
Australia has spoken! The ‘other’, more delicious Hottest 100 list has been unveiled, looking at the ever-growing craft beer industry across the country and helping rank the best of the best brews of 2015. Since 2008 the poll, started by The Local Taphouse, has sifted through barrels and barrels of creative brews to give us a nice and ordered list of Australian craft beers. Titled The G.A.B.S Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of the Year, the public voted system pulls in the opinions of thousands of craft beer lovers all across the country.
G.A.B.S stands for The Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular, which is now an annual event held in both Sydney and Melbourne that showcases hundreds upon hundreds of craft beers from the country’s best breweries, with some created exclusively for the event; some of those exclusives have been included in the below list.
Stone & Wood have come out on top with their brilliant Pacific Ale, also seeing their Cloud Catcher come in at number 29, and their Garden Ale place at 65. Other big winners from the list include WA brewery Feral who have six brews on the list, two of those being in the top 10 (their Hop Hog placing at number 2, and their Karma Citra at number 10); Pirate Life who have three entries in the top 15; Little Creatures who have six brews placed; 4 Pines with seven entries, two in the top 10.
Pirate Life Brewing has made the biggest impact as far as ‘new’ entries go, nabbing numbers 3, 4, and 11, and they only just released their very first beer in March of last year. Their IIPA (which came in at number 3) was hotly tipped for the number one spot before the list was released.
Take a look at the list below and then put together your to-do list, there’s a lot of drinking to be done!
GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of the Year
1 âPacific Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Stone & Wood, NSW)
2 âHop Hogâ American-style IPA (Feral, WA)
3 âIIPAâ Double American-style IPA (Pirate Life, SA) NEW
4 âPale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Pirate Life, SA) NEW
5 âPale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Little Creatures, WA)
6 â150 Lashesâ Australian-style Pale Ale (James Squire, NSW)
7 âPale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (4 Pines, NSW)
8 âKolschâ (4 Pines, NSW)
9 âFormer Tenantâ American-style IPA (Modus Operandi, NSW)
10 âKarma Citraâ Black IPA (Feral, WA) GABS (2011)
11 âThrowbackâ Specialty IPA (Pirate Life, SA) NEW
12 âHop Thief 7â American-style Pale Ale (James Squire, NSW) NEW
13 âTaco Beerâ Specialty Beer (Two Birds, VIC) GABS (2013)
14 âMilk and Two Sugarsâ Sweet Stout (BrewCult, VIC) NEW / GABS (2015)
15 âBeechworth Pale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Bridge Road, VIC)
16 âGolden Stout Timeâ Sweet Stout (Big Shed, SA) NEW / GABS (2015)
17 âWar Hogâ American-style IPA (Feral, WA) NEW
18 âPale Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Coopers, SA)
19 âSummer Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Mountain Goat, VIC)
20 âSteam Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Mountain Goat, VIC)
21 âDark Aleâ Dark Mild (White Rabbit, VIC)
22 âRamjet 2014/15 (Whisky Aged)â Russian Imperial Stout (Boatrocker, VIC) NEW
23 âThree Sheetsâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Lord Nelson Hotel, NSW)
24 âRedâ American-style Amber Ale (Nail, WA)
25 âIndia Red Aleâ American-style IPA (Prancing Pony, SA)
26 â777â Double American-style IPA (Riverside, NSW)
27 Noisy Minor âAdmiral Ackbarâ American-style Amber Ale (Fortitude, QLD)
28 âThe Chancerâ Blonde/Golden Ale (James Squire, NSW)
29 âCloud Catcherâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Stone & Wood, NSW)
30 âNewtownerâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Young Henryâs, NSW)
31 Noisy Minor âANZUSâ American-style IPA (Fortitude, QLD)
32 âFat Yakâ American-style Pale Ale (Matilda Bay, VIC)
33 âBright Aleâ Blonde/Golden Ale (Little Creatures, WA)
34 âSmall Aleâ Specialty IPA (Colonial, WA)
35 âIndian Summer Pale Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (4 Pines, NSW) NEW
