Best in Show Awarded to Callister Brewing’s Wee Laird Wee Heavy at the Canadian Craft Brewers Association Canada Beer Cup
B.C. breweries brought home 46 medals at the Canada Beer Cup presented by the Canadian Craft Brewers Association, including “Best in Show” for Vancouver’s Callister Brewing’s Wee Laird Wee Heavy. The Scottish Ale was matured for 10 months in freshly emptied barrels, previously used to age the famed single malt whisky, Laird of Fintry, by Okanagan Spirits.
Callister wins a specially designed trophy, hand blown by Gray Art Glass glassblowing studio in Merrickville, Ontario, that will be passed annually to the brewery creating the “Best of Show” beer as determined by a group of national and international judges.
“We are very proud of all the BC breweries who entered the inaugural Canada Beer Cup,” commented Ken Beattie, Executive Director of the BC Craft Brewers Guild. “The regional diversity of the award winners showcases the strength of the brewing community across the province. We are especially pleased to congratulate Callister Brewery in East Vancouver for winning the inaugural Canada Beer Cup!”
The 2022 Canada Beer Cup results were announced as part of a live-streamed event on Sunday, October 23, with beer lovers tuning in from coast to coast to see how their favourite local breweries fare. B.C. breweries achieved excellent results, with 29 different breweries winning a total of 46 awards, about 26% of the 176 total awards.
“Congratulations to all the award winners and thank you to everyone who entered. There’s no doubt our craft beer is among the best in the world,” said Chloe Smith, Canada Beer Cup co-chair and general manager of Townsite Brewing in Powell River.
In total, more than 200 breweries from all across Canada submitted over 1,300 entries and the judging took place over three intense days. The 40-member judging panel was individually selected by Canada Beer Cup’s head judge, beer writer and author Stephen Beaumont, who stated that, “Canadian beer was for the first time judged not simply by the best judges in this country, but also by top-ranked judges from the United States, Great Britain, Sweden, and Italy.”
Callister Brewing impressively took home three medals in total. Their Wee Laird Wee Heavy won gold in the Wood-Influenced category before being chosen as Best in Show; Cuban Taxi Guava Gose won gold in the Gose category; and In Bloom Lambic Style Ale won bronze in the Spontaneously Fermented Beer category. Callister Brewing, which opened in 2015, is located on Franklin Street and is part of the Yeast Vancouver Ale Trail.
B.C. breweries that also won three medals:
- Container Brewing (Vancouver): two silvers for Seawise Giant and Three Legged Mare and a bronze for Seeing Doppel.
- KPU Brew Lab (Langley): gold for Das Fest and bronze medals for Birra Rossa and Italian Pilsner.
- Dageraad Brewing (Burnaby): silver for Field Theory and bronzes for Blonde and Brune.
Other big winners from B.C.:
- Dog Mountain Brewing (Port Alberni): two golds for Lit Wit and Technically a Blonde.
- Farm Country Brewing (Langley): two golds for Farmhouse Ale and Sausage Party.
B.C.’s gold medal winners:
- Naked Fox IPA – Main Street Brewing
- Pursuit Pilsner – Neighbourhood Brewing
- Blue Buck Ale – Phillips Brewing and Malting
- The Lion: ESB – Silver Valley Brewing
B.C.’s silver medal winners:
- Wingman Pale Ale – Ace Brewing
- Backroads Saison – Backroads Brewing
- Azedo Tropical Fruit Sour – BREWHALL Beer
- Continuum – Category 12 Brewing
- Crystal Chair Pilsner – Coast Mountain Brewing
- Featherweight IPA – Four Winds Brewing
- Abbey Quad – Howe Sound Brewing
- Woolly Bugger – Howe Sound Brewing
- Good News – Settlement Brewing
- Leechtown Lager – Sooke Oceanside Brewery
- Frolf – Steel & Oak Brewing
- Dissimulator – Twin City Brewing
- Retriever Golden Ale – Yellow Dog Brewing
B.C.’s bronze medal winners:
- 33 Acres of Darkness – 33 Acres Brewing
- 33 Acres of Life – 33 Acres Brewing
- Tanada Rice Lager – Bomber Brewing
- Slice of Paradise Yuzu Wheat Ale – BREWHALL Beer
- Lakeboat Lager – Cannery Brewing
- Belgian Golden Strong – Category 12 Brewing
- Salted Black Porter – Field House Brewing
- Happle Place Pale Ale – Neighbourhood Brewing
- Banana Pancakes Hefeweizen – North Point Brewing
- Working Class Hero Dark Mild – Riot Brewing
- Lemon Lime Gose – Townsite Brewing
- Chromograph – Twin City Brewing
The complete list of winners is available on the Canada Beer Cup website.
