Manitoba bevvies clean up at first Prairie Beer Awards

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This article was published 11/06/2022 (1570 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba breweries may have taken home the most hardware at the first annual Prairie Beer Awards, but it was a Saskatchewan brewery and one of its beers that took home the top beer honour.

In mid-May, 284 beers from 45 of 52 breweries in Manitoba and Saskatchewan — as well as a handful of ciders, meads and other beverages such as hard seltzers and kombucha — went head to head in 25 categories at the inaugural Prairie Beer Awards, presented by the Manitoba Brewers Association and the Saskatchewan Craft Brewers Association. (Alberta meaderies were also permitted to enter their wares, as there’s no mead competition in that province.)

Organizer and beer judge Dave Cole was thrilled with the number of entries for a first-time competition. “The Alberta Beer Awards had around 400 entries and has been running for a long time, and in a much larger market,” he said.

Cole was instrumental in making the Prairie Beer Awards a reality. While judging at the Alberta Beer Awards, he was asked why there wasn’t a regional competition for Manitoba/Saskatchewan breweries. After chatting with the brewery associations in both Prairie provinces, he was given the green light to organize the competition.

“I’m very proud of the beers made here, and wanted to show them off to judges from across the country,” Cole said. “I made some more calls, and by time I got back home to Beausejour (from the competition), I had 12 of the top 27 judges in Canada signed up.” The top-calibre talent included four of Canada’s seven master beer judges, one of the highest qualifications available through the Beer Judge Certification Program.

In order to bring in the country’s top judges, Cole had to nail down some sponsors to help foot the bill. “Brunswick Steel came on as a foundation sponsor, which guaranteed I could bring in the best judges in Canada for the next four years,” Cole said, noting the awards will rotate between Manitoba and Saskatchewan annually.

Judging for the Prairie Beer Awards took place May 12-15 at Torque’s King Edward Street facility; the brewery also hosted the awards ceremony the evening of Saturday, June 4, where the winners of gold, silver and bronze medals in each of the categories were announced.

Best in Show of the beers went to Mega Lazer Cat, an imperial red ale with vanilla made by Regina’s Rebellion Brewing Co., who also took home brewery of the year with three gold medals, a silver medal and an honourable mention for best in show.

But in the Border Battle Cup, which pitted Manitoba breweries versus their Saskatchewan counterparts, it was the home team that came out on top with a higher haul of overall medals.

Of the participating locals, Little Brown Jug Brewing Co. took home the most hardware, with two gold medals, a silver and two bronzes. Grain to Glass and Sookram’s Brewing Co. each nabbed a pair of gold medals, as did Torque Brewing Co., who also took home a silver and a bronze. Devil May Care landed a gold and two silvers, Black Wheat managed a silver and a bronze, and a number of other locals picked up bronzes across a number of categories. (Dead Horse Cider, it should be noted, cleaned up, with every medal in the cider category and two of three medals in the “other brewery beverage” category.)

“The judges were very impressed with the quality of beers in the competition,” Cole said, adding they also enjoyed the post-judging taproom tour he led — something not all other competitions do. Between the judges and sponsors, Cole found the support humbling. “We have great beer here,” he said. “Now we have a platform to award their hard work.”

For the full list of results, see wfp.to/prairiebeerawards.

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Beers of the week

All of the award-winning beers below (from lightest to heaviest) are available at the brewery at which they were made as well as from Liquor Marts and beer vendors.

Little Brown Jug Folk Fest Lager (Winnipeg – $3.76/473ml can)

Pale gold in colour and clear, this new lager from Little Brown Jug nabbed a gold medal in the international lager category. There are fresh malt, floral and subtle apple/pear notes aromatically, with a honeyed note that comes through on the dry, light-bodied and malty palate. Should appease folk fest attendees and anyone looking for an easy-going, 4.4 per cent alcohol lager on a hot day. 3/5

Nonsuch Brewing Co. Strawberry Kolsch (Winnipeg – $4.50/473ml can)

Medium amber in colour and hazy, the primary strawberry component that comes through with the fresh malt and floral note smells ultra-ripe. There’s a touch of sweetness on the soft, light-plus bodied palate, with no hop bitterness to speak of but instead loads of almost-jammy strawberries and malt notes. A bronze medal winner in the fruit beer category. 3.5/5

Oxus Brewing Co. Icarus Raspberry sour ale (Winnipeg – $4.29/473ml can)

This kettle sour ale made with raspberries is (not surprisingly) reddish-gold in colour with a light pink head, with up-front fresh wild raspberry aromas that come with secondary malt and saline notes. It’s dry, light-plus bodied and tart, with the sour/salty component supercharging the raspberry flavours, very modest bitterness, some citrus rind flavours and a modest five per cent alcohol. A delicious bronze medal winner. 4.5/5

Sookram’s Eternal Sunshine Pale Ale (Winnipeg – $4.15/473ml can)

Now a part of Sookram’s core lineup of beers, this pale ale is medium gold in colour and hazy, with three different types of hops helping bring grassy and resinous aromas along with malt, grapefruit pith and a hint of pine. It’s more of the same on the dry, light-plus bodied palate, with a solid bite of bitterness and a not-overwhelming 4.5 per cent alcohol, making this both crushable and complex. A gold-medal winner in the American pale ale category. 4/5

Barn Hammer 66 New England IPA (Winnipeg – $4.55/473ml can)

A bronze medal winner in the hazy/New England IPA category, Barn Hammer’s 66 is pale gold and mainly clear, with floral, oat and malt aromas and a lovely pineapple note. It’s mainly dry, light-plus bodied and a bit punchy, with the 6.6 per cent alcohol bringing pep to the deep tropical fruit flavours, the fresh malt component, the hint of sweet citrus and the modest bitterness. Great intensity. 4/5

Torque Brewing Co. Red Line red IPA (Winnipeg – $3.99/473ml can)

In addition to winning bronze at the Prairie Beer Awards, the Red Line also nabbed bronze at the World Beer Cup, one of only 14 Canadian beers (and the only one from Manitoba) to win hardware. It’s deep copper in colour and clear, with rich malty aromas that come with a caramel/Tootsie Roll note and hints of hops. Medium-bodied, mainly dry and rich, the robust malt and caramel notes bringing depth, some firm bitterness provides structure and the 6.5 per cent alcohol adds length. A powerhouse. 4.5/5

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