Australia’s top 100 craft beers have been announced – and we’ve got the lowdown.
Australia, you’ve spoken. You stormed the ballot boxes and made your voices heard in the biggest and beeriest countdown of the year. And, crucially, you crowned a winner. We’re talking, of course, about the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers.
Last month, craft connoisseurs around the country were invited to vote for their frosty faves in one of the world’s most significant craft beer polls. Pitting the nation’s best brewers against each other in the quest for bragging rights and craft beer domination, GABS Hottest 100 is a record of the year’s latest and greatest beers.
But it’s more than just a popularity contest. GABS (short for Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular) measures the pulse of Aussie tastebuds. It’s a place for brewers to push creativity to its wildest stretches. A place where experimental one-offs go up against the classics, and bravery rewards the bold.
Bragging rights are one thing, but if this festival has taught us anything over the years, it’s that GABS is where trends are born, and stars arise. Beers like Feral Brewing’s Biggie Juice East Coast IPA, Two Birds Taco Cerveza, and Yeastie Boys Gunnamatta Earl Grey IPA are all examples of GABS stars that changed the future of beer.
Narrowing a field of thousands to just 100, your votes decided the year’s best beers. So, without further ado, here are your GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2022.
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The Winner: Mountain Culture Status Quo Pale Ale
Late last year, we examined the theory that New England-style pale ales possessed peerless staying power. Today, we can reveal that the winner of GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2022 is one such beer. Debuting at number one is Mountain Culture’s Status Quo Pale Ale. The delicious result of a taproom experiment gone right, a late injection of dry hops and custom-made water (yes, you read that right) gives this beer its winning edge. Riding a wave of tropical fruity flavour to pip the back-to-back champion to the post, we reckon this win is the first of many for the young Katoomba brewery.
Founded in 2019 by Harriet McCready and her brewer husband DJ (an award-winning alumnus of Mona Vale’s Modus Operandi), Mountain Culture’s rapid rise to the top is built on a desire to disrupt the status quo. They craft their own water profiles using something called a reverse osmosis machine. They scour the globe for rare ingredients that other brewers can’t get. And ultimately, they produce seriously delicious beer. A win well deserved. Folks, your new champion has arrived. Pay them a visit next time you’re in the Blue Mountains – their brewpub’s worthy of a gong or two itself.
2. Balter XPA
If the smiley face on the can is anything to go by, our runner-up is a tried and tested crowd-pleaser. No stranger to silverware, and two-time GABS winner itself, Balter XPA comes in second place for 2022. Balancing floral, fruity aromas with a powerful presence of hops, this beer is ferociously flavoursome yet easy-drinking all at once.
Established on the Gold Coast in 2016 by six mates (including world champion surfer Mick Fanning), Balter’s founding philosophy is to produce craft beers that everyone can enjoy. And do they ever. With head brewer Scotty Hargrave on the tools, Balter’s litany of craft beers dots the GABS Hottest 100 year after year. Seven Balter brews made the list this year, but it was their XPA that pushed the champ to the finishing line.
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Click image to shop
3. BentSpoke Brewing Co. Crankshaft IPA
Like the Canberra Raiders of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, this cracking capital city export was never in doubt to do well at GABS. A back-to-back winner and defending champion, BentSpoke’s Crankshaft IPA narrowly missed out on completing the three-peat this year. But bronze is nothing to baulk at.
The brainchild of two-time Australian Champion Brewer Richard Watkins and BentSpoke co-founder Tracy Margrain, Crankshaft proved once again to be the magnum opus of Canberra craft beer. Similar in style to West Coast IPA, there was no love lost for this legendary beer’s floral, citrus aromas and searing pine flavour profile. Gold may have eluded Crankshaft this time around, but this is one beer we expect to see fighting for the title again next year.
4. Stone & Wood Pacific Ale
Byron Bay’s Stone & Wood is Aussie craft beer royalty. Inspired by their picturesque home on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, their Pacific Ale has been a fan favourite for years – which goes some way to explaining its record four (FOUR!) GABS wins.
Pacific Ale errs on the hazy side and is made exclusively with Australian wheat and barley, as well as a lick of Tasmanian Galaxy hops for its crisp, fruity flavour. There’s plenty of passionfruit and citrus to unpack, but it’s this beer’s refreshing tropical aromas that keep us coming back for more. Taking out fourth place in the GABS Hottest 100 for 2022, Pacific Ale continues to show that while trends come and go, class is forever.
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Click image to shop
5. Your Mates Brewing Co. Larry Pale Ale
If “how bloody hard could it be?” is the question, Your Mates Brewing Co. is the answer. Founded by mates Matt Hepburn and Christian McGarry, this craft brewery was born in a Queensland carport out of a mutual love of beer and the suspicion that with a little bit of laid-back Aussie ingenuity, anything is possible. Almost a decade on, their flagship Larry Pale Ale is a familiar face at GABS, landing somewhere in the top five with frightening consistency.
Like taking Michelangelo’s David down off his pedestal, Your Mate’s mission is to bring craft beer to the masses. Larry is evidence of a job well done. An easy-drinking ale crafted from flavours of mango, passionfruit and citrus – with a touch of sherbet for sweetness – this beer serves as a reminder that sometimes even the most unlikely of endeavours are worth pursuing.
As for who took out the rest of the top 15? Check out the list below:
6.Better Beer Zero Carb Lager
7. Young Henrys Newtowner Pale Ale
8. Coopers Brewery Original Pale Ale
9. Bridge Road Brewers Beechworth Pale Ale
10. Black Hops Brewery G.O.A.T. Hazy IPA
11. Gage Roads Brewing Co. Single Fin Summer Ale
12. Capital Brewing Co. XPA
13. Pirate Life Brewing South Coast Pale Ale
14. Revel Brewing Co Strawberries & Cream Sour Ale
15. Mountain Culture Cult IPA
Peruse the full list of all 100 finalists here, or get up close and personal with a selection of festival faves in our GABS Hottest 100 Mixed 24-pack, exclusive to My Dan’s members.
So, there you have it. The GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2022 is finally set in stone, but GABS isn’t over yet. Kicking off in Melbourne this May, before rolling into Sydney and Brisbane, the GABS festival will be taking the show on the road with brewery stands, live music, dance parties and more in tow.
