TORONTO, ON - TAPS Media has announced the details for this year’s 10th annual edition of the Canadian Brewing Awards.

Set to take place June 8th and 9th in Montreal during the 19th annual Mondial de la bière festival, this year’s CBAs will be the first to take place outside of Toronto, and will also be moving from the fall to the spring. The former change marks TAPS Media’s new commitment to move the event to a different location each year, while the latter is being done to allow winning breweries to “capitalize on and promote their achievements throughout the busy summer season.”

Also new this year is an accompanying daylong conference featuring speakers, seminars and events geared toward Canadian brewing professionals.

Judging for the 2012 CBAs will take place in May, and will be full sanctioned by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP).

For more details, see the full press release on the Canadian Brewing Awards website.

VANCOUVER, BC – The Vancouver branch of the Campaign for Real Ale Society British Columbia (CAMRA BC) held its 2012 Annual General Meeting this past weekend, during which the winners were announced for the annual CAMRA Vancouver members poll recognizing the best in the city’s craft beer and brewing scene.

Here’s the full list of winners:

Best Local Brewpub
Gold – Central City Brewing Company
Silver – Steamworks Brewing Company
Bronze – Yaletown Brewing Company

Best BC Brewpub
Gold – Central City Brewing Company
Silver – Howe Sound Brewing
Bronze – Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

Best BC Brewery (non-brewpub)
Gold – Driftwood Brewery
Silver – Red Racer Beer
Bronze – Phillips Brewing Co

Best Local Beer Establishment (Café, Bar, Pub, Taphouse, Restaurant, etc)
Gold – Alibi Room
Silver – St. Augustine’s
Bronze – The Whip Gallery Restaurant

Best Local Beer Server/Bartender (knowledge, enthusiasm for Craft Beer)
Gold – Nigel Springthorpe
Silver – Alibi Room – All Servers & Bartenders
Bronze – St. Augustine’s – All Servers & Bartenders

Best Local Private Liquor Store (beer selection & service)
Gold – Firefly Fine Wines & Ales – TIE
Gold – Brewery Creek Liquor Store – TIE
Silver – Legacy Liquor Store
Bronze – Central City Liquor Store

Best Local Cask Night
Gold – The Whip Gallery Restaurant – Real Ale Sundays
Silver – St. Augustine’s – Manichean Mondays
Bronze – Yaletown Brewing Company – Making it Real (Ale)

Best Local Beer Event
Gold – Vancouver Craft Beer Week
Silver – CAMRA Vancouver & Malone’s Urban Drinkery – Oktoberfest & Harvestfest  - TIE
Silver – Central City Summer Cask Festival – TIE
Bronze – Alibi Room 300^th Tap Rotation

Best BC Beer
Note: this is a beer must be available throughout the year, not an event one-off or a seasonal
Gold – Driftwood Brewery – Fat Tug IPA
Silver – Red Racer Beer – IPA
Bronze – Crannog Ales – Back Hand of God – TIE
Bronze – Red Racer Beer – ESB – TIE

Best BC Seasonal Beer
Gold – Driftwood Brewery – Sartori Harvest IPA
Silver – Driftwood Brewery – Flanders Red
Bronze – Central City Brewing Company – Thor’s Hammer Barley Wine

Best Local Beer Blogger or Writer
Gold – Leo Nomoto – Vancouver Beer Blog
Silver – Paddy Treavor – VanEast  Beer Blog
Bronze – Barley Mowat

REGINA, SK– From April 9 to 14, 2012, the best homebrewers from across Canada will compete in Regina at the 2012 National Homebrew Competition Canadian Qualifier & ALES Homebrew Open.

Now in its 18th year, the ALES Homebrew Open is the largest and longest running competition of homebrewed beer, cider and mead in Canada. It is organized by Regina’s Ale and Lager Enthusiasts of Saskatchewan (ALES) club, and is hosted by the Bushwakker Brewpub.

Medal winners from this competition advance to the 2nd round of the American Homebrewers Association National Homebrew Competition, the largest competition of its kind in the world, taking place June 21 to 23 in Seattle during the AHA National Homebrewers Conference. Additionally, any medals won earn points towards the Canadian Brewer of the Year award for 2012.

Prizes and medals will be awarded in 28 categories of beer, cider and mead as classified by the internationally recognized Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). Certified judges will be evaluating entries in accordance with BJCP style guidelines and scoring systems, and awarding gold, silver and bronze medals in each category, along with an assortment of prizes donated by sponsors from throughout North America.

