Garrison Brewing Company wins big at Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards

Garrison Brewing Company in Halifax took home the award for best brewery in Atlantic Canada at the Atlantic Canadian Beer Awards on Sunday night.

"We were thrilled," said company president Brian Titus. "There was a whole crew of us that were there to receive it, including my brewmaster Daniel Girard. It's a real testament to what he does when we win the awards."  

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The company also took home three gold and two silver medals for some of its specialty beers.

The beer awards were started last year by the Nova Scotia Sommelier Association as a way to recognize excellence in regional craft beers.  

The number of breweries in Atlantic Canada is growing rapidly. Titus said in Nova Scotia alone, 15 new breweries opened their doors since 2013..

"There's now quite a few breweries and they're all making really quite good beer, beer that we should be quite proud of as Atlantic Canadians. So when you win an award among good stiff competition like that it makes you feel pretty good," Titus said.

He believes more than 18 years experience and the love of creating one-of-a-kind specialty beers sets Garrison apart.

One of those beers is the company's Grand Baltic Porter, which won a gold on Sunday. It's a nine per cent beer that's brewed with molasses and dates. Then the beer is put in rum barrels where it sits for the better part of a year.

The awards most likely won't translate into a huge bump in sales for Garrison, according to Titus, but that doesn't mean the brewery won't benefit from the accolades all the same.   

"What it ultimately does is, it kind of puts a spotlight on us as a brewery that is making award-winning beer, and beer that stands up to the beer that's being made by our peer breweries," said Titus.