After a seven-month delay caused by COVID, we were able to finally move forward with the 2021 edition of the Alberta Beer Awards in September, and results were announced at the Awards Gala in Red Deer last night. 465 entries from 66 breweries vied for medals in 28 categories (plus two exhibition categories for sodas and seltzers/ready-to-drink).

The big winners of the night were The Establishment Brewing Company from Calgary, who scooped up Brewery of the Year due to their record-breaking seven medals (2 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze). Their Alberta success follows their victory as Brewery of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards last month. ’88 Brewing (Calgary) and Blindman Brewing (Lacombe) followed with silver and bronze, respectively for brewery of the year.

Looking at Best in Show, Medicine Hat Brewing picked up gold for their Gentlemen’s Stout. Annex Ales Project (Calgary) took silver with their Etceteras, their Solera Brett Saison. Bronze went to ’88 Brewing’s Skeleton Crew barley wine.

The list of new breweries dropped significantly from previous years, given the stark reduction in brewery openings during COVID. Gold for New Brewery of the Year went to Delta Brewstillery (Calgary), with Longroof Brewing (Edmonton) and The Pass Brewing Company (Crowsnest Pass) following with silver and bronze.

To ensure the safety of all judges and stewards, the Awards implemented a vaccine passport system, spread judging over two weekends and implemented strict distancing and masking rules. Thanks to Alley Kat Brewing for at the last minute agreeing to host the judging after our original location fell through. As usual all judging was blind, with judges only knowing broad style and specific special ingredient additions. All judging tables were headed by a ranking BJCP judge. There was one brave out of province judge in attendance (COVID put a crimp in our ability to attract judges from elsewhere).

As I know you are all anxious to learn who won, below is a PDF of all the winners.

In the coming weeks I will offer up a fuller analysis of the results and the trends that are emerging. Here I just want to offer a few general observations about this year’s iteration as a judge, co-organizer and observer.

In our fourth year, the ABAs continue to evolve and grow. We received the most entries in the history of the competition, and while the number of breweries participating dropped slightly (likely due to COVID stresses) the range and variety of entries continued to grow.

Alberta breweries continue to evolve and develop their taste for experimentation and innovation. The new and interesting combinations of flavours and ingredients was both inspiring and (at times) frightening. There really can be too much of a good thing. I can’t say with honesty all of these innovative beer were successes – many need much more finesse to be something more than a quirky talking point. But I was intrigued by the willingness of brewers to stretch their game and it bodes well.

Second, I believe the Alberta industry is developing quite the bench-strength. What I mean by that is the number of breweries who are producing beer of sufficient quality to challenge for a medal has grown significantly. The breweries we have come to expect to win each year still do (more on that in my analysis to come) but increasing numbers of breweries are able to scoop up a medal or two. This year 47 different breweries won a medal – 10 of whom won for the first time. Twenty-nine breweries won a single medal. Further 16 breweries who won last year were shut out (some of those didn’t enter, while others fell just short this time). Most breweries in Alberta are making something of stellar quality – maybe not every beer they brew but at least one or two. As a result the categories are growing increasingly competitive.

Third, we continue to see fewer entries with observable infections or significant process flaws. The bulk of entries that did not medal were the result of relative minor issues (often the beer didn’t have enough balance or nuance). I know that sounds like small beer (so to speak) as professional breweries should have sufficient quality control to ensure infected beer don’t hit market, but it is never that simple. Many breweries don’t have labs and time and shipping can cause a beer to deteriorate in ways not experienced when it is fresh in the tap room. Not an excuse, just an observation.

The flip side of that observation is while quality is improving overall, in most categories finding a beer that was world-class remained elusive. There were lots of decent beer but very few achieved the next level of quality that makes a judge stop in their tracks momentarily. That is not unexpected, but as the industry continues to mature we should expect more beer to cluster at the higher end of the quality scale. Something to keep an eye on.

As I mentioned, I will post a more thorough analysis in the coming weeks, including some historical comparisons. For now this quick overview will have to suffice.