TORONTO, ON – The winners of the 2013 Golden Tap Awards – representing the best in beer and brewing in Ontario – were announced last night at beerbistro in Toronto. This annual awards event is overseen and organized by Cass Enright, founder of The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to covering and promoting the Ontario craft brewing scene.
The winners, as selected by online voting by the general beer-drinking public, were as follows:
- Best Microbrewery in Ontario – Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill
- Best Brewery for Cask-Conditioned Ale in Ontario – Great Lakes Brewery, Toronto
- Best Bar for Draught Beer Selection in Ontario – Bar Hop, Toronto
- Best Bar for Bottled Beer Selection in Ontario – Bar Volo, Toronto
- Best Bar for Cask Ale in Ontario – Bar Volo, Toronto
- Best Brewpub or Tied House in Ontario – Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto
- Best Regularly-Produced Beer in Ontario – Muskoka Mad Tom IPA, Bracebridge
- Best Seasonal or Specialty Beer in Ontario – Kensington Fruit Stand Watermelon Wheat, Toronto
- Best Cask Ale in Ontario – Granite Hopping Mad, Toronto
- Best Beer of the Festival (based on votes at the event) – Amsterdam Space Invader APA
Five Editor’s Circle awards were also handed out, recognizing significant achievements in the Ontario beer industry, as determined by Enright and a panel of Bar Towel members and associates:
- Beer 4 Boobs
- Joe Sacco, owner of Smokeless Joe
- Great Lakes Brewery Tap Takeover at Pub Milos
- JP Fournier, founder of National Capital Craft Beer Week and Winterbrewed
- Amsterdam Adventure Brews