Here are the winners of the B.C. Beer Awards 2023

The results of the B.C. Beer Awards 2023 have been announced. Is your favourite brew in the mix?

Judges tasted 925 entries across 29 style categories to determine the best beers in the province

Jan Zeschky · CBC News · Posted: Oct 21, 2023 11:59 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 22, 2023

Balloons spell out the letters BCBA behind a row of awards. — A row of awards awaiting presentation at the 2022 ceremony. Just under 100 individual beer awards were presented in 2023. (B.C. Beer Awards)

The winners of the B.C. Beer Awards 2023 were announced Saturday evening at the tail end of a tasting festival featuring brews from across the province.

In September, judges were tasked with tasting 925 entries to find B.C.'s best examples of 29 different beer styles, from simple lagers to highly hopped IPAs and dense barrel-aged imperial stouts.

Taking the big awards of the night were Twin City Brewing of Port Alberni, which won brewery of the year, and Hoyne Brewing of Victoria, whose Dark Matter ale won best in show.

It was also a good evening for New Westminster's Steel & Oak Brewing, which won two gold individual awards and one bronze for its beers, and Vancouver's Container Brewing (two golds) and Powell Brewery (one gold, one silver, two bronze). Dageraad Brewing of Burnaby won the most individual awards of the night, with four silvers and one bronze award.

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The awards list features almost 60 breweries in total — more than a quarter of the total listed on the B.C. Ale Trail website — highlighting the diverse strength of B.C.'s brewing scene.

Saturday evening's ceremony at the Croatian Cultural Centre was hosted by Ren Navarro of advocacy group Beer.Diversity.

People stand and talk at a high table covered in glasses and beer cans — The B.C. Beer Awards 2023 was held at at the Croatian Cultural Centre in Vancouver on Saturday. (Jan Zeschky/CBC)

Here are the full list of winners:

International Pale Lager
1. Sooke Oceanside Brewery Leechtown Lager
2. Ace Brewing Company Golden Hour Czech
3. Bomber Brewing Co. Skyline Lager

Pale Malty German Lager
1. Moody Ales & Co. Oktoberfest
2. Gladstone Brewing Company Gladstone Festbier
3. Silver Valley Brewing Co. The Highway Lager

Pale Bitter German Lager
1. White Rock Beach Beer Company Peace Arch Pilsner
2. Dageraad Brewing Helleraad
3. Trading Post Brewing Company German Pilsner

Amber Lager
1. Hoyne Brewing Co. Svec Czech Half Dark Lager
2. Abandoned Rail Brewing Co. Marzen Bavarian Lager
3. Moody Ales & Co. Vienna Amber Lager
HM Streetcar Brewing Vienna Lager

Dark Lager
1. Cannery Brewing Company Wildfire Dark Lager
2. Gladstone Brewing Company Gladstone Czech Dark Lager
3. Tofino Brewing Company Dark Lager

Strong Ale & Lager
1. Steel & Oak Brewing Co. Megalith
2. Fisher Peak Brewing Company Hellroaring Scottish Ale
3. Category 12 Brewing 8th Anniversary Barleywine 13

Kölsch
1. Love Shack Libations Killer Kölsch
2. Steamworks Brewing Co. Kölsch
3. Fernie Brewing Co. Tunnel Creek Kölsch 25

Weissbier
1. Steel & Oak Brewing Co. Sunglow
2. Batch 44 Brewery & Kitchen Not An Island Hefeweizen
3. Studio Brewing In Between Days

Hoppy UK Ale
1. Twin City Brewing Company Tickity Boo
2. Yellow Dog Brewing Co. Retriever Golden Ale
3. Powell Brewery Old Jalopy

Malty UK & Irish Ale
1. Hoyne Brewing Co. Dark Matter
2. Howe Sound Brewing Co. Rail Ale
3. Ucluelet Brewing Company St. Aiden's Porter

A small glass of beer sitting in front of some cans. — A range of beer from breweries across the province was available at the B.C. Beer Awards 2023 in Vancouver on Saturday. (Jan Zeschky/CBC)

UK & Irish Stout
1. Powell Brewery Black Velvet Stout
2. Whitetooth Brewing Co. Speed Metal FE Stout
3. Old Yale Brewing Sasquatch Stout

Fruit Beer
1. 33 Brewing Experiment Mezcal Gose
2. Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. The Love Potion
3. La Cerveceria Astilleros Paloma Grapefruit Lager

