Four Winds Brewing Co. has sailed away with the competition for a second year in a row.
Building on its 2015 Brewery of the Year success, the Delta operation took home 2016 Beer of the Year at the Canadian Brewery Awards in Richmond last weekend with its Nectarous Dry-hopped Sour Ale.
If we’re adding up our fingers correctly, that’s basically a marquee medal away from a dynasty. It will be interesting to see if Four Winds can top its back-to-back wins next year, but Nectarous is just one example of how the three-year-old brewery continues to push the envelope.
“We’re always thinking of new and innovative approaches to beers, and this beer we actually created almost two years ago and we’ve been refining it ever since,” said Four Winds co-founder Adam Mills. “Now it’s a trending style and there’s a lot of people trying to do it, but we were one of the first.”
Adams explains that Nectarous began as a brewers’ experiment with lactobacillus, aka the souring culture used in yogurt. The result is a bright, effervescent, assertively tart ale that is tropical fruit-forward with a dry finish. It generally sells out within a week of hitting shelves, so watch for the next batch to arrive at private liquor stores throughout the Lower Mainland by the middle of next week, followed by locations on Vancouver Island and in the interior the week after.
Furthering its CBA streak, Four Winds also picked up two golds, a silver and a bronze on Saturday.
And while the 2016 Brewery of the Year award, determined by a panel of nearly 40 seasoned beer judges, went to Ontario’s Side Launch Brewing Co., BC breweries were well represented throughout the spread, taking home almost a third of the 165 medals.
You can check out a who’s who of top-ranked beer at Vancouver Craft Beer Week at the PNE this weekend, so keep this full list of BC winners handy:
American Belgo-Style Ale
Silver: Yellow Dog Brewing Co., Go Fetch West Coast Hoppy Saison
Bronze: Whistler Brewing Co., Snow… White IPA
American-Style Black Ale
Bronze: Steamworks Brewing Co., Black Angel IPA
American-style Brett Beer
Bronze: Four Winds Brewing Co., Juxtapose Wild IPA
American-style Sour Ale
Gold:Four Winds Brewing Co., Nectarous Dry-Hopped sour
Barley Wine-Style Ale – English-Style
Silver: Howe Sound Brewing, Woolly Bugger Barley Wine
Belgian-Style Abbey Ale/Pale Ale
Gold: Dageraad Brewing, Burnabarian
Bronze: Gladstone Brewing Co., Gladstone Belgian Single
Belgian-Style Brett Beer
Gold: Four Winds Brewing Co., Operis Brett Saison
Belgian-Style Tripel
Silver: Townsite Brewing, Charleston
Bock – Traditional German Style
Silver: Granville Island Brewing, Burly Goat Dopplebock
Brown Ale
Gold: Shuswap Lake Brewing, Bushwacker Brown Ale
Bronze: Hoyne Brewing Co., Dark Matter
Dry Stout
Gold: Postmark Brewing, Postmark Stout
English Bitters
Gold: Howe Sound Brewing, Baldwin & Cooper Best Bitter
Silver: Powell Street Craft Brewery, Old Jalopy Pale Ale
Bronze:Off The Rail Brewing Co., Off The Rail Brewing Belt Up ESB
English-Style Pale Ale
Gold: Off The Rail Brewing Co., Off The Rail Brewing Classic Pale Ale
Bronze: Red Arrow Brewing Co., Piggy Pale Ale
European-Style Amber to Dark Lager
Gold: Gladstone Brewing Co., Gladstone Czech Dark Lager
Silver: Persephone Brewing Co., Black Lager
Bronze: Moon Under Water Brewery, Creepy Uncle Dunkel
European-Style Lager
Silver: Hearthstone Brewery, Bohemian Pilsner
Bronze: Steamworks Brewing Co., Pilsner
Flavoured Stout/Porter
Bronze: Deep Cove Brewers and Distillers, Chocolate Coconut Porter
French- and Belgian-Style Saison
Bronze: Coal Harbour Brewing Co. Woodland Saison
Fruit Beer or Field Beer
Gold: Old Abbey Ales, Sour Raspberry
Bronze: Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks, The Last Strawberry
Herb and Spice Beer
Gold: Off The Rail Brewing Co., Raj Mahal India Ale
Silver: Powell Street Craft Brewery, Witbier with Ginger & Cardamom
Imperial Stout
Bronze: Bomber Brewing, Russian Imperial Stout
Kellerbier/Zwickelbier
Gold: Brassneck Brewery, No Brainer
Bronze: Moon Under Water Brewery, Potts Pils
North American-Style Amber Lager
Bronze: Red Arrow Brewing Co., Midnite Umber Ale
North American-Style Amber/Red Ale
Silver: Big Rock Brewery, Hollow Tree Red Ale
Bronze: Brassneck Brewery, Brassneck Ale
North American-Style Premium Lager
Gold: Parallel 49 Brewing Co., Craft Lager
Silver:Main Street Brewing, Main Street Pilsner
Oatmeal Stout
Gold: Townsite Brewing, Perfect Storm
Silver: Strange Fellows Brewing Co., Blackmail Stout
Scotch Ale
Bronze: Mt. Begbie Brewing Co., Brave Liver Scotch Ale
Session India Pale Ale
Silver: Four Winds Brewing Co., Featherweight IPA
Smoked Beer
Gold: Coal Harbour Brewing Co., Smoke & Mirrors Imperial Smoked Ale
Bronze: Wheelhouse Brewing Co., Smokehouse Porter
Special Honey/Maple Lager or Ale
Silver: Fernie Brewing Co., Sap Sucker Maple Porter
Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer – Dark Beer
Silver: Townsite Brewing, Barrel Aged Perfect Storm
Bronze: Powell Street Craft Brewery, Whiskey Barrel Aged Porter
Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer
Bronze: Central City Brewers and Distillers, Central City Sour No. 1
CIDER
Cider with Herbs/Spices
Bronze: Central City Brewers & Distillers, Hopping Mad Cider
Cider with Other Fruit:
Silver: Merridale Cider, Merri Berri
Bronze: Big Rock Brewery, Rock Creek Peach Cider
Specialty Cider:
Gold: The BX Press Cider, The Dufferin
Bronze: Merridale Cider, Scrumpy
• For the rest of the results, head to CanadianBrewingAwards.com
