Their innovation has once again been recognized.
That's how Adam Mills sums up how his family business, Four Winds Brewing Company, for the second straight year won the coveted Beer of the Year award at the Canadian Brewing Awards in Richmond last weekend.
The Delta-based brewery won top prize this year for its Nectarous dryhopped sour ale.
"It is a unique beer to brew in the sense that it's a very new style," said Mills. "There's been a few examples of this kind of style, which is like an American style sour ale, or what people call a kettle sour."
He said the difference between a kettle sour and a barrel-aged sour beer is the kettle sour is done quicker using different ingredients, including a souring agent found in yogurt, along with a different technique and temperature.
"It's a relatively new style of beer and we were kind of spearheading this style about two years ago. We were one of the first ones to do it. I think being ahead of the curve and innovating this style was huge for us and we had time to perfect it," he added.
A Canadian Brewing Award medal is said to be widely recognized as a symbol of brewing excellence in Canada. A panel of approximately 40 certified beer judges considers several criteria (aroma, appearance, flavour, mouth-feel and overall impression) when judging a beer.
The latest award for Four Winds was among several medals last weekend for the brewery, which has piled up an impressive list of awards since opening shop in Tilbury in 2013.
The craft beer maker, run by Greg Mills along with sons Brent, Sean and Adam, has built quite a reputation in a short time as its products are stocked in more restaurants and liquor stores.
"One of the best things we do is we are constantly pushing the boundaries and coming up with new and innovative styles and takes on old styles... with a lot of our beers, we're pushing the boundaries a little bit and trying be creative and trying to come up with something new all the time," Adam Mills said.
The craft brewery on 72nd Street has applied to the province's Liquor Control and Licensing Branch to convert its tasting room into a 30-seat brewery lounge that will serve alcohol and food. The Corporation of Delta already gave its support for the application.
