Monday, October 19, 2015

2015 Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards

The second annual Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards were held over the week end in Halifax. The judging of over 200 entries was on Friday and Saturday at The Old Triangle and the Gala on Sunday evening at The Stubborn Goat

Twenty-one breweries and cideries shared the 40 medals awarded in 14 categories as well as three special awards ( To see full medal counts see Table 1 and category details see Table 2). This year the beer categories were reduced from 15 to 12 and 2 cider categories were added. Further, the People's Choice was removed as well as Brewpub of the Year and a new award of Cidery of the Year was added. 

Garrison Brewing was the big winner of the night taking three gold and one silver medal as well as Brewery of the Year. Another notable item was Les Brasseurs du Petit-Sault swept the entire Belgian Style Specialty Ales category taking all three medals. 

The two new cider catergories were were dominated by Cider House and Red Rover Craft Cider who also took Cidery of the Year

Lastly, the coveted Beer of the Year or "Best of Show" went to Box Cutter IPA from Bad Apple Brewhouse 

It was another great success this year, it is a real pleasure to join in the celebration of the best of craft in our region.

Table 1 : Medal counts 

Brewery Gold Silver Bronze
Garrison Brewing 3 1 0
Red Rover Craft Cider 1 2 0
Brasseurs du Petit-Sault 1 1 1
Rockbottom Brewpub 1 0 2
Cider House 1 0 2
Uncle Leo's Brewing 0 1 2
Big Spruce Brewing 1 0 1
Moosehead Breweries 1 0 1
PEI Brewing 1 0 1
Propeller Brewing 0 2 0
Paddy's Brewpub 0 1 1
Tatamagouche Brewing 0 1 1
Pump House Brewery 1 0 0
Barnone Brewing 1 0 0
Bad Apple Brewhouse 1 0 0
Sea Level Brewing 0 1 0
Upstreet Craft Brewing 0 1 0
Hell Bay Brewing 0 1 0
Meander River Farm  0 1 0
Acadie-Broue 0 1 0
Breton Brewing 0 0 1


Table 2 : Full Beer Category Breakdown 

North American & European Style Lagers
Gold:    Moosehead Breweries - Hop City Barking Squirrel
Silver:  Propeller Brewing - Bohemian Style Pilsener 
Bronze: Moosehead Breweries - Alpine

German Style Specialty Ales
Gold:    Garrison Brewing - Rise 'n' Shine Hefeweizen
Silver:   Uncle Leo's Brewing - Uncle Leo's Altbier
Bronze: Breton Brewing - Stirling Hefeweizen

UK Style Specialty Ales
Gold:    Rockbottom Brewpub - Bulldog Brown Ale
Silver:   Paddy’s Brewpub - Raven Ale
Bronze: Uncle Leo's Brewing - Uncle Leo's Red Ale

North American Specialty Ales
Gold:    Big Spruce Brewing - Bitter Get'er India Black IPA
Silver:   Garrison Brewing - Ol' Fog Burner
Bronze: PEI Brewing - Sir John A Honey Wheat

Belgian Style Specialty Ales
Gold:    Brasseurs du Petit-Sault - Simonet Hébert
Silver:   Brasseurs du Petit-Sault - La Buckdjeuve
Bronze: Brasseurs du Petit-Sault - Maxime Albert

North American Amber & Red Ales
Gold:    not awarded
Silver:   Sea Level Brewing - Blue Heron Extra Special Bitter
Bronze: not awarded

Fruit & Field Beers
Gold:    Pump House Brewery - Thai Wheat
Silver:   Upstreet Craft Brewing - Rhuby Social
Bronze: Paddy's Brewpub - Smashed Pumpkin

Pale Ales
Gold:    PEI Brewing - Vic Park
Silver:   Hell Bay Brewing - English Ale
Bronze: Big Spruce Brewing x Bar Stillwell - Gimme Citra

Stout & Porter
Gold:     La Vaca Loca - Barnone Brewing
Silver:   Propeller Brewing - Revolution Russian Imperial Stout
Bronze: Rockbottom Brewpub - Oatmeal Stout

India Pale Ale
Gold:     Bad Apple Brewhouse - Box Cutter IPA
Silver:   Tatamagouche Brewing - Deception Bay IPA
Bronze: Rockbottom Brewpub - Fathom IPA

Experimental Beer
Gold:     Garrison Brewing - IPA Gastronome
Silver:   Meander River Farm & Brewery - Surf & Turf
Bronze: Uncle Leo's Brewing - Uncle Leo's Smoked Porter

Wood & Barrel Aged Beer
Gold:     Garrison Brewing - Barrel-Aged Grand Baltic Porter
Silver:   Acadie-Broue - Zirable
Bronze: Tatamagouche Brewing - Rum Barrel-Aged Dreadnot

Standard Cider and Perry
Gold:     Cider House - Ship Builders Cider
Silver:   Red Rover Craft Cider - VeRRy PeRRy
Bronze: Cider House - Stutz Original

Specialty Cider and Perry
Gold:     Red Rover Craft Cider - Fire Cider
Silver:   Red Rover Craft Cider - The Blues
Bronze: Cider House - Stutz Wild Blueberry
#ACBA2015