The Golden Tap Awards (GTAs) is an annual
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
awards
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An award ...
event held in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, 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
A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...
and
microbrew
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
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
The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...
, 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
The Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) is a trade association representing 83 small, independent breweries in the Canadian province of Ontario.
Origins
The OCB was founded in 2003 as the Ontario Small Brewers Association to work collectively on mar ...
dinner taking place on Friday, August 20 as a part of the celebrations.
The last time the awards were held was in 2018. In 2022 the awards may return as their twitter account indicated.
Past winners
2009
* Best micro or craft brewery in Ontario:
Beau's All Natural Brewing Company,
Vankleek Hill
Vankleek Hill is a town in Champlain Township in Eastern Ontario. It has a population of 1,996.
The town was named after Simeon Vankleek, a United Empire Loyalist who settled there near the end of the 18th century. The agricultural-based communi ...
* 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 Brewery
Mill Street Brewery is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is a part of Anheuser–Busch InBev and named after Mill Street where it is located. During its first decade of operation, as an independent brewer, Mill Street won several awards ...
* Best Microbrewery in Ontario (non-GTA): Beau's All Natural Brewing Company, Vankleek Hill
* Best Beer Brewed in the GTA:
Steam Whistle
A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system (compare to train horn).
Operation
The whistle consists of the fo ...
* 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
Dogfish Head Brewery is a brewing company based in Milton, Delaware founded by Sam and Mariah Calagione and, as of 2019, owned by the Boston Beer Company. It opened in 1995 and produces 262,000 barrels of beer annually.
Select brews (includ ...
Beer Dinner hosted by beerbistro
*
Steve Peters, speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
2007
* Best Microbrewery in the GTA:
Mill Street Brewery
Mill Street Brewery is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is a part of Anheuser–Busch InBev and named after Mill Street where it is located. During its first decade of operation, as an independent brewer, Mill Street won several awards ...
* Best Microbrewery in Ontario (non-GTA): Church-Key Brewing Company, Campbellford
* Best Beer Brewed in the GTA:
Mill Street 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 Bar 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 Brewery
Wellington Brewery is a brewery in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1985 and was one of the first North American breweries to revive the ancient technique of brewing cask-conditioned cask ale.
Phil Gosling was the founder. By 2011, t ...
, Guelph
* Best GTA Microbrewery:
Mill Street Brewery
Mill Street Brewery is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is a part of Anheuser–Busch InBev and named after Mill Street where it is located. During its first decade of operation, as an independent brewer, Mill Street won several awards ...
* Best Ontario (non-GTA) Beer:
Scotch-Irish Sgt. Major's IPA, Ottawa
* Best GTA Beer:
Mill Street 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 Brewery
Mill Street Brewery is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is a part of Anheuser–Busch InBev and named after Mill Street where it is located. During its first decade of operation, as an independent brewer, Mill Street won several awards ...
* Best Beer:
Mill Street Tankhouse Pale Ale
* Best New Beer:
Cameron's Dark 266
* Best Beer of the Fest:
Black Oak
Black Oak may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Black Oak, Arkansas
* Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana
* Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana
* Black Oak, Missouri
Other
* Black Oak Arkansas
Black Oak Ar ...
Hop Bomb
2004
* Best Beer Bar (Bottled Selection): Smokeless Joe
* Best Beer Bar (Draught Selection): C'est What
* Best Microbrewery:
Mill Street Brewery
Mill Street Brewery is a brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is a part of Anheuser–Busch InBev and named after Mill Street where it is located. During its first decade of operation, as an independent brewer, Mill Street won several awards ...
* Best Beer: (tie)
Mill Street Tankhouse Pale Ale and
Steam Whistle
A steam whistle is a device used to produce sound in the form of a whistle using live steam, which creates, projects, and amplifies its sound by acting as a vibrating system (compare to train horn).
Operation
The whistle consists of the fo ...
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
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
Best Bitter Special
See also
*
Beer in Canada
Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until pro ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Golden Tap Awards official websiteThe Bar Towel
Festivals in Toronto
Beer festivals in Canada
Beer awards
Annual events in Canada