36 âHangmanâ American-style Pale Ale (Rocks, NSW)
37 âCopy Catâ American-style IPA (Mash, WA)
38 âXPA (Extra Pale Ale)â American-style Pale Ale (Wolf of the Willows, VIC)
39 âVale Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Vale, SA)
40 âDog Daysâ American Wheat (Little Creatures, WA) NEW
41 âImperial West Coast Red Rye IPAâ Specialty IPA (4 Pines, NSW) NEW
42 âPralineâ Belgian Specialty Ale (La Sirène, VIC) GABS (2014)
43 âReturn of the Dreadâ Foreign Extra Stout (Little Creatures, WA) NEW
44 âRoger Ramjet 2015 (Bourbon Aged)â Russian Imperial Stout (Boatrocker, VIC) NEW
45 âIPAâ American-style IPA (Hawkers, VIC) NEW
46 âTusk 2015â American-style IPA (Feral, WA) NEW
47 âIPAâ American-style IPA (Little Creatures, WA)
48 âAustralian Pale Aleâ (4 Pines, NSW) NEW
49 âFredâ American-style IPA (Murrayâs, NSW)
50 âGrowlerâ American-style Brown Ale (2 Brothers, VIC)
51 âFancy Pantsâ American-style Amber Ale (Mountain Goat, VIC)
52 âWindjammerâ American-style IPA (Green Beacon, QLD)
53 âPale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Hawkers, VIC) NEW
54 âWatermelon Warheadâ Berliner Weisse (Feral, WA) GABS (2012)
55 âCalifornicatorâ American-style IPA (Big Shed, SA) NEW
56 âPale Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Kosciuszko, NSW)
57 âCitrus IPAâ Specialty IPA (4 Pines, NSW) NEW
58 âGolden Aleâ Blonde/Golden Ale (Two Birds, VIC)
59 âTemptressâ Porter (Holgate, VIC)
60 âPale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Hawthorn, VIC)
61 âCalypsoâ American-style Pale Ale (Odyssey, VIC)
62 âTwo to The Valleyâ American-style IPA (Newstead, QLD)
63 âF-Yeahâ American-style Pale Ale (Big Shed, SA)
64 âKung Fooâ Pale Lager (2 Brothers, VIC)
65 âGarden Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Stone & Wood, NSW)
66 âPale Aleâ Belgian Pale Ale (White Rabbit, VIC)
67 âSunset Aleâ American-style Amber Ale (Two Birds, VIC)
68 âDark Red IPAâ Specialty IPA (Six String, NSW)
69 âAtomic Pale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Gage Roads, WA)
70 âAngry Man Pale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Murrayâs, NSW)
71 âWinstonâ American-style Pale Ale (Shenanigans, NSW)
72 âHopsmithâ American-style IPA (Akasha, NSW) NEW
73 âClout Stout 2015â Russian Imperial Stout (Nail, WA) NEW
74 âGrizzâ American-style Amber Ale (2 Brothers, VIC)
75 â#010 West Coast IPAâ American-style IPA (Exit, VIC) NEW
76 âDraughtâ KĂślsch (Colonial, WA)
77 âIPAâ American-style IPA (Mornington Peninsula, VIC)
78 âESBâ Extra Special Bitter (4 Pines, NSW)
79 âYenda Pale Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Australian Beer Co, NSW)
80 âRogersâ American-style Amber Ale (Little Creatures, WA)
81 âSplice of Heavenâ Specialty IPA (Moon Dog, VIC) NEW
82 âWest Coast IPAâ American-style IPA (Batch, NSW)
83 âVanilla Milk Stoutâ Sweet Stout (Thirsty Crow, NSW)
84 âBarrel Breed Barley Wineâ UK-style Barleywine (Mountain Goat, VIC) NEW
85 âBlingâ American-style IPA (Bridge Road, VIC)
86 âThe Foxâ Vienna-style Lager (Rabbit & Spaghetti, SA) NEW
87 âSession Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Mismatch, SA)
88 âCrankshaftâ American-style IPA (BentSpoke, ACT)
89 âPale Aleâ American-style Pale Ale (Mornington Peninsula, VIC)
90 â28â American-style Pale Ale (Burleigh, QLD)
91 â3 Quarter Timeâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Newstead, QLD)
92 âWhite Aleâ Witbier (White Rabbit, VIC)
93 âSly Foxâ American-style Pale Ale (Feral, WA)
94 âESBâ Extra Special Bitter (Hargreaves Hill, VIC)
95 â55â American-style Pale Ale (3 Ravens, VIC)
96 âMetamorphosisâ American-style IPA (KAIJU!, VIC)
97 âSparkling Aleâ Australian-style Pale Ale (Coopers, SA)
98 âZoo Feederâ American-style IPA (Modus Operandi, NSW)
99 âHopped Out Redâ American-style Amber Ale (KAIJU!, VIC)
100 âHazelnut Brownâ UK-style Brown Ale (Bad Shepherd, VIC) NEW
NEW â First released in 2015
GABSâ A âFestival Beerâ made especially for a previous GABS festival
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For more information plus to see stats and check out places 101-200 head to the GABS website HERE.
Image: Stone & Wood
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