Jump to Complete List of Winners
The 10th annual Alberta Beer Week is set to begin on October 11 but the kickoff party already started with the Alberta Craft Beer Convention at Edmonton's Westin Hotel. This trade show, designed for brewing professionals, features a wide range of exhibitors from manufacturing, production, and education sectors. However, the Alberta Beer Awards also coincide with the convention, and that's where us regular beer enthusiasts get to indulge.
The Alberta Beer Awards are the only provincial competition organized by the brewing industry itself. While other events also recognize brewers and beer, this is the one that truly matters. This year’s event saw 506 entries in 33 categories. Impressively, 41 breweries from all corners of Alberta took home one or more accolades, proving that quality beer in Alberta isn’t confined to just a few big names. Events like the Alberta Beer Awards continue to fuel both the consumer’s thirst for exceptional craft beer and the brewers' drive to elevate their craft.
Alberta Beer Week also marks the release of Unity Brew, a collaboration beer created by brewers from across the province. This year, an all-star team of Alberta brewers gathered at Blindman Brewery in Lacombe to develop the recipe. You may recall that Blindman was the winningest brewery in Canada last year. This year’s Unity Brew is a Vienna Lager, a style first brewed in 1841, which was born from a fascinating tale of beer-stealing espionage that shaped much of what we know about modern beer and malting techniques.
If you don’t see a particular brewery on the winners' list, it doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t win an award. It’s possible the brewery didn’t enter this competition, which is open to all members of the Alberta Small Brewers Association.
ALBERTA BREWERY OF THE YEAR 2024
Winning awards and maintaining popularity can sometimes lead a brewery to become complacent, but that’s not the case with The Establishment Brewing Company. After taking home the "Best Brewery in Alberta" title in 2021 and 2023, and also being named Canadian Brewery of the Year in 2021, the incredibly friendly team is at it again, winning this honour for the third time in four years.
At this point, it’s likely most people have visited The Establishment, but if you haven’t, here’s what you can expect: a diverse beer menu that spans practically every style—light to dark lagers, ales, wheat beers, classic and rare styles, sours, and barrel-aged brews. Each beer is crafted with meticulous attention to detail, tradition, and respect for the brewing process. The brewing team—Mike Foniok, Graham Hancock, and Damon Mosiers—are true masters of their craft. Every beer they produce is impeccable in appearance, aroma, and taste.
This latest trophy will join the six others they won last night, which means the team might need to build more shelves to house their growing collection of provincial and national awards.On top of being named 2024 Alberta Brewery of the Year, The Establishment took home a gold for Chaise Longue (Low Alcohol), silvers for Erlton Street 2023 (Mixed-Fermentation), Rare Hearts (Mixed Fermentation with Fruit), and My Best Friend's Girl Kolsch-Style Ale (Light Bodied Ale), and bronzes for Left My Wallet in El Segundo (Other Flavoured Beer) and Into the Void (Barrel-Aged).
Best Beer in Alberta - 2024 Alberta Beer Awards
The Best in Show awards are given to the beers that judges deem the best overall in the competition. To determine who wins this accolade, all the gold medal winners of the 30+ categories are brought back out to a table of qualified judges who get to work evaluating and comparing each beer to the next. Through a process of elimination, these three beers are awarded gold, silver, and bronze Best in Show trophies.
These are the brews you should seek out if you want to see what judges say are the best beers in Alberta:
Gold - Alley Kat Brewing Co. (collaboration with Fallentimber Meadery) - Braggot Dopplebock - Other Flavoured Beer - Edmonton. This style of beer means Double Bock, and traditionally it is a malt-forward beer with an ABV higher than most other lagers. While this version rings in at a whopping 8.2% ABV, its full body contains sweet undertones of caramel and honey from local beehives. This beer style is a great choice for winter evenings as we covered in our Guide to Dark Beers.
Silver - Marda Loop Brewing Company - High Tackle Golden Ale. All Alberta Malt - Calgary. This 2024 special category allowed for a lot of room for brewers, as long as they used a grain bill made entirely of Alberta malt. Here, the Golden Ale, which is a spin off from the Pale Ale family, is closer in presentation to a lager than an ale. Expect a Golden Ale to be light and crisp with a dry finish.
Bronze - Bent Stick Brewing - Hay-Maker Wheated Pilsner - Wheat Beer - Edmonton. The wizards at Bent Stick admit this beer doesn’t really fall into any one category and was more their take on both a classic wheat beer and a pilsner at the same time. Using Alberta wheat combined with modern hopping techniques and lagering temperatures, this beer is a great example of the creativity that often comes with making craft beer.
