Canadian Brewing Awards - Do good breweries just not bother?

Because why would they?

How embarrassing these awards are.

Mt. Begbie the best brewery in the country? Because it won gold for kolsch (we don’t have any in this country that would score over 30 on BJCP), and cream ale (theirs isn’t all that authentic).

Off the Rail wins three awards, indicating that the judges lack the basic sensory training to actually judge at the professional level.

A beer was raspberries wins German-style sour ale, despite containing an ingredient that should have immediately disqualified it.

I know it’s not all bad, but the chronic favouring of boring beers of no particular quality, and an inability to detect basic faults like diacetyl really make you wonder what’s going on.

Anybody know the cost to enter something like this? I saw Four Winds got a Silver for Nectarious but don’t think they got anything else - curious if you get one free entry and then have to pay after that...

And really if your knocking it out of the park in you local area what is the incentive to pay to compete in something like this? Would rather win a best in show at a beer festival when you bring fresh beer for judges to try instead of shipping stuff in less than ideal conditions.

Just over a decade ago a national beer icon won at Canadian Brewing Awards when the 2006 Gold Medal went to Molson Canadian in the ‘North American Style Lager’ category.

How many golds did Molson pick up in 2017?

I always figured that CBA was an industry sellout event.

Most/many of the better breweries in Ontario haven’t bothered with CBAs or OBAs for a few years now.

The only real incentive I can see is for relatively mediocre brewers to get something for their mantle. Lots of prizes, and with the chances of unwinning being completely detached from the quality of your beer, why not go for it?

I know beer geeks always complain about these types of awards, but this one seems especially bizarre, based on their history of choosing incredibly unexceptional beers as l best. If you’ve got a boring beer that’s stylistically perfect, that’s one thing. But they aren’t even doing that. (there is a spot-on cream ale in BC, for example, but it’s not Begbie’s).

Anyway, just thought it was odd.

Just a general reply to a few of the questions:
It is $100/entry max 8 entries,
Brewers must choose 4 of their beer entries that best represent their category, and if you choose right and win medals in the category, you become eligible for brewer of the year.

There is no denying I have a love hate relationship with any brewing awards, hence why I pushed with our local home brew club to start Canada’s only Pro/Am competition. As a BJCP judge with many years of experience, it pains me to see flawed judging & flawed beers winning medals. I don’t judge at the CBA’s so can’t comment on the process.

What I can say is the awards are a great way to get the craft industry together, hit the conferences, renew friendships, and generally enjoy the beers of the host city. For this, Ottawa was a blast, and I’d highly recommend it.

This is the first year the awards stressed Canadian ownership so no eligibility for Molbatts.

Originally posted by Oakes
The only real incentive I can see is for relatively mediocre brewers to get something for their mantle. Lots of prizes, and with the chances of unwinning being completely detached from the quality of your beer, why not go for it?

I know beer geeks always complain about these types of awards, but this one seems especially bizarre, based on their history of choosing incredibly unexceptional beers as l best. If you’ve got a boring beer that’s stylistically perfect, that’s one thing. But they aren’t even doing that. (there is a spot-on cream ale in BC, for example, but it’s not Begbie’s).

Anyway, just thought it was odd.