The whole team at The Growler is excited to bring back our Craft Beer & Cider Readers’ Choice Awards, also known as The Growlies, following its postponement in 2020 due to… well, you know why.
All of these awards were decided by readers like you who applied their knowledge of B.C.’s craft breweries and cideries—hard-earned through lots and lots of “research”—to pick their favourites in our online vote earlier this summer.
Tabulating the votes revealed some interesting results. In the Brewery of the Year category, the top three breweries from 2019 are at the top of the heap again this year—it’s just the order that’s different. Field House Brewing returns as the overall winner, while Four Winds Brewing and Twin City Brewing flip flop their spots from two years ago.
Overall, Four Winds Brewing and Field House Brewing are definitely the big winners this year. Four Winds placed in the top three in a whopping 13 categories, winning six golds and seven silvers. I was especially happy to see Four Winds’ Greg IPA win gold since it honours the legacy of the brewery’s co-founder/father Greg Mills who passed away last year.
Field House won eight awards, including three firsts, four seconds and one third place prize. It’s clear based on the awards Field House won that enjoying its packaged beers or visiting the brewery itself are both memorable experiences in their own way.
Superflux Beer Co., which finally opened its own brewery in 2020, also did extremely well, winning five awards including Beer of the Year for Colour & Shape IPA. And the big winner among new breweries was definitely Burnaby’s long-awaited Studio Brewing, which received more than twice as many votes as the runners-up in that category.
What is in the water in Port Alberni that turns residents into such dedicated voters? Twin City placed in several categories this year, winning the Unsung Hero award for best brewery outside of the Lower Mainland or Greater Victoria just as it did two years ago. Also in Port Alberni, Dog Mountain Brewing tied for second in the Best New Brewery category. And even though Alberni Brewing did not win any medals, I can tell you that P.A.’s newest brewery garnered a lot of votes in several categories. (Seriously, if you haven’t been to Port Alberni yet, what the heck are you waiting for??)
On the cider side, Sunday Cider was the clear winner, taking three golds including Best Cidery. Salt Spring Wild Cider took the other style category gold, and Victoria’s Sea Cider also fared well, placing second overall and winning two category medals.
So without further ado, here are your results:
Brewery of the Year
1. Field House Brewing
2. Four Winds Brewing
3. Twin City Brewing
Beer of the Year
1. Superflux Beer Co. // Colour & Shape IPA
2. Four Winds Brewing // Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour
3. Field House Brewing // Dark Sour
HM. Dageraad Brewing // Blonde
HM. Hoyne Brewing // Dark Matter
Best New Brewery
1. Studio Brewing
2. Dog Mountain Brewing (TIE)
2. Herald Street Brew Works (TIE)
Best Light Lager
1. Steel & Oak Brewing // Simple Things Pilsner
2. Four Winds Brewing // Hüftgold German-Style Pilsner
3. House of Funk Brewing // House of Lager Bavarian Lagerbier
Best Light Ale
1. Twin Sails Brewing // Dat Juice
2. Yellow Dog Brewing // Chase My Tail Pale Ale
3. Dageraad Brewing // Burnabarian Belgian Table Beer
Best Dark Lager
1. Steel & Oak Brewing // Dark Lager
2. 33 Acres Brewing // 33 Acres of Darkness
3. Moon Under Water Brewery, Distillery & Pub // Creepy Uncle Dunkel
