GOLD – Unsung Hero
SILVER – Best Tasting Room
BRONZE – Brewery of the Year
BRONZE – Best Sour Ale // Late Bloomer Strawberry Hibiscus Sour
BRONZE – Best Food Program
When I first visited Twin City Brewing shortly after it opened, I was blown away by the whole experience: great beer, delicious food, and a comfortable tasting room ambience. I was also really impressed with the professionalism I encountered in all my dealings with its owner, Aaron Colyn. I started singing the brewery’s praises as a “hidden gem” and was happy to see it get the recognition it deserved when it won Best in Show at the 2018 BC Beer Awards.
When the pandemic hit, my respect for Twin City Brewing only grew. Every step the business took seemed to be well thought out with an eye to keeping its staff employed while ensuring its customers were safe and happy. Wearing my other hat at the BC Ale Trail, I was thrilled when the brewery won the Best Brewery Experience Award, largely for the reasons I just listed.
As Colyn put it in an interview last fall, “Everything we do is really to lure people in and get them to have an amazing experience in Port Alberni when maybe they didn’t realize they could.” Well, they have definitely succeeded in that goal. Port Alberni is a craft beer destination now.
—Joe Wiebe