Submission details and other information about the competition can be found on the ALES website, or by emailing competition@alesclub.com.

Now, Great Lakes Brewery is about to release another of the award winning brews. Created by Zack Weinberg of homebrew suppliers Toronto Brewing, Kama Stoutra Indian Imperial Stout is a strong stout made with various flavourings including Madras curry, cayenne pepper, cumin and toasted coconut.

Weinberg and Great Lakes brewer Mike Lackey brewed a batch of Kama Stoutra in late November on the brewery’s pilot system. The results will be on tap at the next edition of Great Lakes’ monthly open house event Project X on Thursday January 12th. A limited amount may be also be made available in 650 ml bottles at the brewery store.

HALIFAX, NS

Entrants will produce a 5 gallon/20 litre batch of this year’s chosen style – Rye IPA – and submit it for judging & prizes. The grand prize includes a day with Garrison’s award-winning brewmaster Daniel Girard brewing a full batch of the winning recipe to be released in bottles as a limited edition seasonal, and there are also prizes from contest sponsor Noble Grape.

The deadline for registering and submitting samples for judging is Monday, February 27, 2011. For more details, see the Ultimate Brew-Off website.

VICTORIA, BC

Several categories had winners named in each state and province that falls into the NWBN distribution area, with BC winners including the following:

Best Brewery: Phillips Brewing, Victoria
Best Brewery Runner Up: Driftwood Brewing, Victoria
Best Brewpub: Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub, Victoria
Best Alehouse/Pub: The Alibi Room, Vancouver
Best Bartender: Nigel Springthorpe, The Alibi Room, Vancouver
Best Beer Store: Brewery Creek, Vancouver
Best Homebrew Shop: Dan’s Homebrewing, Vancouver

Best beers, meanwhile, were selected from products available in the entire area (Alaska, BC, Washington, Oregon & Northern California), and chosen by style. Winning beers from British Columbia included:

Best IPA: Driftwood Fat Tug IPA
Best ESB: Central City Red Racer ESB
Best Barley Wine: Central City Thor’s Hammer
Best Herb or Spice Beer: Saltspring Island Heather Ale
Best Cider: Sea Cider Rumrunner

The full list of winners can be found on the NWBN website.

One of the participating breweries was Amsterdam Brewing, and they’ve announced that winning brewer Jeremy Skorochid recently visited for a brew day. The result was a production batch of Skorochid’s Black IPA recipe, The Nightman Cometh.

Similar to last year’s winner, Teichert Smoked Porter, the beer will be available exclusively at the Amsterdam retail store where it will be sold in 500 ml bottles on a first come first served basis. It’s expected to be released in early December.

La route des grands crus de la bière by Martin Thibault and David Lévesque Gendron was awarded Gold in the “Special Interest Category, French-Language”. The book covers many aspects of beer and brewing, with a special focus on the breweries of Quebec and New England, and content including brewery profiles, tasting notes, and suggested travel routes to visit many of the featured breweries.

In addition to the book, Martin and David are authors of Les Coureurs des Boires, a French-language blog on beer travel.

LONDON, UK

The annual competition features hundreds of beers from around the world, with regional heats of blind tastings taking place for Europe, Asia and The Americas, followed by a final tasting of style winners from each region to select the World’s Best.

Canadian winners for this year included:

World’s & The Americas Best Abbey/Trappist Pale Ale - Le Trou Du Diable La Buteuse
World’s & The Americas Best Seasonal Pale Ale – Voie Maltee Graincheuse
World’s & The Americas Best Standard Pale Ale – Unibroue Blonde De Chambly
World’s & The Americas Best Fruit Wheat Beer – Unibroue Ephemere Cassis
World’s & The Americas Best Spiced Wheat Beer – Unibroue Blanche De Chambly
The Americas Best Amber Pale Ale – Unibroue Maudite
The Americas Best Blonde/Golden Pale Ale – Unibroue La Fin Du Monde
The Americas Best Flavoured Dark Ale – Unibroue Quelque Chose
The Americas Best Premium Lager – Moosehead Lager
The Americas Best Standard Lager – Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager
The Americas Best Strong Dark Ale – Le Trou Du Diable La Grivoise de Noel
The Americas Best Strong Wheat Beer – Unibroue Don De Dieu

TORONTO, ON

The full list of winners follows below:

Beer of the Year – Fat Tug IPA, Driftwood Brewing Co. (BC)

Brewery of the Year – Picaroon’s Traditional Ales (NB)

