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Ontario Brewing Awards 2021

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

Moderators: Craig, Cass

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Cass
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Ontario Brewing Awards 2021

Post by Cass »

I had absolutely no idea this was happening yesterday. But it did. Kind of strange to have no social media or other promotion about it.

Certainly looks like only a subset of Ontario brewers submitted, which has been the case for a while.

https://ontariobrewingawards.ca/2021-winners/

2021 Winners

Standard American Beer

Gold: Manantler Craft Brewing Co. – Fifth Wheel Lager

Silver: Railway City Brewing Co. – Crew Premium Lager

Bronze: Broken Stick Brewing Company – Happy To Be Here

Honourable Mention: Kingsville Brewery – Light Eh! Lager

International Lager

Gold: Woodhouse Brewing Co. – Woodhouse Lager Beer

Silver: Cowbell Brewing Co. – Shindig

Bronze: Common Good Beer Company – Ronin Japanese Rice Lager

Czech Lager

Gold: Collective Arts Brewing – Collective Arts Toronto – Telltale Signs

Silver: Kensington Brewing Company – Normal Beer

Bronze: Flora Hall Brewing – Bohemian Style Pilsner

Pale Malty European Lager

Gold: Oranje Son Brewing – Chemistry

Silver: William Street Beer Co. – Farmstand Lager

Bronze: Stockyards Brewing – Festbier

Honourable Mention: The Grove Brew House – 1933 Oktoberfest Lager

Pale Bitter European Beer

Gold: Trestle Brewing Company – Arrow Pilsner

Silver: Lake Of Bays Brewing Co. – Aerial View Lagered Ale

Bronze: Rouge River Brewing Company – Ridges Pilsner

Amber Malty European Lager

Gold: Cameron’s Brewing Company – Beste Bock

Silver: Royal City Brewing Co. – Oktoberfest

Bronze: The Collingwood Brewery – Freestyle Oktoberfestbier

Honourable Mention: Trestle Brewing Company – Rust Never Sleeps

Amber Bitter European Beer

Gold: Walkerville Brewery – Honest Lager

Silver: Amsterdam Brewing Company – Sticke Alt

Bronze: Northern Maverick Brewing Co. – Handcrafted Lager

Dark European Lager

Gold: Quayle’s Brewery – Silver Lining

Silver: Woodhouse Brewing Co. - Black Lager Beer

Bronze: Muddy York Brewing Co. – Black Opal Schwarzbier

German Wheat Beer

Gold: Kingsville Brewery – Hefeweizen

Silver: Muddy York Brewing Co. – Haberdasher Hefeweizen

Bronze: Foundry Brewing – Beautiful Aurelia

British Bitter

Gold: Cowbell Brewing Co. – Absent Landlord

Silver: Muddy York Brewing Co. – Major Small Best Bitter

Bronze: Couchiching Craft Brewing Co. – Atherley Pale Ale

Pale Commonwealth Beer

Gold: Boshkung Brewing Co. – Kungaroo

Silver: Waterloo Brewing Ltd. – Waterloo IPA

Bronze: Longslice Brewery – Hopsta La Vista IPA

Brown British Beer

Gold: Black Gold Brewery Ltd. – What the Frack

Silver: Clifford Brewing Co. – Clifford Porter

Bronze: Overflow Brewing Company – Final Bow

Scottish Ale

Gold: Walkerville Brewery – Rob Roy Scotch Ale

Silver: (No Silver)

Bronze: (No Bronze)

