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Ontario brewing awards forever tainted

Post details, reviews and recaps of interesting beer events in Ontario and elsewhere here.

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pootz
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Ontario brewing awards forever tainted

Post by pootz »

Just off the presses...were you expecting this? Of course you were. What a flake show :roll: ;

2007 ONTARIO BREWING AWARDS
MEDAL WINNERS


LIGHT LAGER
GOLD - Trafalgar Brewing for Elora Grand Lager
SILVER - Better Bitters Brewing Company for Nickel Brook Light
BRONZE - Mill Street Brewery for Mill Street Organic Lager

LAGER
GOLD - Better Bitters Brewing Company for Nickel Brook Lager
SILVER - Steelback Brewing for Steelback Red
BRONZE - Steelback Brewing for Steelback Silver

PILSNER
GOLD - Steam Whistle Brewing for Steam Whistle
SILVER - Brick Brewing Company for JR Brickman Pilsner
BRONZE - King Brewery for King Pilsner

DARK LAGER
GOLD - Steelback Brewing for Tiverton Bear Dark Lager
SILVER - Denison's Brewing Company for Denison's Dunkel
BRONZE - Brick Brewing Company for Waterloo Dark

AMBER LAGER
GOLD - Cool Beer Brewing Company Millennium Buzz Beer
SILVER - Trafalgar Brewing Paddy's Irish Red
BRONZE - Great Lakes Brewery Red Leaf Smooth Red Lager



CREAM ALE
GOLD - Niagara's Best Beer for Niagara's Best Blonde
SILVER - The Robert Simpson Brewing Co. for Robert Simpson Confederation Ale
BRONZE - Cameron's Brewing Company for Cameron's Cream Ale

PALE ALE
GOLD - Mill Street Brewery for Tankhouse Ale
SILVER - Black Oak Brewing Company for Black Oak Pale Ale
BRONZE - Niagara Falls Brewing Company for Niagara Pale Ale

AMBER ALE
GOLD - Better Bitters Brewing Company for Nickel Brook Ale
SILVER - Cameron's Brewing Company for Cameron's Auburn Ale
BRONZE - Trafalgar Brewing for Portside Amber

DARK ALE
GOLD - Hockley Valley Brewing Company Hockley Dark Traditional Ale
SILVER - Wellington Brewery Iron Duke
BRONZE - Trafalgar Brewing Elora Irish

BITTER
GOLD - Granite Brewery for Granite Best Bitter Special
SILVER - Trafalgar Brewing for Elora ESB
BRONZE - Brick Brewing Company for Connors Best Bitter

HONEY BEER
GOLD - Steelback Brewing for Tiverton Bear Honey Brown
SILVER - Brick Brewing Co Ltd for J.R. Brickman Honey Red
BRONZE - Old Credit Brewing Company for Holiday Honey

WHEAT BEER
GOLD - Denison's Brewing Company for Denison's Weissbier

SPECIALTY/FLAVOURED
GOLD - Niagara Falls Brewing Company for Eisbock
SILVER - Great Lakes Brewery for Winter Ale
BRONZE - Black Oak Brewing Company for Summer Saison

PORTER/STOUT
GOLD - Black Oak Brewing Company for Nut Cracker Porter
SILVER - Mill Street Brewery for Coffee Porter
BRONZE - Wellington Brewery for Imperial Russian Stout

BEST SELLER
GOLD - Molson Canada Coors Light
SILVER - Molson Canada Molson Canadian
BRONZE - Labatt Breweries of Canada Labatt Blue


To the Judges of this farce, I hope D'Angelo didn't have chapped lips. :wink:
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GregClow
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Post by GregClow »

Before the conspiracy theories take hold, I wanted to mention that I've been exchanging email with one of the more reputable judges for these awards (i.e. one of the ones that actually knows something about beer!), and he said that the beers we judged completely blind, and everyone involved was shocked that Steelback did so well.

Apparently, they hired a new brewmaster recently, so maybe they're actually making some decent beer now? It's been quite some time since I've tried any of their products, so I can't offer any personal opinions, but I might drop by the awards on Wednesday, and if I do, I'll make a point of sampling any Steelback brews that might be on offer to see how they are.

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Post by A »

"GOLD - Steelback Brewing for Tiverton Bear Dark Lager
SILVER - Denison's Brewing Company for Denison's Dunkel "

Yeah, right. Blind my ass :)

viggo
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Post by viggo »

AHAHAHAHHA, what a fucking joke this is. Theres like 10 categories too many for the market anyways.

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Ale's What Cures Ya
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Post by Ale's What Cures Ya »

What a retarded list. Who was on the panel? A bunch of idiotic frat-tards sampling with a funnel?

And best seller? :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

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pootz
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Post by pootz »

I think there are no apologies or excuses acceptable for these results Greg.

If the judges can't tell malt extract un lagered donkey piss from real beer, they should be run out of town.....and Frank taking ANY craft beer award for his malt extract brewing shows how bloody dumb Canadians are about beer.