Best Breweries in Alberta 2024 -Top Performances - Four Awards Each
With more than 150 breweries in the province, Alberta brewers face stiff competition when it comes to crafting award-winning beer and being named one of the Best Breweries in Alberta in 2024. While winning any award is a highlight for many, these breweries grabbed a few on the same night:
Ol’ Beautiful Brewing Company - Calgary.
Despite suffering a major blow when their Inglewood taproom was lost to fire this summer, luckily for their fans, Ol’ B is still producing beer at their main production facility. In the Amber and Dark Lager category, they took Gold for Eternal Twilight, in New England/Hazy it was a Silver for Fingers Crossed NEIPA, in Pale Ale/Bitter, Pegasus-American Pale Ale won Silver, and in the Light Bodied Ale group, Okami Kasu-Japanese Ale collected a Bronze. Even though Ol’ B is still making beer, they need your help in getting a new taproom on the go. The best way you can help them reach this goal is by purchasing some of these Alberta award-winning beers at your local store.
Troubled Monk - Red Deer.
Since their opening in 2015, Troubled Monk, which is located along the Red Deer River, has been producing not only high-quality brews but also Hard Teas, Seltzers, and Spirits like vodka and gin, all while using mostly Alberta grains. This year, Troubled Monk grabbed Gold for Saskatoon Soda in the Craft Soda and Lemonade category, Gold in the Seltzer and Ready-to-drink Beverages category for Troubled Tea, Gold for Be Kind Rewind in Specialty IPA, and Silver for Troubled Road in the Brown Ale group.
Tool Shed Brewing - Calgary.
As we write this, Tool Shed owner Graham Sherman and some fellow meat lovers are on their way to Lynchburg, Tennessee, where they will be representing Canada at the 2024 Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational BBQ. While they have won several awards for their super tasty BBQ, which you can find every day by visiting their NE taproom, it's their beer awards we are focusing on. We are guessing they probably packed a few cans of Zero People Skills and Zero Red Rage for the ride, as these beers won Gold and Silver, respectively, in the Non-Alcoholic category. It’s also safe to bet that once they arrive, they will be cracking some Red Rage, which won Silver in the Amber Ale category, and the Bronze award-winning Golden Hour from the New England/Hazy group.
Two Pillars - Calgary.
If you follow us at YYCTOURS, you know that Two Pillars is one of our favourite spots in Calgary. With one of the smallest breweries in town (it can probably fit in your kitchen), these fine folks are pumping out seriously high-quality Belgian-inspired brews. It seems that any time they enter a competition, whether provincially or nationally, they are winning awards for everything they submit. At this year’s ABA, the team at Two Pillars won Gold for Two Pillars Blonde, Silvers for Two Pillars Wit and Two Pillars Pale (Belgian Pale Ale), and a Bronze for Two Pillars Dark Strong. If you haven’t been to Two Pillars, which is located just minutes from downtown, on Centre St. N, you’re missing out on very well-made Belgian beer.
Notable Performances - Three Awards Each
Ale Architect - Edmonton
While Ale Architect got their start like many breweries by contract brewing, they officially opened their own space in April 2023. When we covered the ABA last year, we predicted Ale Architect as one of the Edmonton breweries that were up-and-coming and that should be on everyone’s radar. This year, the young brewery grabbed Gold for Glow Pop 3 NE Pale Ale in the Session Hoppy Beer category, Gold for Utopic New Wave Pilsner in the Pilsners group, and a Bronze for Yum Yum Juice Tropical Tart Ale in Sours. Make sure you keep an eye out for any of their beers or pop into their taproom on Happy Beer Street in Edmonton.
Alley Kat Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Since 1993, this brewery, which is Edmonton's oldest microbrewery, has been producing a wide range of classic and unique beer styles. Their Best in Show Pollinator collected Gold in Other Flavoured Beer, their My Name’s Hefe also took Gold in German and Belgian-Style Wheat Beer, and Hazy 3.0 won Bronze in Double/Imperial IPA.
Annex Ales - Calgary.
While Annex Ales are indeed known for making delicious craft beer, it’s their seltzer products that seem to win at every event they enter. As was the case at the 2024 Alberta Beer Awards, Annex won Silver for their Root Beer and Bronze for their Ginger Beer in the Craft Soda and Lemonade category. Their Lorem Ipsum collected Gold in the Amber Ale group.
