REGINA, Sask. — Saskatchewan craft breweries struck gold on Oct. 8, earning national recognition against nearly 2,000 entries at the fifth annual Canada Beer Cup.
Rebellion Brewing, Pile O' Bones and Rafter R Brewing all take gold medals back to Saskatchewan from the fifth annual Canada Beer Cup Awards in Calgary, AB.
The national competition recognizes excellence in Canadian craft beer. Breweries from across the country enter their beers to be judged against others in specific categories, with awards recognizing the top entries.
Regina’s Pile O’ Bones Brewing earned gold for its White IPA in the German and American Wheat Beer category.
Regina’s Rebellion Brewing earned gold for its Zilla Black IPA in the Specialty IPA category. Rebellion Brewing owner Mark Heise says there were more than 1,900 beers entered from across Canada and only 133 medals were given out.
"The success rate of actually winning is pretty small. Like, the odds are kind of stacked against you. Any medal is great, but to win gold — especially in one of the IPA categories where there's always a pile of entries … I'm just proud of the whole thing," says Heise.
Heise is also proud of his fellow Saskatchewan gold medallists Ryan and Teresa Moncrieff. Heise recalls years ago, when he first tasted the Moncrieffs' English Dark Mild beer, he knew it was a gold medal winner.
The Moncrieffs, who are based in Maple Creek, won gold for their English Dark Mild in the Brown British Ale category, which is the first national award they have won. Ryan Moncrieff shares what it was like to win.
"When your name gets called for an award at a national competition like that, it's surreal. You work your tail off all year long and, you know, years on end really, and it's that pat on the back from your peers in the industry — you know the judges obviously — but all your friends in the industry are at that awards thing too, and getting high fives and pats on the back from friends in the industry is huge," says Moncrieff.
Moncrieff believes that whether you're in a small town or a big urban centre, great beer can be made anywhere.
While Moncrieff views this award as a massive win for Rafter R Brewing, it's also a reminder to keep up the hard work.
"It's always great to win an award, but it means you've got to double down and you've got to work harder next year to hopefully get your name back up there again," says Moncrieff.
Both Heise and Moncrieff emphasized that "Saskatchewan punches above its weight class" when it comes to the Canada Beer Cup.
Other Saskatchewan producers also earned bronze medals at the competition. Saskatoon’s Better Brother Brewing Co. won bronze for its NA Raspberry Lime Kettle Sour in the Non-Alcoholic Beer category.
Nokomis Craft Ales picked up two bronze medals, one for its Nokomis Pale Ale in the American Amber Beer category and another for its Nokomis Dry Hopped Sour in the Contemporary Sour Ale category.
Crossmount Cider Company, located south of Saskatoon, also earned bronze for its Crossmount Prairie Frost Ice Cider in the Ice & Fortified Cider category.