North American Style Lager
Gold: Moosehead Lager, Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
Silver: Carling Lager, Molson Coors Canada
Bronze: Red Baron Lager, Brick Brewing Co. (ON)

North American Style Premium Lager
Gold: Muskoka Craft Lager, Muskoka Brewery (ON)
Silver: Great Western Pilsner, Great Western Brewing Co. (SK)
Bronze: Brewhouse Pilsner, Great Western Brewing Co. (SK)

European Style Lager (Pilsner)
Gold: Creemore Traditional Pilsner, Creemore Springs Brewery (ON)
Silver: Rickard’s Blonde, Molson Coors Canada
Bronze: Overboard Imperial Pilsner, Lighthouse Brewing Co. (BC)

North American Style Amber Lager
Gold: King Vienna Lager, King Brewery (ON)
Silver: Buzz Beer, Cool Beer Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Thirsty Beaver Amber Ale, Tree Brewing Co. (BC)

North American Style Dark Lager
Gold: King Dark Lager, King Brewery (ON)
Silver: Hermann’s Dark Lager, Vancouver Island Brewery (BC)
Bronze: Brewmaster’s Black Lager, Okanagan Spring Brewery (BC)

Light (Calorie-Reduced) Lager
Gold: Carling Light, Molson Coors Canada
Silver: Moosehead Light, Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
Bronze: Molson Canadian 67, Molson Coors Canada

Bock – Traditional German Style
Gold: Hermannator Ice Bock, Vancouver Island Brewery (BC)
Silver: Navigator Doppelbock, Lighthouse Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Captivator Doppelbock, Tree Brewing Co. (BC)

Kellerbier
Gold: Creemore Kellerbier, Creemore Springs Brewery (ON)
Silver: Helles, Microbrasserie Hopfenstark (QC)
Bronze: Howe Sound Lager, Howe Sound Brewing Co. (BC)

Porter
Gold: Coffee Porter, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Silver: La Gaspesienne No. 13, Microbrasserie Pit Caribou (QC)
Bronze: Muskoka Dark Ale, Muskoka Brewery (ON)

Strong Porter (Baltic)
Gold: Grand Baltic Porter, Garrison Brewing Co. (NS)
Silver: Porter, Okanagan Spring Brewery (BC)

Cream Ale
Gold: Northumberland Ale, Church Key Brewing (ON)
Silver: Original 16, Great Western Brewing Co. (SK)
Bronze: Sleeman Cream Ale, Sleeman Breweries

Kolsch
Gold: High County Kolsch, Mt. Begbie Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Harvest Moon Organic Hemp Ale, Nelson Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Analog 78, Phillips Brewing Co. (BC)

North American Style Amber/Red Ale
Gold: Sea Dog Amber Ale, Vancouver Island Brewery (BC)
Silver: Yukon Red Amber, Yukon Brewing Co. (YT)
Bronze: La Bringue, Acadie-Broue Inc. (NB)

North American Style Blonde/Golden Ale
Gold: Red Cap, Brick Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: Moosehead Pale Ale, Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
Bronze: Garibaldi Honey Pale Ale, Howe Sound Brewing Co. (BC)

Brown Ale
Gold: Brown Ale, Mill Street Brewery (ON)
Silver: Nut Brown, Amsterdam Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Bytown Brown Ale, Clocktower Brewpub (ON)

Scotch Ale
Gold: St. Ambroise Scotch Ale, McAuslan Brewing Inc. (QC)
Silver: Scotch Ale, Swans Buckerfields Brewery (BC)
Bronze: Wellington Iron Duke, Wellington Brewery. (ON)

English Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: Best Bitter, Picaroon’s Traditional Ales (NB)
Silver: Baldwin and Cooper Best Bitter, Howe Sound Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Pandora Pale Ale, Swans Buckerfields Brewery (BC)

North American Style Pale Ale (Bitter)
Gold: Crazy Canuck Pale Ale, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Silver: Miami Weiss, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Bronze: East Side Bitter, R&B Brewing Co. (BC)

Wheat Beer – Belgian Style White/Wit
Gold: Belgian Wit, Granville Island Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Oranje Weiss, Amsterdam Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Blanche de Chambly, Unibroue (QC)

Wheat Beer – German Style Hefeweizen
Gold: Hill’s Special Wheat, Yaletown Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Summer Weiss, Muskoka Brewery (ON)
Bronze: True North Wunder Weisse, Magnotta Brewery (ON)