Campio Brewing Co. - Edmonton
It was quite an evening for the Bearhill group, which owns Campio, Banff Ave Brewing, Jasper Brewing, Babe Brewing, Last Best Brewing and Distilling, and Maligne Range Distilling. While Banff, Jasper, and Last Best all grabbed awards, it was Campio that came out as the "Employee of the Month" at Bearhill. The Edmonton operation, located only a few blocks from Rogers Place, collected Gold for their Farmhouse Ale cleverly called Construction Saison, Gold for Spiced Beer Once in Oaxaca, and Silver in the Low-Alcohol Beer category for Lil Sebastian Miniature IPA. Next time you’re at an Oilers game, you can stop in and see what real winners look like. Side note: if you like hockey and beer, check out our fun piece called "If Every NHL Team Was a Style of Beer."
Polyrhythm - Edmonton.
This fun and groovy brewery opened in the northwest of Edmonton in the spring of 2023. In just over a year, their music-themed beers have been rocking and rolling on the provincial awards stage. At this year's ABA, the team at Polyrhythm snared a Gold for Beatbox Brown Ale and Silvers for Slapaphone Double Hazy IPA and The LP (2023) Imperial Stout. Co-owner and head brewer Chelsea Tessier and her team make a wide range of styles and should be on the list of YEG breweries you need to visit.
The Monolith - Edmonton
Known for being the only brewery in Canada custom-built for spontaneous fermentation at a large volume, this Blind Enthusiasm Brewing-owned operation is one of Alberta’s industry leaders in barrel fermentation. Since its inception in 2022, Monolith has become a recognized and respected name in the beer world. This year, head brewer Doug Checknita and his team were awarded Gold for Spontaneous Manifesto and Bronze for Mon Chester, both in the Mixed Fermentation Beer group. They also won Bronze in the Mixed Fermentation Beer with Fruit category for The Monolith Rosé. Their parent company, Blind Enthusiasm, also grabbed a couple of medals: Silver in Barrel-Aged for Buffalo Meadows 2023 and Bronze in Low Alcohol for Lil-Broski.
Trolley 5 - Calgary
In a recent article about this well-designed 17th Ave brewery, we pointed out that Trolley 5, or T5, has been quietly making award-winning beer right under everyone's noses. Given that T5 doesn’t really fit the standard ‘brewery mold'—it’s also a sports bar on the Red Mile with a restaurant offering everything from burgers to dim sum—some people may overlook it as a craft beer destination. After all, don’t sports bars just serve Bud Light? NOPE! Trolley makes impressively good beer, as proven year after year when their name pops up in provincial and national award lists. This year is no exception. T5 scored Silver for Amaterasu in Other Flavoured Beer, Silver for Conductor Amber Lager in the Amber and Dark Lager category, and Silver for Hasta Mañana in the Light Bodied Lager category.
FUN BEER NAMES
As we look over this list of winners at the 2024 Alberta Beer Awards, we had a few giggles over some of the creative names. Aside from any we already mentioned, here are a few more of our favourites.
What’s Up Peaches - Red Hart Brewing
What’s Eating Gilbert Grapefruit? - 70 Acre Brew Co.
The Dave I Know-Black IPA - Manual Labour Beer Co. Lost Flip Flop Saison - Endeavour Brewing Company Ltd.
2025 PREDICTIONS
Last year, we suggested that with the growing number of breweries opening in Edmonton over the last couple years, everyone should be on the lookout for some of their locally crafted beers. We were right. Before Edmonton (YEG) experienced this growth, Calgary (YYC) had the most breweries, meaning that YYC breweries often won the majority of the awards. That is not the case this year. Of the 99 medals up for grabs, 26 were won by Edmonton and area breweries. Despite Calgary having nearly double the number of craft brewers, only 40 medals were won by Calgary breweries. The remaining winners represent the Alberta craft beer scene from all corners of the province, with notable breweries like Rival Trade in Alhambra, Cold Lake Brewing in Cold Lake, Nine in a Line Brewing Co. in Vulcan and the Hwy 3 Ale Trail collab from breweries in Crowsnest Pass, Lundbreck, Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, and Medicine Hat, just to name a few.
We also expect a bounce back from Blindman brewing who were the most awarded brewery in Canada for 2023. Their Dwarf Sour Cherry Saison which was also the best beer in Canada for 2023 won a gold medal last night.
The fact that breweries are winning awards from all over the province—not just one city—suggests a shift in the market. Now, award-winning beer can be found almost anywhere in Alberta, and with the quality of some of these beers, this could become the norm going forward.
Cheers to all the winners, and even to those who did not enter! Thank you for sharing your passion and craft. We look forward to visiting soon.
