On October 21, 2017, winners of this year’s BC Beer Awards were named. The ceremony was held in conjunction of a tasting event at the Croatian Cultural Centre. Over 65 breweries set up a booth and showcased their beers while celebrating with their peers as winners of 30 award categories were being announced.
This year’s theme was SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop), so participating breweries were challenged to create a single malt and single hop beer to be considered for the Brewers Challenge Award.
BC Beer Awards received 879 entries from 97 breweries. The judging took place over 3 days and was performed by a panel of BJPC (Beer Judge Certification Program) and Cicerone judges from all over the Cascadia.
BC Beer Awards Winners
A shout out to all the big award winners:
- Brewery of the Year – Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company
- Brewers Challenge – Postmark Brewing – Bohemian Pilsner SMaSH
- Best in Show – Swans Brewery and White Sails Brewing – Oktoberfest Flammenbeer
- People’s Choice Award – Boombox Brewing – Rad Seeker
- Innovator of the Year – Twin Sails Brewing
- Rookie of the Year – Backcountry Brewing
For a list of winners of each beer category, visit the BC Beer Awards website.
Creative Industry Awards
New this year was the addition of the Creative Industry Awards, of which I had the privilege to sit on the panel to help select the winners:
- Best Can Design – Doan’s Craft Brewing (Crystal Weiss)
- Best Bottle Label Design – Steamworks Brewing Co (Barrel Aged Series Imperial Stout)
- Best Packaging – Boxes and Carriers – Doan’s Craft Brewing (Happy Pack)
- Best Tap Handle – Steamworks
- Best Website – Field House Brewing
- Best Social Media Presence – Backcountry Brewing
During tasting, we discovered new beers and breweries that we really enjoyed:
- Backcountry Brewing – Fresh Hop of Bel Air
- Doan’s Craft Brewing – Kolsch
- Kettle River Brewing Company – Cinnamon Stout
- Main Street Brewing – Galaxy Hopped Super Saison
- Moon Under Water Brewery – Eldorado Tropical Stone Fruit SMaSH
- Sooke Oceanside Brewery – Coffee Porter
- Swans Brewery and White Sails Brewing (Collab) – Oktoberfest Flammenbeer
- Twin City Brewing Co. – Late Bloomer Strawberry Hibiscus Sour
Even though this was a sold-out event, it wasn’t overly crowded like the Vancouver Craft Beer Week Festival. It was a raining day, but being an indoor event the bad weather didn’t affect us. Ticket price was $35 early-bird or $40 regular, which included 4x 5oz samples already. I thought it’s quite reasonably priced. I’d suggest craft beer lovers to check this out next year – and get tickets early as they sold out in no time!
Disclosure: I attended the event as a representative from the media. Admission to the event was complimentary of BC Beer Awards. However, the views and opinions expressed in this post are purely my own.
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