Irish Beer

Gold: Longslice Brewery – The Haunting of Gibraltar Red Ale

Silver: Kensington Brewing Company – It’s a Stout

Bronze: Longslice Brewery – Slickback Stout

Dark British Beer

Gold: Storm Stayed Brewing Company – Safe Harbour

Silver: Wellington Brewery – Chocolate Milk Stout

Bronze: Muddy York Brewing Co. – Stork Derby Stout

Strong British Ale

Gold: Granite Brewery and Restaurant – Peculiar

Silver: Granite Brewery and Restaurant – Gin Lane Ale

Bronze: Sons of Kent Brewing Co. – Scotch Ale

Pale American Ale

Gold: Nickel Brook Brewing Co. – Naughty Neighbour

Silver: Dragan Brewing and Wine Company – Garnet

Bronze: Couchiching Craft Brewing Co. – Sunshine City Blonde Ale

Honourable Mention: The George Brewing Co. – Water Street

Amber and Brown American Beer

Gold: Cowbell Brewing Co. – Bobcat

Silver: Cameron’s Brewing Company – Ambear Red Ale

Bronze: Charlotteville Brewing Company – Wedgie Delight

American Porter and Stout

Gold: Muskoka Brewery – Winter Beard

Silver: Amsterdam Brewing Company – Stenhouse

Bronze: Walkerville Brewery – Kremlin Russian Imperial Stout

IPA

Gold: Royal City Brewing Co. – Exhibition Session IPA

Silver: Cowbell Brewing Co. – Boxing Bruin

Bronze: Overflow Brewing Company – Fair Warning

Strong American Ale

Gold: Four Fathers Brewing Co. – Extra Poppable Penguin Party Balloons

Silver: Gateway City Brewery – North Summit

Bronze: Stockyards Brewing – Missed Calls

European Sour Ale

Gold: Spark Beer – Manhire

Silver: Black Gold Brewery Ltd. – Berliner Style Weisse

Bronze: Publican House Brewery – Yuzu Sour

Belgian Ale

Gold: Clifford Brewing Co. – Obscured By Clouds (collaboration with Muddy York Brewing Co.)

Silver: Shacklands Brewing Co. – Wit Saison

Bronze: Spearhead Brewing Company – Queen of Wheat

Strong Belgian Ale

Gold: Meuse Brewing Company – Saison de la Meuse

Silver: Royal City Brewing Co. – Borrowed Time

Bronze: Spark Beer - Amiable

Trappist Ale

Gold: Shacklands Brewing Co. – Tripel

Silver: Shacklands Brewing Co. – Dubbel

Bronze: Meuse Brewing Company - 8

Historical Beer

Gold: (No Gold)

Silver: Full Beard Brewing Co. Inc. – Bearded Prospector

Bronze: (No Bronze)

American Wild Ale

Gold: Collective Arts Brewing – Jam Up the Mash

Silver: Flora Hall Brewing – Barrel-Aged Collection: Sour with Apricot

Bronze: Nickel Brook Brewing Co. – Zap! Pink Lemonade Sour

Honourable Mention: Little Beasts Brewing Company - Chicken

Fruit Beer

Gold: Quayle’s Brewery – Cabin Fever – Lemon Raspberry

Silver: Storm Stayed Brewing Company – Shook

Bronze: Shillow Beer Co. – Blueberry Grunt

Spiced Beer

Gold: Clifford Brewing Co. – Spider Palace

Silver: Overflow Brewing Company – Rise and Shine

Bronze: United Craft – “Tomorrow Brew Co. – Double Up Coffee Milk Stout”

Alternative Fermentables Beer

Gold: Gateway City Brewery – 137

Silver: Gateway City Brewery - 503

Smoked Beer

Gold: (No Gold)

Silver: Little Beasts Brewing Company – Ladybug

Bronze: Boshkung Brewing Co. – Campfire Rye

Wood Beer

Gold: Amsterdam Brewing Company – Double Tempest

Silver: Nickel Brook Brewing Co. – Kentucky Bastard

Bronze: Amsterdam Brewing Company – Hunter’s Moon

Honourable Mention: Little Beasts Brewing Company - Odin

Specialty Beer

Gold: Shacklands Brewing Co. – Obscure Monk

Silver: Ridge Rock Brewing Company – KOPER

Bronze: Boshkung Brewing Co. – A Quaker’s Breakfast

New England IPA

Gold: Signal Brewery – Wave

Silver: Flora Hall Brewing – North East IPA

Bronze: Wishbone Brewing Company – Carried Away

Honourable Mention: Ridge Rock Brewing Company – Guardian DDHIPA

Catharina Sour

Gold: Shacklands Brewing Co. – Razzle Blazzle

Silver: The Collingwood Brewery – Freestyle Key Lime Sour

Bronze: Wishbone Brewing Company – Jam Band Blackberry

Catharina Sour

(No medals)

Honourable Mention: Lake of Bays Brewing Co. – Low Tide

Best Of Show
Amsterdam Brewing Company – Double Tempest

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S. St. Jeb
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Post by S. St. Jeb »

Cass wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 3:40 pm Certainly looks like only a subset of Ontario brewers submitted, which has been the case for a while.
Yes, it does look like that, doesn't it.