Specialty Fruit Beer
1. Field House Brewing Co. Toasted Coconut Black Lager
2. Twin City Brewing Company Out On A Limb
3. BREWHALL Beer Co. Slice Of Paradise Yuzu Wheat Ale
HM Electric Bicycle Brewing How About Breakfast? Blueberry Coffee Ale

Spiced Beer
1. Vice & Virtue Brewing Co. Sweet Salvation
2. 4 Mile Brewing Co. Level Ground Coffee Lager
3. Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company The Sprut Spruce Tip Brut IPA
HM Ucluelet Brewing Company Storm's A Brewin' Latte Stout

Smoke & Wood Aged Beer
1. Container Brewing Ltd. Barrel Aged Seawise Giant
2. Backcountry Brewing I Don't Know Half of You Half As Well As I Should Like; And I Like Less Than Half of You
3. Wildeye Brewing Embers Oak Smoked Porter

Specialty Beer
1. R&B Brewing Co. Dill Pickle Gose
2. Beere Brewing Co. Cold Open
3. Strange Fellows Brewing Nevertheless Pale Ale
HM Grey Fox Brewing Humble Lager

North American Light Lager
1. Vancouver Island Brewing Islander Lager
2. East Vancouver Brewing Company Rice Lager
3. Powell Brewery Powell Lager

North American Light Ale
1. Whitetooth Brewing Co. Whitetooth Blonde Ale
2. Gladstone Brewing Company Gladstone Cream Ale
3. Old Yale Brewing Knotty Blonde Ale

North American Pale Ale
1. HUB co. Brewing Lightspeed
2. Brassneck Brewery Wingman
3. Backcountry Brewing Trailbreaker

North American Amber & Brown Ale
1. Neighbourhood Brewing Johnny's Premium Pale Ale
2. Trading Post Brewing Company Amber Ale
3. 33 Acres Brewing Company 33 Acres Of Life

Cans of beer in a box — Cans of beer from breweries across the province were available at the B.C. Beer Awards 2023 in Vancouver on Saturday. (Jan Zeschky/CBC)

North American Porter & Stout
1. Studio Brewing Felix
2. The Noble Pig Brewhouse Art of Deception Imperial Stout
3. Dead Frog Brewery Commander Reserve 2019
HM Howe Sound Brewing Pothole Filler

North American IPA
1. Herald Street Brew Works Gonzales Bay IPA
2. Ucluelet Brewing Company South Swell West Coast IPA
3. Yellow Dog Brewing Co. Play Dead IPA

Specialty IPA
1. Deadfall Brewing Company Cold IPA
2. Powell Brewery Hop Juice
3. 4 Mile Brewing Co. Cole Island Session IPA

Hazy IPA
1. Swift Brewing Smooth Operator Citra Hazy Pale Ale
2. Backcountry Brewing Widowmaker
3. Sidekick Brewing Company Best Friend Jer - Hazy IPA

Imperial IPA
1. Container Brewing Ltd. Twice Forgotten
2. BREWHALL Beer Co. Kaboom DIPA
3. Parallel 49 Brewing Company Cobra Clutch

Belgian Ale
1. Twin City Brewing Company Nocturne
2. Dageraad Brewing Blonde
3. Dageraad Brewing Brune
HM 33 Acres Brewing Company 33 Acres Of Sunshine

Saison
1. Four Winds Brewing Co. Saison
2. Dageraad Brewing Field Theory
3. R&B Brewing Co. Picnic Table Beer

Sour and Wild Ale
1. Strange Fellows Brewing Reynard Oud Bruin
2. Dageraad Brewing Negen
3. Steel & Oak Brewing Co. Berliner Weisse

Specialty Wild Ale
1. Mount Arrowsmith Brewing Company Weekend Rambler 4.0
2. Whistle Buoy Brewing Company Zipline Gose
3. Luppolo Brewing Company Ribes Nero

Rookie of The Year
Swift Brewing (presented by Hops Connect Canada)

Innovator of the Year
Small Gods Brewing (presented by Keg Share)

Legend Award
Don Gordon, Ken Beattie (presented by B.C. Beer Awards)

Judge's Choice
Moody Ales & Co - Oktoberfest (presented by Great Little Box, Ideon Packaging)

Brewery of the Year
Twin City Brewing (presented by Tap & Barrel Group)

Best in Show
Hoyne Brewing - Dark Matter (presented by Country Malt Group)