Golden Tap Awards
Encyclopedia
The Golden Tap Awards is an annual beer
awards event held in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
. The awards are sponsored and presented by The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to the discussion and promotion of Toronto's craft and microbrew beer scene.
The GTAs were launched in 2003 as a way to recognise the achievements of craft brewers and bar owners in the Greater Toronto Area
, hence the "GTA" acronym. In 2006, the scope of the awards was expanded to include brewers and bars throughout the province of Ontario. Winners of the awards are selected via online voting. In 2003 and 2004, the event took place at The Academy of Spherical Arts. In 2005, the event was moved to beerbistro where each event has featured an all-Ontario craft beer festival to coincide with the awards.
In 2009 the Golden Tap Awards consolidated all awards to recognize winners from across the province, instead of segmenting as GTA and outside of the GTA. The Golden Tap Awards will also recognize brewers who produce cask-conditioned beers for the first time.
The 2010 Golden Tap Awards were announced on August 21, 2010 at beerbistro, with a special Ontario Craft Brewers
dinner taking place on Friday, August 20 as a part of the celebrations.
2008
Plus four Editor's Choice Awards, as determined by a panel of Bar Towel members and associates:
2007
Plus four Editor's Choice Awards, as determined by a panel of Bar Towel members and associates:
2006
2005
2004
2003
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
awards event held in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The awards are sponsored and presented by The Bar Towel, a website and forum dedicated to the discussion and promotion of Toronto's craft and microbrew beer scene.
The GTAs were launched in 2003 as a way to recognise the achievements of craft brewers and bar owners in the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
, hence the "GTA" acronym. In 2006, the scope of the awards was expanded to include brewers and bars throughout the province of Ontario. Winners of the awards are selected via online voting. In 2003 and 2004, the event took place at The Academy of Spherical Arts. In 2005, the event was moved to beerbistro where each event has featured an all-Ontario craft beer festival to coincide with the awards.
In 2009 the Golden Tap Awards consolidated all awards to recognize winners from across the province, instead of segmenting as GTA and outside of the GTA. The Golden Tap Awards will also recognize brewers who produce cask-conditioned beers for the first time.
The 2010 Golden Tap Awards were announced on August 21, 2010 at beerbistro, with a special Ontario Craft Brewers
Ontario Craft Brewers
The Ontario Craft Brewers is a trade association representing 27 small, independent breweries in the Canadian province of Ontario.- Origins :...
dinner taking place on Friday, August 20 as a part of the celebrations.
Past winners
2009- Best micro or craft brewery in Ontario: Beau's All Natural Brewing CompanyBeau's All Natural Brewing CompanyBeau's All Natural Brewing Company, also known as Beau's Brewing Company or simply Beau's, is a microbrewery located in Vankleek Hill, Ontario, 50 minutes east of Ottawa....
, Vankleek HillVankleek Hill, OntarioVankleek Hill is a community in Champlain township in eastern Ontario, situated south of Hawkesbury on Highway 34.This agricultural based community became a thriving community in the 1890s and still retains many of the buildings and structures which were present then... - Best brewery for cask-conditioned ale in Ontario: Granite Brewery
- Best bar for draught beer selection in Ontario: C'est What
- Best bar for bottled beer selection in Ontario: Bar Volo
- Best bar for cask-conditioned ale in Ontario: Bar Volo
- Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario: Mill Street Brewpub
- Best regularly produced craft beer in Ontario: Beau's All Natural Brewing Company Lug-Tread Lagered Ale
- Best seasonal or specialty craft beer in Ontario: Black Oak Summer Saison
- Best cask-conditioned ale in Ontario: County Durham Hop Head
- Best of the festival: Beau's All Natural Brewing Company Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill
- Editor's Circle: Cask Ale Crawl
- Editor's Circle: Rob Creighton & Grand River Brewing
- Editor's Circle: Derek Hyde & Amsterdam Brewing
- Editor's Circle: Jim Brickman
2008
- Best Microbrewery in the GTA: Mill Street BreweryMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
- Best Microbrewery in Ontario (non-GTA): Beau's All Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill
- Best Beer Brewed in the GTA: Steam WhistleSteam Whistle BrewingSteam Whistle Brewing is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario. The company produces a premium pilsner lager packaged in distinctive green glass bottles and a non-twist cap. They only use four natural ingredients: spring water from Caledon, Ontario; hops from Germany; two-row barley; and yeast. In 2004,...