The result that caught my eye was Black Gold's What the Frack finishing ahead of Clifford Porter in the Brown British Beer category. I actually have one that a friend brought me recently. I'll have to try it soon.

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Tapsucker
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Post by Tapsucker »

This list makes me think of those programs that were fun many years ago where you type in a random word and it generates a band and album name out of gibberish. In this case it's a brewery and a beer name. Hours of fun.

I mean, Granite Brewery and Restaurant? Oktoberfest? Clifford Brewing? Who makes this stuff up? Hilarious. :wink:
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Fans are cash cows.
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Post by seangm »

I tend to wonder how relevant these sorts of competitions are these days, especially with many breweries not entering and the sheer volume of beer that is released.

With the democratization of information and opinions it seems that the formal critical role is increasingly replaced with community sourced recommendations and feedback. I've seen it in with things like music and film as well; people (especially younger people nowadays) are more likely to eschew the opinions of traditional critics for the more crowdsourced opinions of social media. From what I can discern it comes as a sort of backlash to what can feel at times like the gatekeeping or pretense of the traditional critical role.

Personally I've valued critical opinions since they are typically represent knowledgeable people who are well trained in their field, but at the same time for many categories I could list a far superior beer to any of these winners (Godspeed for instance would dominate all the lagers in my books). This of course is largely a result of a limited pool of breweries entering in the first place, but I'm curious if people place much weight on things like this nowadays.

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Post by Cass »

I'm sure there are many breweries out there, especially ones that don't get the kind of social media & writer love as others do, which still believe awards shows are a way to break through. As long as those breweries exist, awards shows will still continue as they'll pay for their entries. And then when breweries win and promote it on their social channels, they give credibility to the shows even if beer people know the shows don't represent "the best". And then writers/beer personalities who get asked to judge or host post about it as well, which further fuels credibility even though they are often the ones most skeptical about the completeness of awards shows. It's kind of a funny cycle.

seangm
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Post by seangm »

Cass wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 11:25 am I'm sure there are many breweries out there, especially ones that don't get the kind of social media & writer love as others do, which still believe awards shows are a way to break through. As long as those breweries exist, awards shows will still continue as they'll pay for their entries. And then when breweries win and promote it on their social channels, they give credibility to the shows even if beer people know the shows don't represent "the best". And then writers/beer personalities who get asked to judge or host post about it as well, which further fuels credibility even though they are often the ones most skeptical about the completeness of awards shows. It's kind of a funny cycle.
That's a good point regarding breweries who might not get the same social media & writer acclaim, I can certainly see how an award like this would be a great promotional talking point.

I suppose in that sense it's just like awards in other industries, the Grammys for instance where the artists submit their music. There's still a prestige to winning those awards even if it rarely represents the best music or at least all the music out there.

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Post by MetalHead »

seangm wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 10:38 am I tend to wonder how relevant these sorts of competitions are these days, especially with many breweries not entering and the sheer volume of beer that is released.

With the democratization of information and opinions it seems that the formal critical role is increasingly replaced with community sourced recommendations and feedback. I've seen it in with things like music and film as well; people (especially younger people nowadays) are more likely to eschew the opinions of traditional critics for the more crowdsourced opinions of social media. From what I can discern it comes as a sort of backlash to what can feel at times like the gatekeeping or pretence of the traditional critical role.

Personally I've valued critical opinions since they are typically represent knowledgeable people who are well trained in their field, but at the same time for many categories I could list a far superior beer to any of these winners (Godspeed for instance would dominate all the lagers in my books). This of course is largely a result of a limited pool of breweries entering in the first place, but I'm curious if people place much weight on things like this nowadays.
While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying and generally find the OBA's to be not the best representation of quality in the province, Especially given the conspicuous absence of so many trendy/popular Ontario breweries I do question the last paragraph you wrote. I'm just curious if you've tasted any of the lagers that won awards? You never know maybe there is a dark horse out in the province making lagers equal to those of Godspeed. I do love Godpseed and think they make some excellent beer they are by far the only competent lager brewer in this province. Tooth and nail for example make excellent lagers though admittedly they can be batchy. But when Vim and Vigour is on it is one of the best. Juist my two cents.
Beer, not just for breakfast anymore.

