Close to 200 breweries around B.C. produced thousands upon thousands of different beers this year. So we gathered a panel of more than 25 professional cicerones, certified beer judges, beer writers, industry insiders and altogether massive beer nerds to whittle down the field to 10 nominees in each category. Of course, if you didn’t like the judge’s choices, you still had the opportunity to vote for your favourite, no matter what it was.
Abbotsford’s Field House Brewing was the big winner this year, with nine gold medals, including Brewery of the Year. For the second year in a row, Driftwood’s Fat Tug IPA took the gold in the West Coast/Specialty IPA category, and moved up from silver last year to take the coveted Beer of the Year title. Four Winds took home nine awards—including gold for Best Farmhouse/Wild/Brett Ale (Juxtapose), Best Wood-Aged Beer (Norwood) and Best Sour Ale (Nectarous)—while Port Alberni’s Twin City Brewing won seven medals, including the Unsung Hero award for best small market brewery.
So without further ado, here are the full results, as decided by you…
Brewery of the Year
Beer of the Year
1) Driftwood Brewery – Fat Tug IPA
2) Backcountry Brewing – Widowmaker IPA
3) Parkside Brewery – Dreamboat Hazy IPA
Best West Coast/Specialty India Pale Ale
1) Driftwood Brewery – Fat Tug IPA
2) Brassneck Brewery – Passive Aggressive
3) Twin City Brewing – Run Of The Mill IPA
Best East Coast/Hazy IPA
1) Twin Sails Brewing – Juice Plus
2) Category 12 Brewing – Juicy Data
3) Parkside Brewery – Humans, an IPA for the People
Best North American-Style ale
1) Twin Sails Brewing – Dat Juice
2) Strange Fellows Brewing – Talisman Pale Ale
3) Four Winds Brewing – Velo
Best UK-Style Ale
1) Driftwood Brewery – Naughty Hildegard ESB
2) Hoyne Brewing – Appleton ESB
3) Riot Brewing – Working Class Hero Dark Mild
Best Dark Ale
1) Hoyne Brewing – Dark Matter
2) Field House Brewing – Salted Black Porter
3) Crannóg Ales – Backhand of God
Best Light/Amber Lager
1) Steel & Oak Brewing – Simple Things
2) Four Winds Brewing – Huft Gold
3) Hoyne Brewing – Helios
Best Dark Lager
1) Field House Brewing – Toasted Coconut Black Lager
2) Steel & Oak Brewing – Dark Lager
3) Tofino Brewing – Dark Lager
Best Belgian-Style Ale
1) Dageraad Brewing – Blonde
2) Four Winds Brewing – Triplicity
3) Strange Fellows Brewing – Reynard
Best Farmhouse / Wild / Brett Ale
1) Four Winds Brewing – Juxtapose
2) Field House Brewing – Sauvignon Blanc Wild Farmhouse Ale
3) Yellow Dog Brewing – Ferocious Wild IPA
Best Wood-aged Beer
1) Four Winds Brewing – Norwood
2) Île Sauvage Brewing – Feu Vert
3) Boombox Brewing – Rum Barrel Midnight Train
Best Imperial Ale/Lager
1) Vancouver Island Brewing – Hermannator
2) Superflux Beer Co. – Double Infinity (Citra)
3) Driftwood Brewing – Singularity
Best Sour Ale
1) Four Winds Brewing – Nectarous
2) Yellow Dog Brewing – Sour Red Ale
3) Luppolo Brewing – Black Lime Gose
Best Wheat Ale
1) Twin Sails Brewing – Would Crush
2) Dageraad Brewing – De Witte
3) Moon Under Water Brewing – This Is Hefeweizen
Best Fruit Beer
1) Field House Brewing – Dark Sour: Blackberry + Blueberry
2) Île Sauvage Brewing – Raspberry Sour
3) Twin City Brewing – Late Bloomer
Best Collab Beer
1) Yellow Dog/Superflux – Friends With Benefits
2) Yellow Dog/House of Funk – Patience is a Virtue
3) Four Winds/Dageraad/Powell – Ten: VCBW 10th Anniversary Collab
Best Low-Alcohol Beer
1) Field House Brewing – Sour Wheat Gose
2) Parallel 49 Brewing – Tricycle Radler
3) Four Winds Brewing – Sour Weisse
Best New Brewery
1) House of Funk Brewing
2) Île Sauvage Brewing
Unsung Hero
1) Twin City Brewing (Port Alberni)
2) Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. (Kelowna)
T-3) LoveShack Libations (Qualicum)
T-3) Slackwater Brewing (Penticton)
Best Tasting Room
1) Field House Brewing
2) The Parkside Brewery
3) Phillips Brewing & Malting Co.
Best Food Program
1) Field House Brewing
2) Twin City Brewing
3) Vice & Virtue Brewing Co.
Best Branding / Packaging
1) Driftwood Brewery
2) Field House Brewing
3) Superflux Beer Co.
Best Local Homebrewing Store
3) Centennial Homebrewing Supplies
Best Craft Beer Bar
3) CRAFT Beer Market Vancouver
Best Craft Beer Retail Store
3) Cascadia Liquor Stores (all locations)
Best Craft Beer Festival / Event
2) Great Canadian Beer Festival
Best place to take a Tinder Date
1) Field House Brewing
2) Brassneck Brewery
Best Board Game Selection
1) Twin City Brewing
2) Tree Brewing Beer Institute
T-3) Moody Ales
T-3) Riot Brewing
Best Place to Drink in the Afternoon Without Judgement
1) Field House Brewing
2) Twin City Brewing
Best Brewery to Bring the Kids
1) Field House Brewing
2) The Parkside Brewery
3) Yellow Dog Brewing
Most Dog-Friendly Brewery
1) The Parkside Brewery
2) Yellow Dog Brewing
3) Field House Brewing