North Vancouver brewery wins gold at Canadian Brewing Awards

¡Felicidades! A brewery in North Vancouver has been recognized for producing one of the best beers in the country.

El Valle Salado Salted Lime Lager by La Cervecería Astilleros — which means shipyard brewery in Spanish — won gold in the Herb and Spice Beer category at the 2023 Canadian Brewing Awards in June.

The craft beer producer made its first batch of the winning brew before La Cervecería Astilleros opened its doors in late 2020. The recipe was first developed by Dave Van Allen, who was working under contract at the time and is now the producer’s head brewer.

El Valle Salado is basically a BC lager with a pinch of salt and Mexican lime added at the end of the production process. After refining the recipe over 42 iterations, the brewery entered the national competition for the first time.

The La Cervecería Astilleros team was overjoyed with the win.

“Oh my god, we were so excited,” said Cecilia Osorio, general manager. “We were hoping this beer would win because it’s our best seller and everyone loves it,” she said.

Salted lime lager is a hit with consumers, accounts for about 80 percent of brewery sales, and is sold throughout BC and Alberta, Osorio added.

Like the blue and white imported tiles that line the walls of Lower Lonsdale’s taproom, many of the drinks made at La Cervecería Astilleros are inspired by Mexico, which sets them apart from their more traditional Western counterparts, Osorio said.

The brewery recently received its distillery license and just last week replenished its supply of salted lime margarita.

North Point Brewing Co. Cereal Milk Chocolate Stout also won Silver in the Sweet Stout or Cream Stout category at the Canadian Brewing Awards.

At last year’s BC Beer Awards, La Cervecería Astilleros won second place in the specialty fruit beer category for its Agua de Jamaica Hibiscus Rose Sour.