It’s always exciting to reveal the winners of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards (aka The Growlies), partially because it takes so long to get to this moment. First of all, there is a year of hard work performed by B.C.’s 220+ breweries. 

Next, comes the tasting period—this is done by you and me and everybody else who samples the beers released by all those breweries. Then, with the help of a diverse panel of beer experts, we narrow down all those thousands of beers into categories with no more than 10 nominations to choose from. Finally, we ask readers to go online and vote for their favourites. By this point, the anticipation is almost excruciating!

So crack a beer and check the lists of winners below. There might be some surprises there. Did your favourite win? Maybe you’re inspired to try something new. 

Congratulations to all the breweries that won a Growlie, and thank you to all our readers for taking the time to cast your votes.   

Cheers! —Joe Wiebe

Best Beer in B.C.

1. Superflux Beer Co. // Colour & Shape IPA
2. Driftwood Brewery // Fat Tug IPA
3. Electric Bicycle Brewing // Atomic Jam Raspberry Sour

Best Brewery in B.C.

1. Superflux Beer Co.
2. Dageraad Brewing
3. Camp Beer Co. 

Best New Brewery 

(Opened between June 1, 2021 and June 1, 2022)
1. Shaketown Brewing
2. Locality Brewing
3. Abandoned Rail Brewing Co.

Best Light Lager

1. Four Winds Brewing Co. // Hüftgold Pilsner
2. Steel & Oak Brewing Co. // Simple Things Pilsner
3. Dageraad Brewing // Dagerlaager 

Best Light Ale

1. Twin Sails Brewing // Dat Juice
2. Dageraad Brewing // Burnabarian
3. Yellow Dog Brewing Co. // Chase My Tail Pale Ale

Best Dark Lager

1. Field House Brewing Co. // Toasted Coconut Dark Lager
2. 33 Acres Brewing Co. // 33 Acres of Darkness
3. Steel & Oak Brewing Co. // Dark Lager

Best Dark Ale

1. Hoyne Brewing Co. // Dark Matter
2. Crannóg Ales // Back Hand of God Stout
3. Field House Brewing Co. // Salted Black Porter

Best Fruit Beer

1. Four Winds Brewing Co. // Vélo Hazy APA with Lemon Juice
2. Twin Sails Brewing // Would Crush
3. Superflux Beer Co. // Heavy Fruit (Mixed Berry)

Best Wheat Ale

1. 33 Acres Brewing Co. // 33 Acres of Sunshine
2. Strange Fellows Brewing // Jongleur Wit
3. Dageraad Brewing // White

Best Belgian-Style Ale

1. Dageraad Brewing // Blonde
2. Four Winds Brewing Co. // Triplicity
3. Brassneck Brewery // Stockholm Syndrome

Best Sour Ale

1. Four Winds Brewing Co. // Nectarous Dry Hopped Sour
2. Île Sauvage Brewing Co. // Raspberry Sour
3. Twin City Brewing // Late Bloomer Strawberry Hibiscus Sour

Best West Coast IPA

1. Driftwood Brewery // Fat Tug IPA
2. Four Winds Brewing Co. // Greg IPA
3. Superflux Beer Co. // Happyness

Best East Coast IPA

1. Superflux Beer Co. // Colour & Shape
2. The Parkside Brewery // Dreamboat Hazy IPA
3. Backcountry Brewing // Widowmaker IPA

Best Specialty IPA

1. Four Winds Brewing Co. // Juxtapose Wild IPA
2. Superflux Beer Co. // Coconuts IPA
3. Driftwood Brewery // Sartori Harvest IPA

Best Imperial Ale

1. Driftwood Brewery // Singularity
2. Twin Sails Brewing // Bourbon Barrel Aged Con Leche Imperial Horchata Stout
3. Another Beer Co. // Hold My Beer IIIPA

Best Weird Beer

1. Superflux Beer Co. // The Creamery Blueberry Cheesecake
2. Twin City Brewing • Gee Willikers! Root Beer Float Altbier
3. R&B Brewing • Dill Pickle Gose

Best B.C. Collab

1. Dageraad Brewing x Four Winds Brewing // Good News Everyone!
2. Camp Beer Co. x several others // Valley Vibes Coconut Passion Fruit Session Ale
3. PoCo Brothers Brewing x several others // Putin Is A Dick Ukrainian Golden Ale

Best low-alcohol beer or cider

1. Vancouver Island Brewing // Magic Hour Grapefruit Gose
2. House of Funk Brewing // Flora
3. Dageraad Brewing // Tous les Jours

Cidery of the Year

1. Banditry Cider
2. Junction Orchard and Cidery
3. Sunday Cider

Best New Cidery 

(Opened between June 1, 2021 and June 1, 2022)
1. Banditry
2. Junction Orchard and Cidery
3. Windfall Cider Co.

Best New World Cider

1. Banditry Cider // Semi-Dry Apple
2. Sunday Cider // Sunday Sesh
3. Junction Orchard & Cidery // Semi Dry

Best Old World Cider

1. Sunday Cider // Sunday Wild
2. Salt Spring Wild Cider // Farmhouse Scrumpy
3. Sea Cider // Wild English

Best Specialty Cider

1. Banditry Cider // Cheeky Pash
2. Sunday Cider // Sunday Rosé
3. Sea Cider // Perry

Unsung Hero 

(Brewery outside of Metro Vancouver/Victoria)
1. Twin City Brewing (Port Alberni)
T-2. Persephone Brewing (Gibsons)
T-2. Slackwater Brewing (Penticton)
T-2. Old Yale Brewing (Chilliwack)

Best Brewery/Cidery Tasting Room

1. CAMP Beer Co.
2. Shaketown Brewing
3. Twin City Brewing

Best Food Program

1. Four Winds Brewing Co.
2. Twin City Brewing
3. Camp Beer Co.

Best Branding/Packaging

1. Superflux Beer Co.
2. Shaketown Brewing
3. Camp Beer Co. 

Best Local Homebrewing Store

1. Barley’s
2. Hamilton Hops & Grapes
3. Centennial Homebrewing Supplies

Best Craft Beer/Cider Bar

1. The Barley Merchant
2. The Alibi Room
3. The Drake Eatery

Best Craft Beer/Cider Retail Store

1. Brewery Creek Liquor Store
2. Legacy Liquor Store
3. Jak’s

Best Craft Beer/Cider Event

1. VCBW
2. Brewhalla
3. Farmhouse Fest