Australia’s best craft breweries had a whopping 1,877 entries in the 16th edition of the annual GABS Hottest 100 Craft Beer poll.
After tens of thousands of votes had been counted, Mountain Culture Beer Co’s much-loved Status Quo Pale Ale has gone back-to-back and has been crowned Australia’s favourite craft beer for the second year running.
The brewery, founded in 2019 in New South Wales has experienced a meteoric rise in the local craft beer scene in just a few years. With a popular core range and frequent limited-release brews appealing to drinkers across the country, it is run by husband-and-wife team, DJ and Harriet McCready.
Two previous champions took the second and third positions on the podium with Mick Fanning’s, Gold Coast’s Balter XPA taking silver. In third place came Canberra’s BentSpoke Crankshaft IPA.
New South Wales breweries took out the title of most beers appearing on the Hottest 100 list. With 27 beers on the list, while Queensland had 24. A strong resurgence from Victoria saw them close the gap with 22, Western Australia took out 11 spots with Australian Capital Territory and South Australia both took 8 positions.
GABS mentioned a huge thank you to all the Hottest 100 sponsors, notably platinum sponsor First Choice Liquor Market who hosted the official event and live podcast at its Ashfield store in Sydney, attended by customers and top 100 finalists Stone & Wood, Young Henry’s, Hawke’s Brewing and Heaps Normal.
Head of First Choice Liquor Market, Michael Bornholdt congratulated Mountain Culture Beer Co for once again taking home the top honour.
“This year’s winners are an excellent representation of the quality craft beer being made around the country. It’s clear pale ale remains a favourite, with Aussies clearly voting for solid, consistent brews that are true to their style,” said Bornholdt.
“Craft fans looking to taste the award-winning beers can head to our national First Choice Liquor Market stores and online where we stock the vast majority of the Hottest 100, with the GABS Summer Invitational pack featuring eight summer-inspired styles also on offer for a limited time.”
You can find the full GABS Hottest 100 list and a free poster at www.gabshottest100.com/au and are invited to tune in on GABS festival socials (@gabsfestival) next Saturday for the release of the Hottest 100 NEW craft beers of 2023 (beer brewed for the first time in 2023) and the Hottest 100 Independent owned and Next 100 lists.