If any of these places sound like somewhere you’d like to visit on an Alberta Brewery Tour, where you can learn a lot of cool things about beer and enjoy safe transportation, reach out to us at www.yyctours.ca.
COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS - 2024 Alberta Beer Awards.
Best of Show
Gold - Pollinator - Alley Kat Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Silver - High Tackle Golden Ale - Marda Loop Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - Hay-Maker - Bent Stick Brewing Co - Edmonton
Light Bodied Lager
Gold - Death Wave Light Lager - Sea Change Brewing Co - Edmonton
Silver - Hasta Mañana - Trolley 5 - Calgary
Bronze - Mexcellent Cerveza Light Lager - Brewsters Brewing Company - Calgary
Light Bodied Ale
Gold - Southern Alberta Ale Trail German Style Kolsch - Hwy 3 Ale Trail
Silver - My Best Friend’s Girl - The Establishment Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - Okami Kasu-Japanese Ale - Ol’Beautiful Brewing Company - Calgary
Session Hoppy Beer
Gold - Glow Pop 3 NE Pale Ale - Ale Architect - Edmonton
Silver - Wildlands Session NEIPA - Hard Knox Brewery - Diamond Valley
Bronze - Trestle ISA - Cold Lake Brewing & Distilling Co. - Cold Lake
Wheat Beer
Gold - Hay-Maker - Bent Stick Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Silver - Village Wit - Village Brewery - Calgary
Bronze - Backroads Wheat Ale - Spectrum Ale Works - Lethbridge
German and Belgian-Style Wheat beer
Gold - My Name’s Hefe - Alley Kat Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Silver - Two Pillars Wit - Two Pillars Brewery - Calgary
Bronze - White Wit - Banff Ave Brewing Co. - Banff
Amber Ale
Gold - Lorem Ipsum - Annex Ale Project - Calgary
Silver - Red Rage - Tool Shed Brewery - Calgary
Bronze - Morning Wood Amber Ale - Dark Woods Brewing - Innisfail
Amber and Dark Lager
Gold - Eternal Twilight - Ol’Beautiful Brewing Company - Calgary
Silver - Conductor Amber Lager - Trolley 5 - Calgary
Bronze - Radiant Rauchbier - Meta Brewing Corp - Calgary
Brown Ale
Gold - Beatbox Brown Ale - Polyrhythm Brewing - Edmonton
Silver - Open Road - Troubled Monk - Red Deer
Bronze - Village Blacksmith - Village Brewery - Calgary
Stout
Gold - Alberta’s Great Out S’mores Milk Stout - Hub Town Brewing - Okotoks
Silver - Gentlemen’s Stout - Medicine Hat Brewing - Medicine Hat
Bronze - Burnt Timber Toast - Dark Woods Brewing - Innisfail
Porter
Gold - 2nd Perspective - Longroof Brewing Company Inc. - Edmonton
Silver - Parkway Porter - Folding Mountain Brewing - Yellowhead County
Bronze - Pomp & Circumstance - Cabin Brewing Company - Calgary
Pilsner
Gold - Utopic New Wave Pilsner - Ale Architect - Edmonton
Silver - Czech Pils - Last Best Brewing & Distilling - Calgary
Bronze - Crisp Pils - Jasper Brewing Co. - Jasper
Pale Ale/Bitter
Gold - Three Sisters Pale Ale - The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company - Canmore
Silver - Pegasus-American Pale Ale - Ol’Beautiful Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - Island Roamer - Nine in a Line Brewing Co. - Vulcan
IPA
Gold - Wave Pool - Eighty-Eight Brewing Company - Calgary
Silver - Sunshine Rain - Cabin Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - Vega-West Coast IPA - The Growlery Beer Co. - Edmonton
Double/Imperial IPA
Gold - Awning Attack DIPA - Endeavour Brewing Company Ltd. - St. Albert
Silver - Slapaphone Double Hazy IPA - Polyrhythm Brewing - Edmonton
Bronze - Hazy 3.0 - Alley Kat Brewing Co. - Edmonton
New England/Hazy
Gold - Long Hop NEIPA w/Experimental HOP HBC 586 - Long Hop Brewing - Calgary
Silver - Fingers Crossed-NEIPA - Ol’Beautiful Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - Golden Hour - Tool Shed Brewery - Calgary
Specialty IPA
Gold - Be Kind Rewind - Troubled Monk - Red Deer
Silver - The Dave I Know-Black IPA - Manual Labour Beer Co. _ Sherwood Park