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Post by matt7215 »

MetalHead wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:37 pm
seangm wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 10:38 am I tend to wonder how relevant these sorts of competitions are these days, especially with many breweries not entering and the sheer volume of beer that is released.

With the democratization of information and opinions it seems that the formal critical role is increasingly replaced with community sourced recommendations and feedback. I've seen it in with things like music and film as well; people (especially younger people nowadays) are more likely to eschew the opinions of traditional critics for the more crowdsourced opinions of social media. From what I can discern it comes as a sort of backlash to what can feel at times like the gatekeeping or pretence of the traditional critical role.

Personally I've valued critical opinions since they are typically represent knowledgeable people who are well trained in their field, but at the same time for many categories I could list a far superior beer to any of these winners (Godspeed for instance would dominate all the lagers in my books). This of course is largely a result of a limited pool of breweries entering in the first place, but I'm curious if people place much weight on things like this nowadays.
While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying and generally find the OBA's to be not the best representation of quality in the province, Especially given the conspicuous absence of so many trendy/popular Ontario breweries I do question the last paragraph you wrote. I'm just curious if you've tasted any of the lagers that won awards? You never know maybe there is a dark horse out in the province making lagers equal to those of Godspeed. I do love Godpseed and think they make some excellent beer they are by far the only competent lager brewer in this province. Tooth and nail for example make excellent lagers though admittedly they can be batchy. But when Vim and Vigour is on it is one of the best. Juist my two cents.
Sonnen Hill is killing the lager game, give them a try

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MetalHead
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Post by MetalHead »

matt7215 wrote: Wed Dec 15, 2021 9:38 am
MetalHead wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:37 pm
seangm wrote: Mon Dec 13, 2021 10:38 am I tend to wonder how relevant these sorts of competitions are these days, especially with many breweries not entering and the sheer volume of beer that is released.

With the democratization of information and opinions it seems that the formal critical role is increasingly replaced with community sourced recommendations and feedback. I've seen it in with things like music and film as well; people (especially younger people nowadays) are more likely to eschew the opinions of traditional critics for the more crowdsourced opinions of social media. From what I can discern it comes as a sort of backlash to what can feel at times like the gatekeeping or pretence of the traditional critical role.

Personally I've valued critical opinions since they are typically represent knowledgeable people who are well trained in their field, but at the same time for many categories I could list a far superior beer to any of these winners (Godspeed for instance would dominate all the lagers in my books). This of course is largely a result of a limited pool of breweries entering in the first place, but I'm curious if people place much weight on things like this nowadays.
While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying and generally find the OBA's to be not the best representation of quality in the province, Especially given the conspicuous absence of so many trendy/popular Ontario breweries I do question the last paragraph you wrote. I'm just curious if you've tasted any of the lagers that won awards? You never know maybe there is a dark horse out in the province making lagers equal to those of Godspeed. I do love Godpseed and think they make some excellent beer they are by far the only competent lager brewer in this province. Tooth and nail for example make excellent lagers though admittedly they can be batchy. But when Vim and Vigour is on it is one of the best. Juist my two cents.
Sonnen Hill is killing the lager game, give them a try
Totally Agree Sonnen Hill is great! I really like their funky saisons as well as their lagers I recently had their smoked lager and the Honey lager collabe they did with Collective Arts Toronto pub and both were excellent.
Beer, not just for breakfast anymore.

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Craig
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Post by Craig »

I drank a lot of Willibald lagers this summer. Great spot to visit too.

seangm
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Post by seangm »

MetalHead wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:37 pm While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying and generally find the OBA's to be not the best representation of quality in the province, Especially given the conspicuous absence of so many trendy/popular Ontario breweries I do question the last paragraph you wrote. I'm just curious if you've tasted any of the lagers that won awards? You never know maybe there is a dark horse out in the province making lagers equal to those of Godspeed. I do love Godpseed and think they make some excellent beer they are by far the only competent lager brewer in this province. Tooth and nail for example make excellent lagers though admittedly they can be batchy. But when Vim and Vigour is on it is one of the best. Juist my two cents.
That is fair, especially regarding Sonnen Hill who I have not yet tried. I've had a number on that list though, or at least enough beers from most of the breweries listed to be surprised that some of them would win assuming every beer could be judged. Tooth and Nail I have tried, I'd agree with your assessment that they're batchy as I was about 50/50 on liking the beers I tried.

