Golden Tap Award Winners

Well Mr.Enright, you did it again.

The sixth installment of the annual Golden Tap Awards took place on Saturday night at Toronto's beerbistro, much to the delight of local craft beer supporters, and proved once again that it is a top notch beer event. Brewers, brewery reps, bloggers, craft beer drinkers and newcomers alike, all gathered on the insanely hot night to recognize the best in the Ontario brewing industry.

The doors opened at 4pm and by 5:30pm the place was alive with the sound of chatter and excitement. Individuals were able to purchase drink and food token for $2 a piece. Food items consisted of small pulled pork sandwiches, hamburger, veggie sandwich and frites with a delicious Belgian inspired mayo (no Hellman's here Stephen Davey). The small pulled pork sandwich was just a tease for those of us who have had the normal size from the regular menu.

People went for the drinks right away and there were many to choose from. Click here for full list. One token provided you with a small sample and two tokens filled your glass. There were casks, one offs, and one keg brewed just for the event.

Joel Manning of Mill Street, Jason Britton of Cameron's, Ken Woods of Black Oak, Paul Dickey of Pepperwood, Jeff from F&M, Rob Creighton and Bob Hannenberg of Grand River and Bruce Halsted of Durham were all in attendance and were joined by Paul Corriveau of the new Railway City Brewing Co. in St. Thomas. They shared some stories that captured my attention; namely the mention of some new Mill St. products, Railway City plans for a winter seasonal and the progress Black Oak is making on their new location.

Steve Peters, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario made an appearance as he was being recognized by the Editor's Circle for dedication to Ontario Craft Beer. Peters mingled all night and during his celebratory speech he stunned some people with these comments: "I've heard from a lot of people tonight and recognize there are some hardships in the industry. I would be more than happy to meet with those in the industry to gain a better perspective and build some lobbying efforts."

The beer of the night for me was the Wellington Imperial Stout; however, Grand River's Bumbleberry Wheat took the cake as it was voted the 'Best Beer of the Fest' by the public.

Here are the other winners: Congratulations to all!

Best microbrewery in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)
- Mill Street, Toronto

Best microbrewery in Ontario (outside of the GTA)
- Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill

Best beer brewed in the GTA
- Steam Whistle Pilsner, Toronto

Best beer brewed in Ontario (outside of the GTA)
- Beau’s Lug-Tread Lagered Ale, Vankleek Hill

Best bar in the GTA in terms of draught beer selection
- C’est What, Toronto

Best bar in the GTA in terms of bottled beer selection
- beerbistro, Toronto

Best bar in Ontario (outside of the GTA)
- The Manx, Ottawa

Best brewpub or tied house in Ontario (including the GTA)
- Mill Street Brewpub, Toronto

Best beer of the festival
- Grand River Bumbleberry Wheat, Cambridge

EDITORS CIRCLE AWARDS

St. Veronus, Belgian bistro in Peterborough
Cameron’s Cask Nights, a series of tasting events hosted by Cameron’s Brewing
Dogfish Head Dinner, an event hosted by beerbistro
Steve Peters, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario