The third annual Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards were held from November 4th to the 6th in Halifax. The judging of over 257 entries was on Friday and Saturday at The Dome and the Gala on Sunday evening at The Stubborn Goat Gastropub.
Thirty-five breweries and seven cideries shared the 42 medals awarded in 14 categories as well as seven special awards ( To see full medal counts see Table 1 and category details see Table 2). The People's Choice Award returned this year by an online survey of all the submitted beers and ciders.
The big winners of the evening were Bad Apple Brewhouse and Big Spruce Brewing each taking four medals with Bad Apple being awarded Brewery of the Year and Big Spruce nabbing the Beer of the Year or "Best of Show" with their Ra Ra Rasputin Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout. Rockbottom Brewpub also had a great showing as well getting a gold for the IPA category and Brewpub of the Year.
The Cider House of the Year as well as two medals went to Annapolis Cider Company and the Cider of the Year was awarded to ShipBuilders Cider from ShipBuilders Cider Company.
The People’s Choice returned this year for Beer and Cider with upstart Port Rexton Brewing's T-Rex Porter grabbing the beer category and Annapolis Cider Company's Crisp & Dry getting the cider category.
It is a real pleasure to join in the celebration of the best of craft in our region. Hats off to CAPS-Atlantic for having this and thanks to the organizer Mark DeWolfe, Head Judge Chris MacDonald and with judges and stewards for their tireless work behind the scenes.
Table 1 : Medal counts
| Brewery | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
| Bad Apple Brewhouse | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Big Spruce Brewing | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Tatamagouche Brewing | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Annapolis Cider Company | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Uncle Leo's Brewery | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Upstreet Craft Brewing | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brasseurs du Petit-Sault | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Garrison Brewing | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Good Robot Brewing | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Paddy's Brewpub | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Propeller Brewing | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alexander Keith's Brewery | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Hell Bay Brewing | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lazy Bear Brewing | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Moosehead Breweries | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| PEI Brewing | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Pump House Brewery | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rockbottom Brewpub | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| ShipBuilders Cider | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Boxing Rock Brewing | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Breton Brewing | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Oland Brewery | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Spindrift Brewing | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Elderkin's Cider Company | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Red Rover Craft Cider | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Trider's Craft Beer | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Table 2 : Full Beer and Cider Category Breakdown
North American & European Style Lager
Gold: Moosehead Breweries – Moose Light
Silver: Oland Brewery – Schooner
Bronze: Propeller Brewing – Nocturne Dark Lager
German Style Specialty Ales
Gold: Uncle Leo’s Brewery – Altbier
Silver: Uncle Leo’s Brewery – Vohs Weizenbier
Bronze: Garrison Brewing – Rise ‘N’ Stein
UK Style Specialty Ales
Gold: Pump House Brewery – Barley Wine Ale
Silver: Garrison Brewing – Irish Red Ale
Bronze: Trider’s Craft Beer – Rod’s Red
North American Style Specialty Ale
Gold: Upstreet Craft Brewing – One Way Black IPA
Silver: Spindrift Brewing – Riptide IPL
Bronze: Good Robot Brewing – Leave Me Blue Kentucky Corn
Belgian Style Specialty Ale
Gold: Brasseurs du Petit-Sault – Tante Blanche
Silver: Upstreet Craft Brewing – Denovo: Farmhouse Saison
Bronze: Tatamagouche Brewing – Tatamagouche Tripel
North American Style Amber/Red Ale
Gold: PEI Brewing – Island Red
Silver: Boxing Rock Brewing – Temptation Red Ale
Bronze: Paddy’s Brewpub – Annapolis Valley Ale
Fruit & Field Beer
Gold: Lazy Bear Brewing – Braunbär Honey Brown
Silver: Big Spruce Brewing – The Silver Tart
Bronze: Brasseurs du Petit-Sault – Bonhomme Sept-Heures
Pale Ales
Gold: Hell Bay Brewing – English Ale
Silver: Bad Apple Brewhouse – American Pale Ale
Bronze: Big Spruce Brewing/Bar Stillwell – Gimme Citra
Stout/Porter
Gold: Alexander Keith’s Brewery – Lunenburg Coffee and Cacao Stout
Silver: Breton Brewing – Cocoa Envy
Bronze: Tatamagouche Brewing – Two Rivers Baltic Porter
India Pale Ale
Gold: Rockbottom Brewpub – Fathom IPA
Silver: Tatamagouche Brewing – Deception Bay IPA
Bronze: Bad Apple Brewhouse – Mosaic DIPA
Experimental Beer
Gold: Bad Apple Brewhouse – Smoked Porter
Silver: Good Robot Brewing – Damn Fine Coffee and Cherry Pie Pale Ale
Bronze: Propeller Brewing – Graceland Too
Wood & Barrel-Aged Beer
Gold: Big Spruce Brewing – Ra Ra Rasputin
Silver: Bad Apple Brewhouse – Smoke Show
Bronze: Big Spruce Brewing – Coade Word: Snowmageddon
Standard Cider and Perry
Gold: ShipBuilders Cider – ShipBuilders Cider
Silver: Paddy’s Pub – Fitzgerald's Traditional Cider
Bronze: Elderkin’s Cider Company– Elderkin’s Traditional Hard Cider
Specialty Cider and Perry
Gold: Annapolis Cider Company – Crisp & Dry
Silver: Annapolis Cider Company – Something Different – Peach & Peppercorn
Bronze: Red Rover Craft Cider – Fall Cider