I'll look into to your info about Frank getting a "brewmanster" but I fail to see what difference this will make when he keeps his plant equipment unchanged...without a mash tun or a malt grist. Extract high gravity brews with NO repeat NO conditioning cycle.

If the process has changed I'll eat my words gladly but we'll never know as long as getting a tour of the Tiverton brewery is like getting a peek in the security section of the Pentagon.

I would not put it past Frank to swap out the beer he put in front of the judges...perhaps he canned some of the beer from Michael's old brew pub he bought and put them in Steelback cans? ...that is right down his ethical line. A megalomanic narcissist will go to great expense to silence critics...as far as pulling of a petty scam at a beer awards.

I Personally know of one brewer in the contest that wants this investigated.
Last edited by pootz on Mon Apr 02, 2007 7:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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pootz
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Post by pootz »

DragonOfBlood wrote:What a retarded list. Who was on the panel? A bunch of idiotic frat-tards sampling with a funnel?

And best seller? :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:
4th annual Ontario Brewing Awards Judges:

Host Roger Mittag – Roger Mittag is the founder of Thirst For Knowledge Inc., an innovative new company that delivers creative and exciting beer events. He is also recognized as one of Canada's leading draught beer experts. Roger has been helping Canadians appreciate beer since 1997 and is currently teaching Beer Appreciation classes at Humber College.

Scott Rondeau – Scott is the Co-Founder of Toronto’s Festival of Beer which is approaching its twelfth year. He’s the Site Manager for the Juno Awards and also founded The Juno Cup; a hockey event in association with the Junos. Hockey, Music and Beer - the perfect Hat Trick! Scott is generally a big fan of beer. Hello?... He started a Beer Festival!

Bill George – Bill is a retired educator, a BJCP beer judge, and a winner of over 20 medals in North American brewing competitions. He also works part-time for the LCBO.

Robert Medal – Robert is the General Manager of the Esplanade Bier Markt, one of Canada's premier Rest-Bars and a showcase for many of the world’s top beers. Robert's background spans over 11 years in the hospitality and beverage industry with extensive experience in the beer and wine segments.

Candy Higgins – Candy is a marketing executive at NOW Magazine. A veteran of both the restaurant business and the music industry, she has traveled extensively and tasted more beer than it would be prudent to admit. As a result, she can confirm that Canadian beer (tied with Guinness) is the best beer in the world.

Graham Duncan - Graham writes the Drink Up column which appears weekly in NOW Magazine. Graham has also written about food and urban culture for the Globe and Mail and the CBC and was the restaurant reviewer for the Victoria Times Colonist.

John Tyler – John is the Global e-Commerce Manager for Kraft Foods. He has a passion for beer, especially cask conditioned ales, and is an award winning home brewer and certified beer judge.

Jon Purdy – Jon has been living and breathing beer for the last 4 years as the Marketing Manager at The Beer Store. Along with his professional experience, Jon has an overdeveloped nasal cavity and enlarged taste buds that will greatly assist him in his role of assessing various brews.

Aonghus Kealy – is the only writer with a weekly column devoted to beer in Canadian daily newspapers. He began with Sun Media’s 24 Hour Magazine and currently serves as the Food and Drink Editor at Metro Magazine. When not writing about beer, Aonghus can be found doing extensive research on the subject. Slainte!

Niki Bobko – Niki is the Promotions Coordinator at The Beer Store. Besides being a big fan of the golden beverage, she spends her days promoting the biggest Brewery Retail Outlet in the Country and helps in making some of our favourite brands available to us. Who could be better? Bless you Niki!

Josie Dye – Josie is the Midday announcer and Assistant Music Director at 102.1 The Edge. She lives and breathes Rock and Roll. How can she NOT know her beer?

Mirella Amato – Having recently returned to Toronto after living in Italy, where she reluctantly gave up beer in favour of wine (when in Rome!), Mirella has spent the past two months scrupulously retraining her taste buds to recognize the fine points of beer- her drink of choice! They are good and ready for this affair and she can't wait to treat them to Ontario’s finest.

Dan Ferracuti – Dan owns two locations of Safari Bar and Grill, both in Ajax and Toronto. Dan has been in the hospitality business for years and is he’s a HUGE lover of beer.

Lisa Dunbar – As Marketing Manager for the Ontario Craft Brewers, Lisa spends her time building the Ontario Craft Brewers' brand and promoting the virtues of our local brewing industry – who could be better?

Jeff Marek – Jeff is the host of "Leafs Lunch" along with Bill Watters on AM640 Toronto Radio heard Monday to Friday from 12-2pm. One of the country's premier hockey analysts, Marek makes frequent appearances on CBC news Morning, TSN's “Off The Record” and various TV and radio properties across the country. When you have to talk this much you appreciate quenching your thirst with a little brew.

Sara Taylor – Sara is the Manager of Communications for The Beer Store. Since beer has long been her beverage of choice, she figured - why not work for the best place to buy your suds? And after four years of getting to know beer even better at The Beer Store, she feels the best beer is the cold one in your hand!