Bronze - Cascadian Double IPA - Blindman Brewing - Lacombe
Belgian Ales
Gold - Two Pillars Blonde - Two Pillars Brewery - Calgary
Silver - Two Pillars Pale - Two Pillars Brewery - Calgary
Bronze - Tindflower-Belgian Blond - Wild Winds Brewery - Calgary
Strong Belgian Ales
Gold - Cabin At The Lake - Snake Lake Brewing Company - Sylvan Lake
Silver - Fort Knox - Hub Town Brewing - Okotoks
Bronze - Two Pillars Dark Strong - Two Pillars Brewery - Calgary
Imperial Strength Beer
Gold - La Plata - Born Brewing Co. - Calgary
Silver - The LP (2023) Imperial Stout - Polyrhythm Brewing - Edmonton
Bronze - 1799 Scotch Ale - Rival Trade Brewing Co. - Alhambra
Farmhouse Ale
Gold - Construction Saison - Campio Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Silver - Folie De La Lune - Longroof Brewing Company Inc. - Edmonton
Bronze - Lost Flip Flop Saison - Endeavour Brewing Company Ltd. - St. Albert
Fruit Beer
Gold - Creamsicle Ale - Medicine Hat Brewing Company - Medicine Hat
Silver - What’s Up Peaches - Red Hart Brewing - Red Deer
Bronze - What’s Eating Gilbert Grapefruit? - 70 Acre Brew Co. - Sherwood Park
Spiced Beer
Gold - Once in Oaxaca - Campio Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Silver - Sailor’s Delight Coffee Kelp Stout - Best of Kin - Calgary
Bronze - Burnt Timber - Born Brewing Co. - Calgary
Other Flavoured Beer
Gold - Pollinator - Alley Kat Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Silver - Amaterasu - Trolley 5 - Calgary
Bronze - Left My Wallet in El Segundo - The Establishment Brewing Company - Calgary
Sour Beer
Gold - Tropical Sour - 70 Acre Brew Co. - Sherwood Park
Silver - Mandarina Sour - Odd Company Brewing - Edmonton
Bronze - Yum Yum Juice Tropical Tart Ale - Ale Architect - Edmonton
Sour Beer with Fruit
Gold - Passionfruit Coconut Sour - Odd Company Brewing - Edmonton
Silver - Celebration White Wine Sour - Best of Kin - Calgary
Bronze - Frontier 23 - Hard Knox Brewery - Diamond Valley
Barrel-Aged Beer
Gold - Into the Woods’ Bourbon Barrel Aged Black Forest Cake Stout -
Sheepdog Brewing - Canmore
Silver - Buffalo Meadows 2023 - Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company - Edmonton
Bronze - Into The Void - The Establishment Brewing Company - Calgary
Mixed Fermentation Beer
Gold - Spontaneous Manifesto - The Monolith by Blind Enthusiasm - Edmonton
Silver - Erlton Street 2023 - The Establishment Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - Mon Chester - The Monolith by Blind Enthusiasm - Edmonton
Mixed Fermentation Beer with Fruit
Gold - Dwarf Sour Cherry Fruited Saison - Bindman Brewery- Lacombe
Silver - Rare Hearts - The Establishment Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - The Monolith Rosé - The Monolith by Blind Enthusiasm - Edmonton
All-Alberta Malt Beer
Gold - High Tackle Golden Ale - Marda Loop Brewing Company - Calgary
Silver - Osmotar-Sahti - Stonyslope Brewing Company - Calgary
Bronze - Traditional English Pale - Red Hart Brewing - Red Deer
Low-Alcohol Beer
Gold - Chaise Longue - The Establishment Brewing Company - Calgary
Silver - Lil Sebastian Miniature IPA - Campio Brewing Co. - Edmonton
Bronze - Lil-Broski - Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company - Edmonton
Non-Alcoholic Beer
Gold - Zero People Skills - Tool Shed Brewery - Calgary
Silver - Zero Red Rage - Tool Shed Brewery - Calgary
Bronze - Pacer Hazy Pale Ale - Big Rock Brewery - Calgary
Seltzer and Ready-to-drink Beverages
Gold - Troubled Tea - Troubled Monk - Red Deer
Silver - Strawberry Rhubarb Lemonade - Cold Lake Brewing & Distilling Co.- Cold Lake
Bronze - Easy Vodka Raspberry Lemonade - Snake Lake Brewing Company - Sylvan Lake
Craft Soda and Lemonade
Gold - Saskatoon Soda - Troubled Monk - Red Deer
Silver - Root Beer - Annex Ale Project - Calgary
Bronze - Ginger Beer - Annex Ale Project - Calgary
List provided by the Alberta Small Brewers Association