Since 2000, the Canadian Brewing Awards have judged Canadian majority-owned breweries to determine the best beers available in the country. The Canadian Brewing Awards are the oldest national beer competition in Canada.
In 2025, the Canadian Brewing Awards judged over 1,600 beers from breweries representing all provinces and two of the three territories of Canada. About 270 breweries sent beers to the competition.
“Entries were down about 10%,” say Ob Simmonds, head of innovation at the Canadian Brewing Awards, noting that many smaller breweries were struggling with cash flow in a tougher economic climate and dealing with uncertainly relating to input costs in light of tariffs. Breweries pay a fee to enter beers and incur expenses shipping beer to the judging location.
Simmonds said he was aware of the difficulties some breweries have in entering competitions. Since taking over management of the competition last year, Simmonds has embarked on a journey to change the way the competition is run, to make it so that every brewery can participate. He noted that this year, a number of breweries that historically have never entered beer competitions entered the Canadian Brewing Awards. Among those, Godspeed Brewery of Toronto, not only won several medals, it was awarded Best of Show for its Irori, a peated scotch lager.
Best Of Show
In addition to awarding gold, silver and bronze medals in 47 categories, the gold medal winners from those categories are judged against each other with the best winning Best of Show medals. For 2025, the Best of Show gold medal winner, and arguably the best beer in Canada, is Irori from Godspeed Brewery. The silver and bronze Best of Show medals were awarded to Dunkelweizen from Four Winds Beach House & Brewery (Delta, British Columbia) and Bountii from Kilter Brewing Co. (Winnipeg, Manitoba), respectively.
Brewery Of The Year
Based on the number of medals awarded to the competing breweries, the awards competition also names a Brewery of the Year. The 2025 Canadian Brewing Awards Brewery of the Year is Smithers Brewing Company of Smithers, British Columbia.
Here are the category winners of the 2025 Canadian Brewing Awards:
American & British Porter
Gold: Bellhop Porter – Abandoned Rail Brewing
Silver: Porter of Prov – Manitoulin Brewing Company
Bronze: Baltic Porter – La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing
American Amber & Dark
Gold: no medal awarded
Silver: no medal awarded
Bronze: Cat’s Paws Amber Lager – Wild Winds Brewery
American Belgo-Style Ale
Gold: White Noise – Giants Head Brewing
Silver: Belgian IPA – Deadfall Brewing Company
Bronze: Two Pillars Pale – Two Pillars Brewery
American Blonde Ale & Pale Ale
Gold: Wedgehead Kolsch – Smugglers Trail Caskworks
Silver: Pegasus American Pale Ale – Ol’ Beautiful Brewing Company
Bronze: Gahan Vic Park – PEI Brewing Company
American Brown & Dark Ale
Gold: Salted Stout – Port Rexton Brewing Co.
Silver: Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza – Maybee Brewing
Bronze: Open Road – Troubled Monk
American West Coast & Double IPA
Gold: Juicy! Double IPA – Garrison Brewing Company
Silver: Hop Cone Syndrome – Rainhard Brewing
Bronze: West Coast IPA – Flora Hall Brewing
American Pale Lager, Pilsner & Cream Ale
Gold: Kicksled Cream Ale – NWT Brewing Co.
Silver: Bossman Lager – 70 Acre Brew Co.
Bronze: Sittler 10 Point Lager – Something In The Water
American Red Ale
Gold: Amber Ale – Poco Brothers Brewing Co.
Silver: Gahan Island Red – PEI Brewing Company
Bronze: Le sage du bois de chauffage – Novum Boreas Microbrasserie
American Sour Ale
Gold: Full Pleasure – Long Bay Brewery
Silver: Island Breeze – Concession Road Brewing Company
Bronze: Raspberry Sour – 70 Acre Brew Co.
Oceania & International Hoppy Beer
Gold: Binge Watch – Village Brewery
Silver: Odyssey – Curious Creatures Beer Corp.