Barry Taylor – personality on 102.1 the Edge and stand up comedian. Barry works evenings and late afternoons…the reason? His love of beer requires him to sleep in. He’s that dedicated to the hops and barley.

Zach Slootsky – Zach has been organizing the annual beer review for U of T's independent weekly, “The Newspaper”, for three years now, more than doubling its size in the first year alone. He's been throwing keg parties since he turned 19 and is working now as a freelance photographer at takemorephotos.com.

Chris Kelly – Chris spends eight hours of his day as a mild mannered Software Engineer at a Fortune 500 company. This allows him to spend the other sixteen as a fine beer aficionado and avid home brewer. Chris cherishes good beer and does not abide poor ones. As such, Chris looks forward to having his say in which beers are the best that Ontario has to offer.

Jason Davis – Jason is a Financial Systems Specialist on Bay Street. Small-cog-in-the-machine by day, Jason has honed his social networking skills over pints by night. Jason cherishes this newfound opportunity to praise beer while perched on a bar stool.

Josh Rubin – Josh has been drinking good, craft-brewed beer for as long as he can remember. He's spent many a happy afternoon and evening sipping from Bavarian masskrugs, Belgian chalices and English pint glasses across Canada and other great beer countries. These days, he's also the beer writer for the Toronto Star.
Last edited by pootz on Tue Apr 03, 2007 6:56 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Ale's What Cures Ya
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Post by Ale's What Cures Ya »

Looks like they really went out of their way to assemble a panel of knowledgeable beer drinkers. So throwing keg parties is all it takes to get on this panel? I'm definitely submitting my name for next year!

EDIT: Although it does appear they put some token creditable judges in there.

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pootz
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Post by pootz »

viggo wrote:AHAHAHAHHA, what a fucking joke this is. Theres like 10 categories too many for the market anyways.
Ya sure it is but you know Frank will be wearing a shit-eating grin for pulling off this caper....he had to do something...his extract-brewed donkey piss wasn't selling.

As I say we should check to see if it was ,in fact, steelback product that went through the tivertonn plant the judges sampled...if so, we have a judging panel that is living proof that Canadians cant tell shit extract brew from real beer.
Last edited by pootz on Mon Apr 02, 2007 8:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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pootz
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Post by pootz »

DragonOfBlood wrote:Looks like they really went out of their way to assemble a panel of knowledgeable beer drinkers. So throwing keg parties is all it takes to get on this panel? I'm definitely submitting my name for next year!

EDIT: Although it does appear they put some token creditable judges in there.
I was thrilled that there were "marketing" people there giving their spin to crafted beer judging :roll:
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Ale's What Cures Ya
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Post by Ale's What Cures Ya »

pootz wrote:
DragonOfBlood wrote:Looks like they really went out of their way to assemble a panel of knowledgeable beer drinkers. So throwing keg parties is all it takes to get on this panel? I'm definitely submitting my name for next year!

EDIT: Although it does appear they put some token creditable judges in there.
I was thrilled that there were "marketing" people there giving their spin to crafted beer judging :roll:
Me too. And a radio show host. She knows rock and roll so she must know beer. That's gotta be the most logical thing I've ever heard!

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Post by viggo »

Thats funny stuff. Do these awards mean anything any more? Isn't that like the 400th time in a row Tankhouse has won best pale ale?

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pootz
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Post by pootz »

viggo wrote:Thats funny stuff. Do these awards mean anything any more? Isn't that like the 400th time in a row Tankhouse has won best pale ale?
Short answer NO..they mean SFA to anyone in the know who brews or has any artistic currency in the brewing industry...but public perceptions of the craft industry are built on these vacant dog and pony show awards....and you can bet your nutsack Frank will be plastering his "OBA" awards on evey damn can of his Tiverton donkey piss and slamming the ham over silencing his "critics".....that is the final insult to the craft brewing culture in this province. Denison's placement was an indication that this may have been the result of plain rank inexperience and untrained palates.

There needs to be a credible beer judging event in this province that can bee trusted to judge professionally.
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GregClow
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Post by GregClow »

pootz wrote:I would not put it past Frank to swap out the beer he put in front of the judges...perhaps he canned some of the beer from Michael's old brew pub he bought and put them in Steelback cans?
I've heard that the plans for a Steelback-affiliated brewpub in that location have fallen through, actually. Although as always, anything can still happen.

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Post by Steve Spong »

pootz wrote:
DragonOfBlood wrote: Zach Slootsky – Zach has been organizing the annual beer review for U of T's independent weekly, “The Newspaper”, for three years now, more than doubling its size in the first year alone. He's been throwing keg parties since he turned 19 and is working now as a freelance photographer at takemorephotos.com.
You know, it's funny - no slight to Zach - I actually used to write the Newspaper's beer column for a while last year. The reason being I was so horrified at the beer review's results. :-? I'm afraid to say that though he was a helluva nice guy, Zach's beer knowledge is limited.
"All right, brain, I don't like you and you don't like me - so let's just do this and I'll get back to killing you with beer."

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