A-Frame Brewing Co. brewmaster Andrew Sawyer doesn’t concoct the small-batch, inventive craft beers that are his M.O. for the accolades.
“It’s something we never really anticipated participating in because we’re so small and our focus has always been to make the best beer for our locals that we can,” said Sawyer after the microbrewery took home two awards at last week’s Canadian Brewing Awards. “You never know how these awards are going to pan out and the feedback you’re going to get, but to bring home some hardware is definitely nice and in some ways unexpected.”
Announced last weekend in Halifax, N.S., A-Frame was just one of the B.C. breweries to nab a gold medal across 16 categories, for its Arctic Lake Czech Dark Lager in the European Style Amber to Dark Lager category.
“It's a really fun beer to bring to the corridor,” said Jeff Oldenborger, who co-owns A-Frame with his wife, Caylin Glazier. “Being a dark beer, right off the bat people peg them for being less than refreshing or potentially very chewy or heavy. This one’s fun because it’s really light and very drinkable, while still having the qualities of a dark lager.”
The Queens Way brewery also took home a silver in the Herb and Spice Beer category for one of its most beloved sours: the Cup Lake Lemon Earl Grey Sour, which previously earned a Canadian Brewing Award in 2018.
A collaboration with Squamish’s Lucas Teas, Sawyers said the inspiration for this unique sour came from a particular dessert.
“I had the idea when I was taking the Greyhound to see my wife on the island many years ago. That concept came about from lemon pudding, and with what Lucas Teas offers, the Earl Grey lemon tea is one of my wife’s favourite teas, so it just made sense,” he explained.
No stranger to the Canadian Brewing Awards, Sawyer said the one drawback is that the brewery is often out of the specific brews by the time they earn an award — at least in the short term.
“People ask for them after the win, and, in our scheduling meetings, it makes us go, ‘Hey, we gotta bring these beers back!’”
The good news is you likely won’t have to wait long for a pint of these award-winning beers. Sawyer said they plan to rebrew both of them, likely in the fall.
A-Frame was the only Sea to Sky brewery to take home hardware at the national competition. Learn more at canadianbrewingawards.com. Check out A-Frame online at aframebrewing.com.