Bronze: Broken Sun – Smugglers Trail Caskworks
Barley Wine & Imperial Stout
Gold: no medal awarded
Silver: no medal awarded
Bronze: Long Dark Voyage to Uranus – Sawdust City Brewing Co
Belgian Dubbel, Dark Strong & Quadruppel
Gold: Dubbel – Meuse Brewing Company Inc.
Silver: Cloister Quadrupel – Wave Maker
Bronze: Two Pillars Dark Strong – Two Pillars Brewery
Belgian Sour Beer
Gold: Spontaneous Manifesto 2023 – Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company
Silver: Rouge des Appalaches – Frampton Brasse
Bronze: Dry Hop Series: Galaxy Saaz – Blind Enthusiasm Brewing Company
Belgian Tripel & Strong Blonde Ale
Gold: Tripel – Pie Braque Microbrasserie
Silver: Red Mosquito – Tooth and Nail Brewing Company
Bronze: Dominus Vobiscum Triple – Microbrasserie Charlevoix
Belgian-Style Witbier & Saison
Gold: Saison de la Meuse – Meuse Brewing Company
Silver: Quark, Strangeness and Charm – Pile O’ Bones Brewing
Bronze: Soccer Mom – Nickel Brook Brewing
Berliner Weisse & Gose
Gold: Flo Rida – Vaycay Brew Co
Silver: Salz und Säuer Gose – Smithers Brewing Company
Bronze: Salt Water Cowboy – Tatamagouche Brewing Co
English Bitter, Blonde & IPA
Gold: English Ordinary Bitter – Flora Hall Brewing
Silver: English Pale Ale – Train Wreck Brewing
Bronze: Tickity Boo – Twin City Brewing Company
Mixed-Culture Brett Beer
Gold: Operis – Four Winds Brewing Co
Silver: Foeder Aged Margarita Gose – Flora Hall Brewing
Bronze: Cherryoperis – Four Winds Brewing Co
British Stout
Gold: Secret Society – Tire Shack Brewing Co.
Silver: Thrift Shop Stout – Lot 10 Brewing Company
Bronze: Oats n’ Hose – Brew Revolution
Chocolate, Coffee And Pastry Dark Beer
Gold: Bountii – Kilter Brewing Co.
Silver: Mocha Crunch – Sawdust City Brewing Co
Bronze: Coffee Porter – Tire Shack Brewing Co.
English-Style Brown Ale
Gold: Bootlegger Brown Ale – Smithers Brewing Company
Silver: Vintage Brown – Kilter Brewing Co.
Bronze: Nail Bender – Kahnawake Brewing Company
International Pale Lager
Gold: Czech Pilsner – Powell Brewery
Silver: Jaro Pilsner – Land & Sea Brewing Co
Bronze: German Pilsner – Anderson Craft Ales
European Amber To Dark Lager
Gold: Big Dunc – Upper Thames Brewing Company
Silver: 11 pm – Northern Superior Brewing Co
Bronze: Vienna Lager – Gillingham Brewing Company
European Strong Lager
Gold: Yard Sale Bock – Endeavour Brewing Company Ltd.
Silver: Perpetuator – Steadfast Brewing Co
Bronze: Lazy Dog – Paris Beer Co
Experimental India Pale Ale
Gold: Blackboard Black IPA – Schoolhouse Brewery
Silver: Blue Dream Hazy IPA – Four Winds Brewing Co.
Bronze: Polar Vortex – One Great City Brewing Co
Experimental Beer
Gold: Joy Hill Blaufränkisch – Ippon
Silver: Grace – Strawberry & White Chocolate – White Stout – Banded Goose Brewing Company
Bronze: Mujo – Ippon
Fruit Beer
Gold: Imperial Pear Elderflower Love Buzz – Strathcona Beer Company
Silver: Yuzu – Godspeed Brewery
Bronze: Peach Wit – Britannia Brewing Co
German Wheat & Rye Beer
Gold: Dunkelweizen – Four Winds Beach House & Brewery
Silver: Oie Blanche – Microbrasserie Des Beaux Prés
Bronze: Hefe Weizen – Garrison Brewing Company
Gluten-Free Beer
Gold: Quick Witted – Grey Fox Brewing
Silver: Gluten Free Pale Ale – Port Rexton Brewing Co. Ltd.