Wheat Beer – North American Style
Gold: Sir John A Honey Wheat, Gahan Brewery (PEI)
Silver: Grasshopper Wheat, Big Rock Brewery (AB)
Bronze: Dooryard Summer Ale, Picaroon’s Traditional Ales (NB)

Belgian Style Abbey Ale
Gold: Dominus Vobiscum Hibernus, Microbrasserie Charlevoix (QC)
Silver: Dominus Vobiscum Triple, Microbrasserie Charlevoix (QC)
Bronze: Noire de Chambly, Unibroue (QC)

Belgian Style Strong Specialty Ale
Gold: Don de Dieu, Unibroue (QC)
Silver: Trois Pistoles, Unibroue (QC)
Bronze: Quatre-Centieme, Unibroue (QC)

English Style Barley Wine
Gold: Thor’s Hammer, Central City Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: St. Ambroise Vintage Ale, McAuslan Brewing Inc. (QC)
Bronze: Woolly Bugger, Howe Sound Brewing Co. (BC)

American Style Barley Wine
Gold: Frappabord, Microbrasserie du Lac Saint-Jean (QC)
Silver: Unicorn Ale, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Ol’ Fog Burner, Garrison Brewing Co. (NS)

Stout
Gold: Timber Hog Stout, Picaroon’s Traditional Ales (NB)
Silver: Diamond Head Oatmeal Stout, Howe Sound Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout, McAuslan Brewing Inc. (QC)

Imperial Stout
Gold: Tartan Tsar Russian Imperial Stout, Bushwakker Brewing Co. (SK)
Silver: Dude Where’s My Czar?, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Stout Imperiale, Microbrasserie La Chouape (QC)

English Style India Pale Ale
Gold: Beaver River, Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: Hoppelganger IPA, R&B Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Yippee IPA, Picaroon’s Traditional Ales (NB)

American Style India Pale Ale
Gold: Fat Tug IPA, Driftwood Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Mad Tom IPA, Muskoka Brewery (ON)
Bronze: Citra IPA, Dead Frog Brewery (BC)

Imperial India Pale Ale
Gold: Ten Bitter Years, Black Oak Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: Red Racer Imperial, Central City Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Hop Head Double IPA, Tree Brewing Co. (BC)

French and Belgian Style Saison
Gold: No Chance With Miranda, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)
Silver: Saison Station 55, Microbrasserie Hopfenstark (QC)
Bronze: Nit Wit, Garrison Brewing Co. (NS)

Special Honey/Maple Lager or Ale
Gold: Sap Sucker Maple Porter, Fernie Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: Cypress Honey Lager, Granville Island Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Royal York Stinger, Mill Street Brewery (ON)

Fruit Beer
Gold: Pepper Lime Lager, Dead Frog Brewery (BC)
Silver: St. Ambroise Raspberry Ale, McAuslan Brewing Inc. (QC)
Bronze: Ginger Beer, Granville Island Brewing Co. (BC)

Fruit Wheat Beer
Gold: Framboise, Amsterdam Brewing Co. (ON)
Silver: Ephemere Pommes, Unibroue (QC)
Bronze: Thai Wheat, Pump House Brewery Ltd. (NB)

Pumpkin Beer
Gold: St. Ambroise Pumpkin Ale, McAuslan Brewing Inc. (QC)
Silver: Pumpkineater Imperial Pumpkin Ale, Howe Sound Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Highballer Pumpkin Ale, Grand River Brewing Co. (ON)

Wood and Barrel Aged Beer
Gold: Serendipity #3, Tree Brewing Co. (BC)
Silver: American Whisky Barrel, Cameron’s Brewing Co. (ON)
Bronze: Winter Ale Barrel-Aged, Great Lakes Brewery (ON)

Wood and Barrel Aged Strong Beer
Gold: Buteuse Brassin Special, Microbrasserie Le Trou Du Diable (QC)
Silver: Singularity Russian Imperial Stout, Driftwood Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: Ol’ Fog Burner (Glenora Barrel-Aged), Garrison Brewing Co. (NS)

Wood and Barrel Aged Sour Beer
Gold: Dulcis Succubus, Microbrasserie Le Trou Du Diable (QC)
Silver: Yaletown Oud Bruin, Yaletown Brewing Co. (BC)

Experimental Beer
Gold: Cache-a-epices, Microbrasserie du Lac Saint-Jean (QC)
Silver: Megadestroyer Imperial Licorice Stout, Howe Sound Brewing Co. (BC)
Bronze: 666, Le Saint-Bock Brasserie Artisanale (QC)