated by the big three players: Ontario, Quebec and BC. This year however, tells a very different story. While Ontario and BC still pulled in some impressive hardware, it was Alberta that dominated the show; no other province came close to rivalling Alberta in gold medal wins, an impressive 17 overall. To top that off, BC lost its several year streak of Brewery of the Year to Alberta based Common Crown Brewing Co.

Overall BC came in as the highest awarded province with 11 gold, 13 silver and 17 bronze; Alberta came second with 17 gold, 13 silver, 8 bronze. Ontario dropped a fair bit with 12 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze; and Quebec lost a lot of traction as well with 7 gold, 8 silver, 10 bronze.

Now, Alberta has been steadily improving over the last few years, but to double their medal counts year over year is practically unheard of. Again, whether this is due to 2020 just being a weird year, or Alberta truly coming into its own, is yet to be seen. Either way, Alberta brewers have something to brag about this year.

Individually there were 37 breweries that claimed their first ever Canadian Brewing awards, which was an increase over last year where 33 breweries were first-timers. As for the breweries that took home the most medals, BC based Whitetooth won with five overall, while Ontario’s Walkerville and Alberta’s Big Rock and Medicine Hat Brewing all received four.

So how does this strange year affect our ongoing top five Canadian breweries list? Despite many of the leading award holders only winning one, or no awards this year (the first year ever Four Winds won nothing), their award tally was strong enough to see no movement in the top three. But we now have ties in 4th and 5th places which will surely cause some shake-up’s next year.

The top list now looks like:

1. Amsterdam Brewing (21 awards)
2. Four Winds Brewing (19 awards)
3. Nickel Brook Brewery (18 awards)
4. Red Racer/Great Western Brewing/Parallel 49 (16 awards)
5. A La Fut/PEI Brewing/Moosehead (15 awards)

If you’re interested, here’s the full list from 2019.

2020 Award Winners

European Style Lager (Pilsner)
BRONZE: Pixel Pils | Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks | British Columbia
SILVER: Bohemian Style Pilsner | Flora Hall Brewing | Ontario
GOLD: Kinabik Pilsner | Snake Lake Brewing Company | Alberta

European Style Amber to Dark Lager
BRONZE: Ladder Run Amber Lager | Thornbury Village Craft Brewery | Ontario
SILVER: Fahr Copper | Brauerei Fahr | Alberta
GOLD: Fahr Munich | Brauerei Fahr | Alberta

Bock – Traditional German Style
BRONZE: Bringing Sexy Bock | Garrison Brewing Company | Nova Scotia
SILVER: BEER 101 BOCK | Niagara College Teaching Brewery | Ontario
GOLD: Elevator Dopplebock | Hell’s Basement Brewery Inc. | Alberta

Kellerbier/Zwickelbier
BRONZE: POTTS PILSNER | Moon Under Water Brewery | British Columbia
SILVER: Hazy Blonde | Old Flame Brewing Company | Ontario
GOLD: Rockwell Pilsner | The Collingwood Brewery | Ontario

German Style Kolsch
BRONZE: Köl Story Bro Kölsch | Brewhall Beer Co. | British Columbia
SILVER: Lighthorse Lagered Ale | Bogside Brewing | Prince Edward Island
GOLD: Rhine Stone Cowboy Kolsch Style Ale | Big Rock Brewery | Alberta

Wheat Beer – Belgian Style (Wit)
BRONZE: SNOangel | SNO Microbrasserie | Québec
SILVER: Farmer’s Tan Belgian White | Brewsters Brewing Company | Alberta
GOLD: Jongleur | Strange Fellows Brewing | British Columbia

Wheat Beer – German Style (Weiss)
BRONZE: Fahr Hefe | Brauerei Fahr | Alberta
SILVER: Wheat Kings County | Bogside Brewing | Prince Edward Island
GOLD: Beautiful Aurelia | Foundry Brewing Inc | Ontario

Baltic Porter
BRONZE: Vistula | Altitude Beer Inc | British Columbia
SILVER: Baltistar Galactiporter | Bent Stick Brewing Co. | Alberta
GOLD: Two Rivers Baltic Porter | Tatamagouche Brewing Company | Nova Scotia

Belgian-Style Dubbel or Quadrupel
BRONZE: Gros mollet | Microbrasserie du Lac St-Jean | Québec
SILVER: Mic Drop | Inner City Brewing | Alberta
GOLD: Directissima Dubbel | Whitetooth Brewing Company Ltd. | British Columbia

