Phillips Brewing Takes Top Prize in Inaugural Craft Beer Competition
On a sunny Edmonton Saturday, three of the city’s most respected beer judges donned their blindfolds for the 1st Northern Lands Festival Craft Beer Awards Competition. Convening at venue sponsor Craft Beer Market, certified beer judge, writer and educator Jason Foster, master BJCP beer judge and educator Owen Kirkaldy, and recognized beer judge, writer and executive director of the Alberta Small Brewers Association Greg Zeschuk were led through a blind tasting of Canadian craft beers from coast to coast.
“We tasted a lot of interesting, creative beer and we had a number of hard decisions to make when picking the winners”, said beer judge Jason Foster. “There is no question there is a lot of well-made craft beer being brewed in this country, and with new breweries opening almost every week, I am sure
our job as judges will only get more difficult in the future.”
“One of the mandates of Northern Lands is to raise the profile of the Canadian wine and craft beverage industries locally, nationally and internationally,” says festival organizer Gurvinder Bhatia, “and a competition like this is just one of the many things we can do to draw global attention to our growing craft beer industry.”
The 2015 Northern Lands Festival Craft Beer Competition Award winners are:
Best of Show: Phillips Bottle Rocket ISA,Victoria BC
Pale Lagers & Hybrids: Alley Kat Scona Gold Kolsch, Edmonton AB
Runner-up: Pump House Pilsner, Moncton NB
Sessionable Ales: Phillips Bottle Rocket ISA,Victoria BC
Runner-up: Alley Kat Amber Brown Ale, Edmonton AB
Speciality Beers & Big Ales: Parallel 49 Barley Wine, Vancouver BC
Runner-up: Old Yale Sasquatch Oatmeal Stout, Chilliwack BC
IPAs: Picaroon’s Yipee IPA, Fredericton, NB
Runner-up: Old Yale Westcoast IPA, Chilliwack BC
Northern Lands: The Great Canadian Wine and Craft Beer Adventure takes place March 27 & 28. Tickets and details for all events can be found at NorthernLands.ca