Bronze: Buckwild Stout – Grey Fox Brewing
Herb And Spice Beer
Gold: Winter Ale – Mariner Brewing
Silver: Ginger and Sansho Pepper – Ippon
Bronze: no medal awarded
Historic/Regional Beer
Gold: Spruced Up Gose – Mountainview Brewing Co.
Silver: no medal awarded
Bronze: no medal awarded
Honey Beer
Gold: Queen Bee – Burnside Brewing Co
Silver: Beez Nutz – Brew Revolution
Bronze: no medal awarded
Irish Red Ale
Gold: Great Craic Irish Red – Smithers Brewing Company
Silver: Ridgewalk Red Ale – Fernie Brewing Co.
Bronze: Barn Burner – Beau’s All Natural Brewing Co.
Irish Stout
Gold: Iron Eye Nitro Stout – Blood Brothers Brewing
Silver: Patricius Irish Stout – Boxing Rock Brewing Company
Bronze: Feck Off Irish Stout – Smither Brewing Company
Juicy Pale Ale, NEIPA & IIPA
Gold: New England IPA – Black Bridge Brewery
Silver: Widowmaker – Backcountry Brewing
Bronze: Super Saturation – Cabin Brewing Company
Kolsch & Altbier
Gold: Ol’Woody Altbier – Sawdust City Brewing Co.
Silver: Kolsch – Patina Brewing
Bronze: High Country Kölsch – Mt. Begbie Brewing Company
Low Alcohol Beer
Gold: Joggeuse – Microbrasserie La Souche
Silver: Annex Radler – Annex
Bronze: Santa Fe – Microbrasserie Des Beaux Prés
Non-Alcohol Beer
Gold: N/A Raspberry Lime Kettle Sour – Better Brother Brewing Co.
Silver: Simple de même Gose sans alcool – Microbrasserie La Souche
Bronze: Everyday Player – Left Field Brewery
Other Belgian Beer
Gold: Marigold Belgian Golden Ale – Clifford Brewing Co
Silver: Room For More – Ale Architect
Bronze: no medal awarded
Hoppy Lager
Gold: Queen of Hops, Hoppy Lager – Coast Mountain Brewing
Silver: Kome Forest – Curious Creatures Beer Corp.
Bronze: no medal awarded
Other Strong Beer
Gold: Old Ale X – La Brasserie Nonsuch Brewing Co
Silver: Two Rivers Baltic Porter – Tatamagouche Brewing Co
Bronze: Salted Black Porter – Field House Brewing
Scotch Ale
Gold: Scotch Ale – Pile O’ Bones Brewing
Silver: Old Man Winter – Smithers Brewing Company
Bronze: Greenock – Saint Andrews Brewing Company
Session India Pale Ale
Gold: Minor Force – Annex
Silver: SloMo – MaBrasserie
Bronze: Wild Matters Hazy Pale Ale – R&B Brewing
Smoked Beer
Gold: Irori – Godspeed Brewery
Silver: Das Winter Projekt – Frampton Brasse
Bronze: Cote Fumée – Microbrasserie Des Beaux Prés
Wood- And Barrel-Aged Beer
Gold: Lillith Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Porter – Tatamagouche Brewing Co
Silver: Barrel Reserve #267 – Paris Beer Co
Bronze: Gahan Foeder Aged Passionfruit Blood Orange Sour – PEI Brewing Company
Wood- And Barrel-Aged Strong Beer
Gold: Foeder Aged Chocolate Stout – Flora Hall Brewing
Silver: Working Late – Espresso Stout – Trailway Brewing Company
Bronze: Kentucky Imperial Stout – Nickel Brook Brewing Co.
Creative Category
Gold: Horchata White Stout – Sawdust City Brewing Co
Silver: Margarita Monday Tart Ale – Smithers Brewing Company
Bronze: Blueberry Paczki Beer – Sons of Kent Brewing Co