Belgian-Style Tripel
BRONZE: Trepanation Tripel | Whitetooth Brewing Company Ltd. | British Columbia
SILVER: Soap Box Preacher | Inner City Brewing | Alberta
GOLD: HAMMER OF THE DAWN | Indie Alehouse | Ontario

Belgian-Style Abbey Ale / Pale Ale
BRONZE: Burnabarian | Dageraad Brewing | British Columbia
SILVER: La Tenace Belgian Single | Whitetooth Brewing Company Ltd. | British Columbia
GOLD: Marigold | Clifford Brewing Company | Ontario

Belgian-Style Strong Ale Pale / Dark / Specialty
BRONZE: Belgian Blond | Sooke Brewing Co. | British Columbia
SILVER: Mons d’abbaye Blonde | Belgh Brasse | Québec
GOLD: Cousin Eddie’s | Cassel Brewery | Ontario

French and Belgian Style Saison
BRONZE: 18 Juillet 1853 | Siboire | Québec
SILVER: La petite duchesse | Little Beasts Brewing Company | Ontario
GOLD: Saison du Djâbe | Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault | New Brunswick

Belgian-Style Brett Beer
BRONZE: Funk et Furie | Avant-Garde artisans brasseurs | Québec
SILVER: Square One | Tatamagouche Brewing Company | Nova Scotia
GOLD: Name TBD | Royal City Brewing Co. | Ontario

German-Style Sour Ale Berliner-Style Weisse or Gose
BRONZE: Saltwater Cowboy Gose | Tatamagouche Brewing Company | Nova Scotia
SILVER: Limoilou Beach | Microbrasserie La Souche | Québec
GOLD: Cool As | Cabin Brewing Company | Alberta

Belgian-Style Sour Ale – Flanders Red Ale , Oud Bruin , Lambic / Gueuze , Fruit Lambic
BRONZE: Profondo Rosso | Parallel 49 Brewing Company | British Columbia
SILVER: Mueuze | Meuse Brewing Company Inc. | Ontario
GOLD: Pic-Barrique (2020) | Microbrasserie Le Prospecteur | Québec

Porter
BRONZE: STEADFAST | Tooth and Nail Brewing Company | Ontario
SILVER: Old Man Winter Porter | Ribstone Creek Brewery | Alberta
GOLD: Brick and Mortar Porter | Medicine Hat Brewing Company | Alberta

Brown Ale
BRONZE: Woodnutt Brown Ale | Coast Mountain Brewing | British Columbia
SILVER: Brown ale de seigle | Microbrasserie Pit Caribou | Québec
GOLD: Coppersmith Brown Ale | Common Crown Brewing Co. | Alberta

Scotch Ale
BRONZE: Rob Roy Scotch Ale | Walkerville Brewery | Ontario
SILVER: Hellroaring Scottish ale | Fisher Peak Brewing Company | British Columbia
GOLD: Andys Wee Heavy | Common Crown Brewing Co. | Alberta

English Style Pale Ale
BRONZE: Free Range Country Ale | Farm Country Brewing | British Columbia
SILVER: Honey Hop Pale Ale | Longwood Brewery | British Columbia
GOLD: Steam Whistle Pale Ale | Steam Whistle Brewing | Ontario

English Bitters – Ordinary or Special Bitters / Best Bitter or ESB
BRONZE: Iconic Bitter | Warehouse Brewing Company | Saskatchewan
SILVER: Gros Pin | Microbrasserie La Souche | Québec
GOLD: Best | Henderson Brewing Co. | Ontario

Sweet Stout or Cream Stout
BRONZE: Chocolate Milk Stout | Wellington Brewery | Ontario
SILVER: Easy Stout | Walkerville Brewery | Ontario
GOLD: Stout Milkshake | Vox Populi | Québec

Oatmeal Stout
BRONZE: Collectively Smashed | Inner City Brewing | Alberta
SILVER: Blackmail | Strange Fellows Brewing | British Columbia
GOLD: Gentlemen’s Stout | Medicine Hat Brewing Company | Alberta

Dry Stout
BRONZE: Woodhouse Stout beer | Woodhouse Brewing | Ontario
SILVER: Davy Jones Nitro | Corsaire Microbrasserie | Québec
GOLD: Angus Stout | 9 Mile Legacy Brewing Co. | Saskatchewan

Imperial Stout
BRONZE: Tempest | Amsterdam Brewing Company | Ontario
SILVER: Imperial Oatmeal Stout | Barnside Brewing Co. | British Columbia
GOLD: Liquid Lullaby Imperial Stout | Town Square Brewing | Alberta

English Style India Pale Ale
BRONZE: La Bittt à Tibi IPA | Belgh Brasse | Québec
SILVER: Geronimo IPA | Walkerville Brewery | Ontario
GOLD: Englishish IPA | District Brewing Co | Saskatchewan

North American Style Lager
BRONZE: Red Racer Lager | Red Racer | British Columbia
SILVER: Twin City | Medicine Hat Brewing Company | Alberta
GOLD: Crispy Buoy | Tapworks Brewing Company | British Columbia

North American Style Premium Lager
BRONZE: Craft Lager – Canadian Style Lager | Big Rock Brewery | Alberta
SILVER: Beach Chair Lager | PEI Brewing Company | Prince Edward Island
GOLD: Blonde | Old Flame Brewing Company | Ontario

North American Style Amber Lager
BRONZE: Pond Surfer California Common | Town Square Brewing | Alberta
SILVER: SNOfox | SNO Microbrasserie | Québec
GOLD: The Wobbly Code | Electric Bicycle Brewing | British Columbia

Light (Calorie-Reduced) Lager
BRONZE: Cracked Canoe | Moosehead Breweries | New Brunswick
SILVER: Light Eh! Lager | Kingsville Brewing Company | Ontario
GOLD: Death Wave Lager | Sea Change Brewing Co. | Alberta

Cream Ale
BRONZE: Roger That | Overflow Brewing Company | Ontario
SILVER: Cream Ale | Anderson Craft Ales | Ontario
GOLD: The Specialist | Tire Shack Brewing Co. | New Brunswick

North American Style – Amber / Red Ale
BRONZE: Round Trip Amber Ale | Red Truck Beer Company | British Columbia
SILVER: Rodeo Red Ale | Big Ridge Brewing | British Columbia
GOLD: Varsity Hall Red Ale | Snake Lake Brewing Company | Alberta

North American Style – Blonde or Golden Ale
BRONZE: Nokomis Golden Ale | Nokomis Craft Ales | Saskatchewan
SILVER: La Libertine | La Voie Maltée | Québec
GOLD: Belmont Village | Red Circle Brewing Co. | Ontario

American Style Black Ale
BRONZE: Snake Island Cascadian Dark Ale | White Sails Brewing Ltd. | British Columbia
SILVER: Cascadian Dark Ale | Blindman Brewing | Alberta
GOLD: Black Rock | Stack Brewing | Ontario

North American Style Pale Ale
BRONZE: Method West Coast Pale Ale | Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers | British Columbia
SILVER: Uncle Leo’s Sunburst | Uncle Leo’s Brewery | Nova Scotia
GOLD: Sickbird Northwest Pale Ale | Whitetooth Brewing Company Ltd. | British Columbia

Wheat Beer – North American Style
BRONZE: Smooth Sail Summer Ale | Walkerville Brewery | Ontario
SILVER: Grasshopper Wheat Ale | Big Rock Brewery | Alberta
GOLD: Ploughman Wheat Ale | Common Crown Brewing Co. | Alberta

American Style India Pale Ale
BRONZE: La Racoleuse | La Voie Maltée | Québec
SILVER: Jet Fuel IPA | Ace Brewing Company | British Columbia
GOLD: Filthy Dirty | Parallel 49 Brewing Company | British Columbia

New England Style India Pale Ale
BRONZE: Ring Pop | Eighty-Eight Brewing Company | Alberta
SILVER: Creature Feature | Good Robot Brewing | Nova Scotia
GOLD: Presta | Siboire | Québec

Session India Pale Ale
BRONZE: White IPA | Pile O’ Bones Brewing | Saskatchewan
SILVER: Beep Beep | Steel & Oak Brewing Co. | British Columbia
GOLD: Glitter Bomb Hazy Pale Ale | Phillips Brewing & Malting Co. | British Columbia

American Style Imperial India Pale Ale
BRONZE: Faces Double IPA | Wellington Brewery | Ontario
SILVER: Parkman Ave | Copper Bottom Brewing | Prince Edward Island
GOLD: Deep Thoughts | Triple IPA | Another Beer Company | British Columbia

