Courtenay鈥檚 Ace Brewing Company has earned a silver medal for its American-style India Pale Ale at the 2020 Canadian Brewing Awards.

Ace Brewing Company鈥檚 Jet Fuel IPA placed second in the annual awards, the country鈥檚 national competition for judging the quality of Canadian-manufactured beer. A Canadian Brewing Award medal is a widely recognized symbol of Canadian brewing excellence.

鈥湵醭兮�檚 huge 鈥� they are the biggest awards in Canada that you can get (in the brewing industry),鈥� says Ace鈥檚 head brewer Dan Lake.

滨迟鈥檚 first award, and an impressive feat as they opened in September 2019.

They found out about the award around their one-year anniversary and watched the award ceremony via livestream, says co-owner Jo-Anne Landolt.

鈥淲e submitted six cans of the beer (for tasting); we got an email and we knew we won something, but we didn鈥檛 have any idea what it might be.鈥�

The competition includes a blind tasting where members of a panel sample beers and rate them on a scoresheet, which includes different details about a beer. Most importantly, he noted, is that the beer does not have flaws, which include poor yeast, clarification and any off-flavours. What judges grade a beer on are appearance, aroma and flavour, Lake says.

鈥淧articularly in an IPA, they鈥檙e looking at the bitterness, hop flavours and aroma, some malt, but not too much to overpower the hops. We got some really good feedback; it鈥檚 a beer that鈥檚 not trying to hide anything, and it鈥檚 what IPAs used to be when they first came out.鈥�

The IPA category is probably the biggest category in terms of submissions, which makes the silver medal that much more special, he adds.

Lake describes Jet Fuel IPA as a balance between citrus and pine flavours, with some newer hops flavours consisting of tropical fruit aromas such as mango and peach, and a bit of coconut.

鈥湵醭兮�檚 a balance between traditional and new world hops.鈥�

Fellow B.C.-based brewer Parallel 49 Brewing took gold with its Filthy Dirty IPA and La Racoleuse from La Voie Malt茅e in Quebec took bronze.

Did you know:

Located near Canadian air force base CFB Comox, the 鈥淎ce鈥� in Ace Brewing Company references the Ace fighter pilots of the First and Second World Wars.

To get there:

Visit Ace Brewing at and online at

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