Alberta breweries tap into victory at national beer competition

Glasses of beer are seen in this undated photo. (AFP)

Alberta breweries won a combined 35 medals at the 2024 Canada Beer Cup.

The competition is put on by the Canadian Craft Brewers Association and highlights independently owned and operated breweries across the country.

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The 2024 Canada Beer Cup itself was awarded to Pile O' Bones Brewing in Regina for its "Quark, Strangeness, Charm" beer.

Alberta beers did amass a number of gold medals though:

• Endeavour Brewing Company Ltd. (St. Albert) - English IPA
• Ale Architect (Edmonton) - Innovation Packaging
• Blindman Brewing (Lacombe) - Strong British Ale, Specialty Wild or Mixed Fermentation and Community & Collaborations Packaging
• Wild Winds Brewery (Calgary) - Pale Malty European Lager
• Two Pillars Brewery (Calgary) - Belgian Ale
• Cabin Brewing Company (Calgary) - Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
• Hub Town Brewing (Okotoks) - UK Stout & Porter
• Hell's Basement Brewery (Medicine Hat) - North American Stout

The silver medal haul consisted of:

• Polyrhythm Brewing (Edmonton) - Imperial Hazy/NEIPA
• Folding Mountain Brewing (Hinton) - West Coast IPA
• Blindman Brewing (Lacombe) - Brett Beers
• Troubled Monk (Red Deer) - North American Brown Ale
• Olds College Brewery (Olds) - North American Amber Ale
• Two Pillars Brewery (Calgary) - Witbier and Dark Belgian Strong Ale
• Cold Garden Beverage Company (Calgary) - Irish and Scottish Ale
• Tool Shed Brewery (Calgary) - North American Pale Ale
• Big Rock Brewery (Calgary) - Fruit Beer
• Prairie Dog Brewing (Calgary) - Specialty Fruit Beer
• Cabin Brewing Company (Calgary) - Innovation Packaging
• Hub Town Brewing (Okotoks) - Imperial Stout

Rounding out the list were these bronze-medal winners:

• Cold Lake Brewing & Distilling Co. (Cold Lake) - North American Amber Ale and Imperial Hazy/NEIPA
• Troubled Monk (Red Deer) - Canadian Malt-Forward Beer
• Tool Shed Brewery (Calgary) - Czech Pale Lager, North American Stout and Strong American Ale
• Village Brewery (Calgary) - American Wheat
• Ol' Beautiful Brewing Company (Calgary) - North American Pale Ale
• Cold Garden Beverage Company (Calgary) - Specialty Wild or Mixed Fermentation
• Wild Winds Brewery (Calgary) - Belgian Ale
• Annex (Calgary) - Community & Collaborations Packaging
• Fahr (Diamond Valley) - Pale Bitter European Beer

Alberta won the second most medals, behind B.C.

The competition consists of 12 categories with 56 modernized beer styles, including, new this year, Beer Featuring Sasquatch Hops.

There were 40 judges for the competition, mainly from Canada, with some coming from the United Kingdom, Belgium, Chile and the United States.

Canada is home to more than 1,200 small and independent craft breweries, brewpubs and suppliers, according to the Canadian Craft Brewers Association.