The head brewer at Sidekick Brewing says they鈥檙e stoked to have earned a provincial award in the hugely competitive Hazy IPA cateogory in their first year of beer-making.

Sidekick Brewing, the only riverside brewery in Chilliwack located on the Vedder River, snagged third place for their Best Friend Jer Hazy IPA at the 12th Annual BC Beer Awards last month.

鈥淲e are shocked, and so stoked that we won!鈥� said Mich Hince, head brewer for Sidekick.

He describes the award category of Hazy IPA as 鈥渋nsanely competitive,鈥� since 鈥渆veryone has a hazy.鈥�

鈥淪o to have won, knowing all the great hazy beers that must have been entered, is incredible and a huge honour, especially in our first year of operations,鈥� Hince added.

Sidekick鈥檚 Best Friend Jer Hazy IPA is 鈥渁 juicy, fruit forward鈥� style of hazy with pineapple, mango notes, and was named after a dear friend of the owners, who passed, he said.

Setting out to make a Hazy IPA is the polar opposite of how they approach a West Coast IPA where they coax a 鈥渂itter bite鈥� of hoppiness from the brew.

鈥淲ith the hazy, we鈥檙e doing everything we can to build the protein and haze, so there鈥檚 haze for days,鈥� Hince says.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not trying to extract the bitterness but rather are showcasing the aroma and flavour of the hops.鈥�

The BC Beer Awards are the signature event of BC Craft Beer Month and also one of the most anticipated festivals for the beer industry types. Awards were presented in 29 beer-style categories during the BC Beer Awards ceremony on Oct. 21 in Vancouver, with +900 entries from 124 breweries around the province.