Best Dark Ale
1. Hoyne Brewing // Dark Matter
2. Crannóg Ales // Back Hand of God Stout
3. Strange Fellows Brewing // Nocturnum Dark IPA
Best Fruit Beer
1. Four Winds Brewing // Vélo Hazy APA with Lemon Juice
2. Twin Sails Brewing // Would Crush Raspberry Wheat Ale
3. Phillips Brewing // Crangerine Dream Cranberry Tangerine Ale
Best Wheat Ale
1. 33 Acres Brewing // 33 Acres of Sunshine
2. Strange Fellows Brewing // Jongleur Wit
3. Fernie Brewing // What The Huck Huckleberry Wheat Ale
HM. Dageraad Brewing // White
Best Belgian-Style Ale
1. Dageraad Brewing // Blonde
2. Four Winds Brewing // Triplicity Belgian-Style Tripel
3. Brassneck Brewery // Stockholm Syndrome Farmhouse Saison
Best West Coast IPA
1. Four Winds Brewing // Greg IPA
2. Driftwood Brewery // Fat Tug IPA
3. Yellow Dog Brewing // Play Dead IPA
Best East Coast IPA
1. Superflux Beer Co. // Colour and Shape IPA
2. Field House Brewing // Anniversary Hazy IPA
3. Backcountry Brewing // Widowmaker IPA
Best Specialty IPA
1. Four Winds Brewing // Juxtapose Wild IPA
2. Field House Brewing // Hazy Sour Double IPA
3. Superflux Beer Co. // Coconuts IPA
Best Imperial Ale
1. Twin Sails Brewing // Bourbon Barrel Aged Con Leche Imperial Horchata Stout
2. Four Winds Brewing // Boreas 2021 Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
3. Steel & Oak Brewing // Honk Honk Double IPA
Best Sour Ale
1. Four Winds Brewing // Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour
2. Field House Brewing // Dark Sour
3. Twin City Brewing // Late Bloomer Strawberry Hibiscus Sour
Best Collab Beer
1. Four Winds Brewing & friends // Pils Pack 2
2. Superflux & friends // Everyone Else Said No
3. S&O X 33A // IPA
Best Weird Beer
1. R&B Brewing // Dill Pickle Gose
2. Andina Brewing // Extraña Mango Ghost Pepper IPA (TIE)
2. Backcountry Brewing // The Jeffery (TIE)
Best Low Alcohol Beer or Cider
1. Parallel 49 Brewing // Tricycle Radler
2. Four Winds Brewing // Sour Weisse
3. Île Sauvage Brewing // Achtung Berliner Weisse
HM. Vancouver Island Brewing // Magic Hour Grapefruit Gose
Unsung Hero
1. Twin City Brewing (Port Alberni)
2. Land & Sea Brewing (Comox)
3. Three Ranges Brewing (Valemount)
Best Tasting Room
1. Field House Brewing
2. CAMP Beer Co. (TIE)
2. Four Winds Brewing (TIE)
2. Twin City Brewing (TIE)
Best Food Program
1. Four Winds Brewing
2. Field House Brewing
3. Twin City Brewing
Best Branding / Packaging
1. Field House Brewing
2. Superflux Beer Co.
3. Backcountry Brewing
Best Local Homebrewing Store
1. Barley’s Homebrewing
2. Centennial Homebrewing Supplies
3. Hamilton Hops & Grapes
Best Craft Beer/Cider Bar
1. The Alibi Room
2. The Drake Eatery
3. Craft Beer Market
Best Craft Beer/Cider Retail Store
1. Brewery Creek Liquor Store
2. Cascadia Liquor (all locations)
3. Jak’s Beer, Wine, Spirits (all locations)
Best Craft Beer/Cider Event
1. Farmhouse Fest
2. Great Canadian Beer Festival
3. Vancouver Craft Beer Week
Best Cidery
1. Sunday Cider
2. Sea Cider Farm & Ciderhouse
3. Salt Spring Wild Cider
Best New Cidery
1. Lake Bottom Cider
2. Windfall Cider
3. Valley Cider
Best New World Cider
1. Sunday Cider // Sunday Sesh
2. Naramata Cider // Dry Apple Cider
3. Valley Cider // Bon Dri
HM. Dominion Cider // Magic Hour
Best Old World Cider
1. Salt Spring Wild Cider // Farmhouse Scrumpy
2. Sea Cider // Wild English
3. Merridale Cidery // Scrumpy
Best Specialty Cider
1. Sunday Cider // Sunday Rosé
2. Salt Spring Wild Cider // Barrel Aged Muscat
2. Sea Cider // Perry j
