¡Felicidades! A North Vancouver brewery has been recognized for having one of the best beers in the country.
El Valle Salado Salted Lime Lager by La Cervecería Astilleros – which translates to “Shipyards Brewery” from Spanish – won gold in the herb and spice beer category at the 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards in June.
The craft beer producer made their first batch of the winning brew before La Cervecería Astilleros opened its doors at the end of 2020. The recipe was first developed by Dave Van Allen, who worked under contract at the time and is now the producer’s head brewer.
El Valle Salado is essentially a B.C. lager at its base with a pinch of salt and Mexican lime added at the end of the production process. After refining the recipe through 42 iterations, this was the first time the brewery entered it into the national competition.
The team at La Cervecería Astilleros was thrilled with the win.
“Oh my God, we were so excited,” said Cecilia Osorio, general manager. “We were hoping for that beer to win because it’s our best seller and everyone loves it,” she said.
The Salted Lime Lager is a hit with consumers, representing around 80 per cent of the brewery’s sales, and is distributed throughout B.C. and in Alberta, Osorio added.
Like the blue and white imported tiles lining the walls of the Lower Lonsdale taproom, many of the drinks made at La Cervecería Astilleros are infused with inspiration from Mexico, which distinguishes them from their more traditional Western-style peers, Osorio said.
Recently, the brewery got its distillery licence, and just re-stocked its Salted Lime Magarita last week.
Also at the Canadian Brewing Awards, North Point Brewing Co.’s Cereal Milk Chocolate Stout took silver in the sweet stout or cream stout category.
At last year’s B.C. Beer Awards, La Cervecería Astilleros won second place for its Agua de Jamaica Hibiscus Rose Sour in the specialty fruit beer category.
