VanBrewers Awards 2026: A Canadian National BOTY Qualifier
Thanks to all who participated in the VanBrewers Awards 2026: A Canadian National BOTY Qualifier.
Past Winners
View past winners:
There were 184 entries judged and 157 registered participants, judges, and stewards.
Results
Best of Show Winners
Best of Show – Beer
| Place | Brewer | Entry Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Scott Sterling | Lovar 2 | 34A: Commercial Specialty Beer | True Grist |
| 2nd | Adam Bass | Pop, fizz, glug | 5D: German Pils | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 3rd | John Post | Ebony Decoct | 3D: Czech Dark Lager | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
Best Brewer (50 Participating Brewers)
| Place | Brewer | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Score | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 1st | Steve Shaw | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10.02 | Winnipeg Brew Bombers |
| 2000 2nd | Wesley d'Haene | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9.02 | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 9003 | John Post | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9.02 | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
Scores and tie-breakers have been applied in accordance with the scoring methodology. Numbers reflected are rounded to the hundredth place. Hover over or tap the question mark icon () for the actual calculated value.
Club of the Year (14 Participating Clubs)
| Place | Club | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 1st | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers | 9 | 4 | 5 | 40.09 |
| 2000 2nd | VanBrewers | 2 | 3 | 7 | 19.02 |
| 3000 3rd | GTA Brews | 2 | 5 | 2 | 18.02 |
Scores and tie-breakers have been applied in accordance with the scoring methodology. Numbers reflected are rounded to the hundredth place. Hover over or tap the question mark icon () for the actual calculated value.
Winning Entries
Cider & Mead (6 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matthew Parkinson | FunMeadName M2E | M2E: Melomel | VanBrewers |
| 2nd | Matthew Parkinson | FunMeadName M3A | M3A: Fruit and Spice Mead | VanBrewers |
| 3rd | Matt Anderson | Fuck Off Strong Blueberry Mead | M2C: Berry Mead | VanBrewers |
Amber Lager (13 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Carsten Weitemeyer | Danish Dynamite | 2B: International Amber Lager | GTA Brews |
| 2nd | Chad Kling | Blaze On | 7A: Vienna Lager | VanBrewers |
| 3rd | Josh Wright | Czech Yo Self | 3C: Czech Amber Lager | VanBrewers |
Dark Euro Beer (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | John Post | Ebony Decoct | 3D: Czech Dark Lager | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Keigan Ewing | Eat My Schwarz | 8B: Schwarzbier | True Grist |
| 3rd | Sean O'Donnell | This Lands Better Cold | 2C: International Dark Lager | Ottawa's Homebrew Society |
Pale Bitter German Beer (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Adam Bass | Pop, fizz, glug | 5D: German Pils | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Wuilmer Venegas | Light Light | 5A: German Leichtbier | GTA Brews |
| 3rd | Chad Kling | Shine a Light | 5D: German Pils | VanBrewers |
Fruit Beer (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Steve Shaw | The Guavfather | 29A: Fruit Beer | Winnipeg Brew Bombers |
| 2nd | Brian Marmoreo | Ruthless | 29C: Specialty Fruit Beer | |
| 3rd | Leif Bogwald | Berserker Brew House Quince Sour | 29A: Fruit Beer | Island Brewers Union (IBU) |
Spiced Beer (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Kyle Kellam | Gone in Bloom and Bough | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | GTA Brews |
| 2nd | Carsten Weitemeyer | Chrysanthemum Kolsch | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | GTA Brews |
| 3rd | John Post | O'Henry | 30A: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
Hazy IPA (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Wesley d'Haene | Hop Eviscerator | 21C: Hazy IPA | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Brent Burgoyne | Brown Dog Hazy IPA | 21C: Hazy IPA | Island Brewers Union |
| 3rd | Shane Schlesinger | BIG Krush! | 21C: Hazy IPA | GTA Brews |
Other IPA (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Casey Szott | Hybrid Model | 21B: Specialty IPA | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Casey Szott | Big Hop Hugs | 21A: American IPA | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 3rd | James Osborne | Sunset Express | 21A: American IPA |