I've had a lot of beer from not only Ontario, but also the country and rest of the world so I feel somewhat comfortable with my assessment, but at the same time I recognize I'll never be able to try everything out there; it's likely there are even better ones to be found. There are definitely some solid beers on the list of winners too, for what it's worth my initial judgement might have come across a bit harsh.

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Post by MetalHead »

seangm wrote: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:28 am
MetalHead wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:37 pm While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying and generally find the OBA's to be not the best representation of quality in the province, Especially given the conspicuous absence of so many trendy/popular Ontario breweries I do question the last paragraph you wrote. I'm just curious if you've tasted any of the lagers that won awards? You never know maybe there is a dark horse out in the province making lagers equal to those of Godspeed. I do love Godpseed and think they make some excellent beer they are by far the only competent lager brewer in this province. Tooth and nail for example make excellent lagers though admittedly they can be batchy. But when Vim and Vigour is on it is one of the best. Juist my two cents.
That is fair, especially regarding Sonnen Hill who I have not yet tried. I've had a number on that list though, or at least enough beers from most of the breweries listed to be surprised that some of them would win assuming every beer could be judged. Tooth and Nail I have tried, I'd agree with your assessment that they're batchy as I was about 50/50 on liking the beers I tried.

I've had a lot of beer from not only Ontario, but also the country and rest of the world so I feel somewhat comfortable with my assessment, but at the same time I recognize I'll never be able to try everything out there; it's likely there are even better ones to be found. There are definitely some solid beers on the list of winners too, for what it's worth my initial judgement might have come across a bit harsh.
Was by no means trying to come off critical in any way. Taste is of course always subjective and we all like what we like. I appreciate the nice response. It's nice to have constructive polite discussions on the internet, a rare thing to find these days! One of the reasons I enjoy this forma and will try and be more active on it. Cheers!
Beer, not just for breakfast anymore.

seangm
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Post by seangm »

MetalHead wrote: Wed Dec 15, 2021 1:17 pm
seangm wrote: Wed Dec 15, 2021 10:28 am
MetalHead wrote: Tue Dec 14, 2021 7:37 pm While I do agree with a lot of what you're saying and generally find the OBA's to be not the best representation of quality in the province, Especially given the conspicuous absence of so many trendy/popular Ontario breweries I do question the last paragraph you wrote. I'm just curious if you've tasted any of the lagers that won awards? You never know maybe there is a dark horse out in the province making lagers equal to those of Godspeed. I do love Godpseed and think they make some excellent beer they are by far the only competent lager brewer in this province. Tooth and nail for example make excellent lagers though admittedly they can be batchy. But when Vim and Vigour is on it is one of the best. Juist my two cents.
That is fair, especially regarding Sonnen Hill who I have not yet tried. I've had a number on that list though, or at least enough beers from most of the breweries listed to be surprised that some of them would win assuming every beer could be judged. Tooth and Nail I have tried, I'd agree with your assessment that they're batchy as I was about 50/50 on liking the beers I tried.

I've had a lot of beer from not only Ontario, but also the country and rest of the world so I feel somewhat comfortable with my assessment, but at the same time I recognize I'll never be able to try everything out there; it's likely there are even better ones to be found. There are definitely some solid beers on the list of winners too, for what it's worth my initial judgement might have come across a bit harsh.
Was by no means trying to come off critical in any way. Taste is of course always subjective and we all like what we like. I appreciate the nice response. It's nice to have constructive polite discussions on the internet, a rare thing to find these days! One of the reasons I enjoy this forma and will try and be more active on it. Cheers!
Haha yes, indeed it can be rare to find civilized discourse nowadays! Definitely a great forum for that, it's nice to see that discussions have picked up lately.

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Tapsucker
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Post by Tapsucker »

seangm wrote: Wed Dec 15, 2021 4:27 pm Haha yes, indeed it can be rare to find civilized discourse nowadays! Definitely a great forum for that, it's nice to see that discussions have picked up lately.
Probably another good reason to keep this off Factlessbook. :lol:
Brands are for cattle.
Fans are cash cows.
The herd will consume until consumed.

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