American Belgo-Style Ale
BRONZE: Jordan Harbour Belgian Pale Ale | Bench Brewing Company | Ontario
SILVER: Bootsy | House of Funk Brewing | British Columbia
GOLD: Icefields Belgian-Inspired Pale Ale | Whitetooth Brewing Company Ltd. | British Columbia

American Style Brett Beer
BRONZE: Mr Natural | brassneck | British Columbia
SILVER: Tropicale IPA | Brasserie Dunham | Québec
GOLD: Hedgerow | Strange Fellows Brewing | British Columbia

American Style Sour Ale
BRONZE: Hawk Tail Lemon Kveik Sour | Hawk Tail Brewery | Alberta
SILVER: Goses and Goblins | Analog Brewing Company | Alberta
GOLD: Super Fusion | The Establishment Brewing Company | Alberta

Special Honey / Maple Lager or Ale
BRONZE: Bear Paw Honey Lager | Whistler Brewing Company | British Columbia
SILVER: Honey Brown – Amber Lager | Big Rock Brewery | Alberta
GOLD: Rousse à l’érable | Ferme Brasserie Schoune | Québec

Fruit / Fruit Wheat / Field / Pumpkin Beer
BRONZE: Dwarf Sour Cherry Saison | Blindman Brewing | Alberta
SILVER: Creamsicle Ale | Medicine Hat Brewing Company | Alberta
GOLD: La Classic Rosé | Brasseux d’la Cote | New Brunswick

Gluten Free Beer
BRONZE: Glutenberg Gose | Glutenberg | Québec
SILVER: Forager Gluten Free Lager | Whistler Brewing Company | British Columbia
GOLD: Glutenberg Red | Glutenberg | Québec

Session Ale
BRONZE: Setting Day | PEI Brewing Company | Prince Edward Island
SILVER: Azacca Session IPA | Propeller Brewing Company | Nova Scotia
GOLD: Abbey Lane English Mild | Ribstone Creek Brewery | Alberta

Experimental Beer
BRONZE: Lawyers Guns & Honey | Bent Stick Brewing Co. | Alberta
SILVER: Red Racer Street Legal IPA | Red Racer | British Columbia
GOLD: Moosehead Shaker Tropical Pina Colada | Moosehead Breweries | New Brunswick

Herb and Spice Beer
BRONZE: Fireside | Salt Spring Island Ales Brewery | British Columbia
SILVER: Nightwatch Coffee Lager | Lighthouse Brewing Company | British Columbia
GOLD: Aki No Seishin | Ippon | Québec

Smoked Beer
BRONZE: Das Winter Projekt | Frampton Brasse | Québec
SILVER: Moosehead Small Batch Rauchbier | Moosehead Breweries | New Brunswick
GOLD: Prairie Fire Rauchbier | Town Square Brewing | Alberta

Barley Wine-Style Ale – English Style / American Style
BRONZE: BarleyWine édition 2019 | Ferme Brasserie Schoune | Québec
SILVER: Perepllut Barley Wine | Blindman Brewing | Alberta
GOLD: Barrel Aged Ape Index Barley Wine | The OT Brewing Company | Alberta

Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer – Pale to Amber / Dark
BRONZE: Four Barrels | Red Circle Brewing Co. | Ontario
SILVER: Entropy Series No. 12 – Old Bretts | Dageraad Brewing | British Columbia
GOLD: Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout | Russell Brewing Company | British Columbia

Wood and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
BRONZE: Aki No Seishin- Imperial | Ippon | Québec
SILVER: BBA Triple Stout | Longwood Brewery | British Columbia
GOLD: Tempestarii Sour Cherry Saison | Low Life Barrelhouse | Manitoba

Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
BRONZE: FOUR Barrel-Aged Golden Sour w/ Plum & Lingonberry | Foamers’ Folly Brewing | British Columbia
SILVER: Uncertainty Principle No. 6 | Nickel Brook Brewing Company | Ontario
GOLD: Abricotine | Microbrasserie La Souche | Québec

Flavoured Stout / Porter
BRONZE: Hazelnut Coffee Stout | Publican House Brewery | Ontario
SILVER: Birds of a Feather | Little Beasts Brewing Company | Ontario
GOLD: UVB-76 Maksim | Wellington Brewery | Ontario

BEER OF THE YEAR
Glutenberg Red | Glutenberg | Québec

BREWERY OF THE YEAR
Common Crown Brewing Co | Alberta