Blindman Brewing's 24-2 Brown Ale won silver in the Brown Ale category of the 5th annual Alberta Beer Awards, presented this week in Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

blindman wins big

Central Alberta breweries clean up at Alberta Beer Awards

Oct 19, 2022 | 12:04 PM

The Alberta Beer Awards, held in Red Deer this week as part of the Alberta Craft Brewing Convention, featured a lot of local flavour among the 60 breweries and 420 entries between 32 categories.

For starters, Lacombe’s Blindman Brewing won both Best of Show and Brewery of the Year.

“It’s incredible. It kind of blows my mind actually. We’re really excited about being acknowledged and having this kind of beer celebrated. Our team is extremely happy and very proud of each other because it’s a total team effort,” says Hans Doef, who co-founded Blindman seven years ago.

“The industry is so close and there’s great camaraderie, so we’re excited to celebrate with our friends in the industry and get the acknowledgments we have for our rad beer. We want to keep on raising the bar and making great beer for the people.”

Blindman employs about 35 people, and released 50-60 brews over the past year, including test batches. It’s now canned over seven million beers over the years.

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Also winning Community Builder of the Year-Partners was Red Shed Malting, which is located in the Penhold area and has provided its product to breweries around the province.

“Being an award that is voted on by our customers and peers, it means the world to us. As a small family company we have to be selective in how we allocate our time and resources,” says Matt Hamill. “Our sales manager Morgan Rattray has done a great job getting the pulse of the industry and getting us involved in the right projects. Our whole team has been putting in a lot of over time lately and winning an award like this helps reenergize the team.”

Other local medalists
*Blindman – Lacombe
Sawback – Red Deer
Snake Lake – Sylvan Lake
Troubled Monk – Red Deer
Siding 14 – Ponoka
Olds College – Olds

Session Hoppy Beer
Sawback Brewing Co – Hazy Blond Ale – Silver

German/Czech Style Pilsner
Blindman Brewing – Five of Diamonds Pilsner – Silver

Wheat Beer
Snake Lake Brewing Co – Hefeweizen No. 1 – Gold

Brown Ale
Blindman Brewing – 24-2 Brown Ale – Silver

IPA
Olds College Brewery – Prairie Gold – Gold
Sawback Brewing Co – West Coast IPA – Bronze

Specialty IPA
Sawback Brewing Co – India Dark Ale – Silver

Fruit Beer
Siding 14 Brewing – Raspberry Creamsicle Ale – Gold
Siding 14 Brewing – Pineapple Express – Silver

Sour Beer
Sawback Brewing Co – Wild Sour Saison – Silver

Sour Beer with Fruit
Troubled Monk – If the Crown Fits – Gold

Barrel-aged Beer
Blindman Brewing – Foedered Lager: Munich Dunkel – Silver

Mixed Fermentation Beer
Blindman Brewing – Dwarf Sour Cherry Saison – Gold

Alberta Malt and Hops Beer
Blindman Brewing – 24-2 Brett Stock Ale – Gold
Siding 14 Brewing – Helles Lager – Bronze

Low and No-alcohol Beer
Snake Lake Brewing Co – Drink Easy Lo-Cal SIPA – Gold

Ready-to-Drink Beverage
Troubled Monk – Troubled Tea: Yuzu Citrus – Gold
Snake Lake Brewing Co – Easy Vodka Lemonade – Silver
Troubled Monk – Troubled Tea – Bronze