- Best Beer Brewed in Ontario (non-GTA): Beau's All Natural Brewing Company Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill
- Best GTA Beer Bar (Draught Selection): C'est What
- Best GTA Beer Bar (Bottled Selection): beerbistro
- Best Ontario (non-GTA) Beer Bar: The Manx, Ottawa
- Best Ontario (including GTA) Brewpub or Tied House: Mill Street Brewpub, Toronto
- Best Beer of the Fest: Grand River Bumbleberry Wheat, Cambridge
Plus four Editor's Choice Awards, as determined by a panel of Bar Towel members and associates:
- St Veronus, Belgian bistro in Peterborough
- Cameron's Cask Nights, a cask tasting event series
- Dogfish Head Beer Dinner hosted by / beerbistro
- Steve Peters, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
2007
- Best Microbrewery in the GTA: Mill Street BreweryMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
- Best Microbrewery in Ontario (non-GTA): Church-Key Brewing Company, Campbellford
- Best Beer Brewed in the GTA: Mill StreetMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
Tankhouse Ale - Best Beer Brewed in Ontario (non-GTA): Beau's All Natural Brewing Company Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill
- Best GTA Beer Bar (Draught Selection): C'est What
- Best GTA Beer Bar (Bottled Selection): beerbistro
- Best Ontario (non-GTA) Beer Bar: Augusta's Winking Judge, Hamilton
- Best Ontario (including GTA) Brewpub or Tied House: Mill Street Brewpub, Toronto
- Best Beer of the Fest: Black Oak Transvestite's Tipple, Oakville
Plus four Editor's Choice Awards, as determined by a panel of Bar Towel members and associates:
- Great Lakes Brewery, brewers of Devil's Pale Ale, Orange Peel Ale and others
- Michael Hancock, brewer of Denison's Weissbier and Dunkel
- Roland + Russel, beer importers
- Volo Cask Days, an event organized by Volo in Toronto
2006
- Best Ontario (non-GTA) Beer Bar: Augusta's Winking Judge, Hamilton
- Best GTA Beer Bar (Bottled Selection): Volo
- Best GTA Beer Bar (Draught Selection): C'est What
- Best Ontario (including GTA) Brewpub or Tied House: Granite Brewery, Toronto
- Best Ontario (non-GTA) Microbrewery: Wellington BreweryWellington BreweryWellington Brewery, Canada's oldest independently owned microbrewery, is located in Guelph, Ontario. The brewery was established in 1985 and is the first North American brewery in modern times to brew cask-conditioned Real Ale....
, Guelph - Best GTA Microbrewery: Mill Street BreweryMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
- Best Ontario (non-GTA) Beer: Scotch-Irish Sgt. Major's IPA, Ottawa
- Best GTA Beer: Mill StreetMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
Tankhouse Ale - Best Beer of the Fest: Beau's All Natural Brewing Company Lug Tread Lagered Ale "Kolsch-Bock"
2005
- Best Beer Bar (Bottled Selection): Smokeless Joe
- Best Beer Bar (Draught Selection): C'est What
- Best New Beer Bar: beerbistro
- Best Microbrewery: Mill Street BreweryMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
- Best Beer: Mill StreetMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
Tankhouse Pale Ale - Best New Beer: Cameron'sCameron's Brewing CompanyCameron's Brewing Company is a craft brewery located just outside Toronto in Oakville, Ontario Canada. Founded in 1997, Cameron's produces 4 different beers, Cameron's Cream Ale, Cameron's Auburn Ale, Cameron's Lager and Cameron's Dark266....
Dark 266 - Best Beer of the Fest: Black Oak Hop Bomb
2004
- Best Beer Bar (Bottled Selection): Smokeless Joe
- Best Beer Bar (Draught Selection): C'est What
- Best Microbrewery: Mill Street BreweryMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
- Best Beer: (tie) Mill StreetMill Street BreweryMill Street is a Canadian brewery founded in December 2002 in Toronto by Steve Abrams, Jeff Cooper and Michael Duggan. Joel Manning is currently the head brewer. The brewery has won numerous awards in its relatively short existence, including Golden Tap Awards for Best Toronto Microbrewery and...
Tankhouse Pale Ale and Steam WhistleSteam Whistle BrewingSteam Whistle Brewing is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario. The company produces a premium pilsner lager packaged in distinctive green glass bottles and a non-twist cap. They only use four natural ingredients: spring water from Caledon, Ontario; hops from Germany; two-row barley; and yeast. In 2004,...
Pilsner
2003
- Best Beer Bar (Bottled Selection): Smokeless Joe
- Best Beer Bar (Draught Selection): C'est What
- Best Microbrewery: Black Oak Brewing
- Best Brewpub: Granite Brewery
- Best Beer: Granite Best Bitter Special