The winners of the 2009 Canadian Brewing Awards were released this week with some interesting results.  We at this blog are not particularly into awards.  We prefer to drink the beer that tastes the best, not the beer that wins the most awards for matching a certain style.  However, I consider the Canadian Brewing Awards, and awards in general, to be very important because breweries use these awards extensively in their marketing.  For this reason, I am very interested in how brewing award winners are determined.

I have the utmost respect for the people who conduct the Canadian Brewing Awards.  Their intentions and the processes that they follow both deserve high regard.  They conduct blind tastings for certified beer judges to decide upon winners.  That being said, I wonder about the following:

• Are these winners the beers that taste the best of the beers that best match a style guideline?
• Who entered in each category?  If only four beers entered a category, then are the three medal winners really deserving of acclaim?  I’m not saying this is the case, but I really want to know what other beers the winners beat out.
• What beer is tasted?  Are these off the shelf products or are these specially treated versions coming from the brewer?  Can the consumer expect the same quality as the judge?

I ask these questions because I think they make all the difference to the discerning beer drinker.  Especially when considering how heavily some breweries might choose to put forth these awards when promoting their products, don’t you think the consumer has a right to know?  Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea of Canadian Brewing Awards and I am very pleased to see a higher number of BC winners this year.  I think that as these awards mature and more and more breweries enter their beers, that they will be a true indicator of brewing quality.  As for this year, I was a little surprised at some of the winners:

North American Style Lager
Gold: Alpine Lager, Moosehead Breweries (NB)
Silver: Original Draught, Sleeman Brewing (ON)
Bronze: Rocky Mountain Pilsner, Russell Brewing (BC)
Honourable Mention: Carling Lager, Molson Canada

North American Style Premium Lager
Gold: Premium Lager, Lakes of Muskoka Brewery (ON)
Silver: Premium Lager, Great Western Brewing (SK)
Bronze: Old Style Pilsner, Molson Canada

European Style Lager (Pilsner)
Gold: Stonehammer Pilsner, F & M Brewery (ON)
Silver: Pilsner, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Steam Whistle, Steam Whistle Brewing (ON)

North American Style Amber Lager
Gold: N/A
Silver: Buzz Beer, Cool Beer (ON)
Bronze: Red Leaf Smooth Red Lager, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)

Bock – Traditional German Style
Gold: Amsterdam Spring Bock, Amsterdam Brewing (ON)
Silver: N/A
Bronze: Hellesbock, Mill Street Brewery (ON)

North American Style Dark Lager
Gold: N/A
Silver: Fort Garry Rouge, Fort Garry Brewing (MB)
Bronze: Dark 266 Lager, Cameron’s Brewing (ON)

Light (Calorie-Reduced)Lager
Gold: Sleeman Light, Sleeman Brewing (ON)
Silver: Premium Light, Great Western Brewing (SK)
Bronze: Alpine Light, Moosehead Breweries (NB)

Wheat Beer – Belgian Style White/Wit
Gold: Honey Thistle Wit, Bushwakker Brewing (SK)
Silver: Belgian Wit, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Bronze: N/A

Wheat Beer – German Style Hefeweizen
Gold: Whistler Weiss Bier, Whistler Brewing (BC)
Silver: Hefeweizen, Tree Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Hefe-Weissbier, Lakes of Muskoka (ON)

Wheat Beer – North American Style
Gold: Grasshopper Wheat Ale, Big Rock (AB)
Silver: Sungod Wheat Ale, R & B Brewing (BC)
Bronze: Dooryard Summer Ale, Northampton Brewing (NB)

Strong or Belgian Style Ale
Gold: La Fin Du Monde, Unibroue (QC)
Silver: Winter Warmer, Garrison Brewing (NS)
Bronze: Dominus Vobiscum Double, Microbrasserie Charlevoix (QC)

North American Style Amber/Red Ale
Gold: Yukon Red Amber, Yukon Brewery (NWT)
Silver: Auburn Ale, Cameron’s Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Devil’s Pale Ale, Great Lakes Brewing (ON)
Honourable Mention: Big Wheel Deluxe Amber, Amsterdam Brewing (ON)

Cream Ale
Gold: Cream Ale, Cameron’s Brewing (ON)
Silver: Cream Ale, Lakes of Muskoka (ON)
Bronze: KLB Cream Ale, Amsterdam Brewing (ON)

North American Style Blonde/Golden Ale
Gold: Gulf Island Brewing, Gulf Island Brewing (BC)
Silver: Honey Blonde Ale, Russell Brewing (BC)
Bronze: Picaroon’s Blonde Ale, Northampton Brewing (NB)
Honourable Mention: Summer Ale, Granite Brewery (ON)

English Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: ESB, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Silver: Black Oak Pale Ale, Black Oak Brewing (ON)
Bronze: Old Brewery Pale Ale, Nelson Brewing (BC)

North American Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: Old Yale Pale Ale, Old Yale Brewing (BC)
Silver: Chico Pale Ale, Bushwakker Brewing (BC)
Bronze: Tank House, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Honourable Mention: Timberline Ale, Howe Sound Brewery (BC)

Barley Wine
Gold: 2008 Barley Wine, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Silver: St. Ambroise Vintage Ale, McAuslan Brewing (QC)
Bronze: Swan’s Legacy Ale, Swan’s Buckerfield (BC)

India Pale Ale
Gold: Hop Head Double IPA, Tree Brewing (BC)
Silver: No. 9 IPA, Mike Duggan – Cool Beer (ON)
Bronze: N/A

Brown Ale
Gold: Nut Brown, Dead Frog Brewery (BC)
Silver: Rail Ale Nut Brown, Howe Sound Brewing (BC)
Bronze: True North Copper Altbier, Magnotta Brewery (ON)

Scotch Ale
Gold: N/A
Silver: Scotch Ale, Phillip’s Brewery (BC)
Bronze: Iron Duke, Wellington Brewery (ON)

Stout
Gold: St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, McAuslan Brewing (QC)
Silver: Keepers Stout, Lighthouse Brewing (BC)
Bronze: Traditional Irish Stout, Hockley Valley Brewing (ON)
Honourable Mention: Midnight Sun Espresso Stout, Yukon Brewery (YT)

Strong Porter (Baltic)
Gold: Grand Baltic Porter, Garrison Brewing (NS)
Silver: N/A
Bronze: N/A

Imperial Stout
Gold: Russian Gun Imperial Stout, Grand River Brewing (ON)
Silver: Imperial Stout, Wellington Brewery (ON)
Bronze: N/A

Porter
Gold: Palliser Porter, Bushwakker Brewing (SK)
Silver: Black Toque, Phillip’s Brewery (BC)
Bronze: Coffee Porter, Mill Street Brewery (ON)

Fruit & Vegetable
Gold: Chocolate Porter, Phillip’s Brewing (BC)
Silver: Raspberry Weizen, Pump House Brewing (NB)
Bronze: Jalapeno Ale, Garrison Brewing (NS)

Special Honey/Maple Lager or Ale
Gold: Special Honey Maple Lager, Old Credit Brewing (ON)
Silver: Winter Ale, Great Lakes Brewing (ON)
Bronze: Honey Brown Traditional, Dead Frog Brewery (BC)

Brewery of the Year (most medals won) – Mill Street Brewery
Beer of the Year (”best in show”) – Yukon Red Amber Ale

Cheers,

Chris