Dark UK & Irish Beer (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Keigan Ewing | Bailey's From a Shoe | 15B: Irish Stout | True Grist |
| 2nd | Eric Williams Co-Brewer: Brock Spencer | Extra Stout | 15C: Irish Extra Stout | Ottawa's Homebrew Society |
| 3rd | Eric Parker | Irish Stout | 15B: Irish Stout | VanBrewers |
Pale UK Beer (11 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Leif Bogwald | Berserker Brew House ESB | 11C: Strong Bitter | Island Brewers Union (IBU) |
| 2nd | Steve Shaw | Hecubus | 14C: Scottish Export | Winnipeg Brew Bombers |
| 3rd | Chad Kling | Plastic Melodrama | 12A: British Golden Ale | VanBrewers |
Strong Ale (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Matt McNair | Kinds of Light | 17D: English Barley Wine | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Wesley d'Haene | Tongue Chokehold | 22A: Double IPA | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 3rd | Wesley d'Haene | The Darkness of Everlasting | 20C: Imperial Stout | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
Amber & Dark American Ale (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Wesley d'Haene | Two Poles on the Imaginary Axis | 20A: American Porter | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Steve Shaw | The Pegg | 19B: California Common | Winnipeg Brew Bombers |
| 3rd | Casey Szott | Domino Porter | 20A: American Porter | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
Wheat & Sour Beer (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Scott Sterling | Lovar 2 | 34A: Commercial Specialty Beer | True Grist |
| 2nd | Wuilmer Venegas | La margara | 10A: Weissbier | GTA Brews |
| 3rd | Brian Marmoreo | Abaddon | 28C: Wild Specialty Beer |
American & NZ Lager (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Brent Burgoyne | Brown Dog NZ Pils | LSX5: New Zealand Pilsner | Island Brewers Union |
| 2nd | Brent Burgoyne | Brown Dog Lager | 27A6: Pre-Prohibition Lager | Island Brewers Union |
| 3rd | Chad Kling | Cluster Hops Alas | 27A6: Pre-Prohibition Lager | VanBrewers |
American Ale (6 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | James Osborne | Boxcar Breeze | 18A: Blonde Ale | |
| 2nd | Graham Ballantyne | Sierra Notvada-ish | 18B: American Pale Ale | VanBrewers |
| 3rd | Eric Gaudreault Co-Brewer: Philippe Deschênes | Crème Rincée V2 | 1C: Cream Ale | MontreAlers |
Strong & Monastic Belgian Ale (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ryan Preston | Until the fire dies | 25C: Belgian Golden Strong Ale | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Scott Sterling | Sneep | 26C: Belgian Tripel | True Grist |
| 3rd | Wuilmer Venegas | Warning! | 26C: Belgian Tripel | GTA Brews |
Belgian Ale (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ryan Preston | Speltcaster | 25B: Saison | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | Shane Schlesinger | Rubber Chicken BOOM! | 25B: Saison | GTA Brews |
| 3rd | John Ruyter | Otherness | 25B: Saison | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
Smoked, Wood Aged & Specialty Beer (9 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Steve Shaw Co-Brewer: Andre Lavoie | Amazon Alchemy | 33A: Wood-Aged Beer | Winnipeg Brew Bombers |
| 2nd | Casey Szott | Ice Ice Baby | 34B: Mixed-Style Beer | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 3rd | Patrick Paugh | Ridge Runner | 34B: Mixed-Style Beer | Island Brewers Union |
International Pale Lager (10 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | John Post | Golden Decoct | 3B: Czech Premium Pale Lager | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 2nd | John Post | Tripple Sazz | 3A: Czech Pale Lager | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
| 3rd | Bill Riley | Kicchin Dorinkaa | 2A: International Pale Lager | VanBrewers |
Malty & Strong German Beer (8 entries)
| Place | Brewer | Name | Style | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Chad Kling | Maibock, Maibock he’s got a knife | 4C: Helles Bock | VanBrewers |
| 2nd | Adrien Giddings | Doom II: Helles on Earth | 4A: Munich Helles | GTA Brews |
| 3rd | Ryan Preston | Involuntary Doppelganger | 9A: Doppelbock | Cowtown Yeast Wranglers |
Sponsors
Contact
Use the links below to contact individuals involved with coordinating this competition:
- – Competition Coordinator
- – President
- – Secretary