Well, time for the big reveal…although anyone following the countdown will most likely have already picked the winner with the number one in the Critics’ Choice Top 100 going to Feral Brewing Company’s Hop Hog India Pale Ale.
Fans of good beer gush when they talk about this beer. The Critics’ Choice panel of 39 of Australia’s most respected beer connoisseurs agree and have voted it the best Australian beer for 2011.
The brewer’s notes explain that ‘originally a beer style brewed in Britain and shipped off to colonial India, our Hop Hog is an American incarnation of the India Pale Ale with strong pine needle and citrus aroma followed by an aggressive bitterness and a dry finish.’
Critics’ Choice Editor, Pete Mitcham, writes that ‘awards and accolades and the praise of beer lovers across the country shower down upon this beer which is a consistent Top 10 performer. It’s lucky its brewer, Brendan Varis, is such a humble and unassuming bloke for, if his head was allowed to swell in harmony with the quality of this beer, he’d not fit it inside his tiny Brewhouse.’
In absolute terms, ‘best’ beers are a nonsense as there are so many factors and individual preferences that make the question an impossible one to answer definitively. Even polls rely to an extend on availability and distribution. However, looking at the table below, which presents the last two Taphouse Hottest 100s and the last two Critics Choice top 12s, I think we can a pretty good idea of Australia’s three most highly regarded beers. With the annual Taphouse poll very much a popular vote and the Critics’ Choice a select poll, definite preferences are thrown up in both.
Select venues around the country will be launching the Critics’ Choice by featuring the top 12 beers tonight. Get along and try some of Australia’s best beers.
The Critics’ Choice: Australia’s Best Beers
RRP $14.95
Available April 2
from newsagents & bookstores
Comparison of Australia’s ‘Top 12’ beers…
Words Kind Class Lodged Owner
BREW GARAGE Word 32 01 Jul 2020 Liebenau Brewing Pty Ltd
RINSE VODKA SODA Word 32, 33 04 Jul 2020 Clean Collective Ltd
EAST POINT Figurative 32 06 Jul 2020 Fermentum Pty Ltd
DRAG QUEEN Word 32, 33 01 Jul 2020 FIRST DROP WINES PTY LTD
TINY TIGER Word 32, 33 01 Jul 2020 Southcorp Brands Pty Limited
BAXTER Figurative 32, 33 01 Jul 2020 GX Spirits Australia IP Pty Ltd
ST ANDREWS BEACH BREWERY Word 32, 33, 35, 40, 43 01 Jul 2020 St Andrews Beach Brewery Pty Ltd
AMSTEL ULTRA Word 32 02 Jul 2020 Amstel Brouwerij B.V.
LION LITTLE WORLD BEVERAGES Word 32, 43 02 Jul 2020 Lion – Beer, Spirits & Wine Pty Ltd
BERG Word 32, 33 10 Jul 2020 Lion – Beer, Spirits & Wine Pty Ltd
DOPE Word 32, 33 02 Jul 2020 Garth Eather
NW TALE ENDER BREWERY EST 2017 Figurative 32 06 Jul 2020 MR Christopher Wood
LONG RAYS Figurative 32, 33, 35 03 Jul 2020 Long-Rays (IP) Pty Ltd
FLIPSIDE Word 32 07 Jul 2020 Launch Liquor Pty Ltd
BONDI DRAUGHT THE BEER FOR DRINKING Figurative 32 13 Jul 2020 Paul Parks
FOREVER BITTER Word 32 08 Jul 2020 BRIGHTER DESIGN PTY LTD
NOZECCO Word 32 06 Jul 2020 LES GRANDS CHAIS DE FRANCE S.A.S.
Cabarita Brewing Word 32 06 Jul 2020 Lachlan McLean
Ozcohol Word 32, 33 06 Jul 2020 Matias Jeldrez
NOSECCO Word 32 07 Jul 2020 LES GRANDS CHAIS DE FRANCE S.A.S.
THE DISCERNING DRINKS CO Word 32, 33, 35, 42 07 Jul 2020 Ultimo Investments Pty Limited
Broken Bay Distillery Word 32, 33 09 Jul 2020 ONYX MARKETING PTY LTD
Drunky McDrunkface Word 32, 33 09 Jul 2020 Julia Mushet
KANGAROO GROUND BREWERY Word 32 10 Jul 2020 Steven Bond
Keyboard Warrior Word 32 15 Jul 2020 Red Island Group Pty Ltd As Trustee for Red Island Group Unit Trust
Blur Vines Word 32 15 Jul 2020 Red Island Group Pty Ltd As Trustee for Red Island Group Unit Trust
STONEY CREEK Word 32 13 Jul 2020 Sergio Carlei
Craig Carter
Steven Pratt
The Nineteenth (19th Hole) Word 32, 33 17 Jul 2020 Christopher Sands
W Figurative 32, 33 13 Jul 2020 WAYWARD BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD
WAYWARD BREWING CO. Figurative 32, 33 13 Jul 2020 WAYWARD BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD
JUST. BEER Figurative 32 21 Jul 2020 Just Drinks Co Pty Ltd
DUDIES FIgurative 32, 33 14 Jul 2020 Australia Wine Merchants Pty Ltd
TILTED Figurative 32, 33 20 Jul 2020 Tilted Beverages Pty Ltd
Bollard Grove Word 16, 32, 33, 41 14 Jul 2020 C2 Industries Pty Ltd
VYBN Word 5, 32 17 Jul 2020 Sophia Elizabeth Franzini
Nathan James Green
Malternative Word 32 15 Jul 2020 HAWKESBURY BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD
JUJUBES SA ESTD 2015 Figurative 29, 32 23 Jul 2020 Jujubes SA Pty Ltd
REFRESHALICIOUS IT'S A STATE OF MOUTH Figurative 32, 33 21 Jul 2020 4 Pines Brewing Company Wholesale Pty Limited
THE AMALFI WAY Fancy 8, 14, 18, 21, 25, 29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 43 16 Jul 2020 Estro Concept Pty Limited
MALT SHOVEL CRAFT BEER CO. Word 32, 33, 35, 43 16 Jul 2020 Lion-Beer, Spirits & Wine Pty Ltd
GRANITE BELT BREWERY & DISTILLERY Figurative 32, 33, 35, 40 16 Jul 2020 Castle Glen Liqueurs Australia Pty Ltd
5PM Word 25, 32, 33 19 Jul 2020 5PM BEVERAGES PTY LTD
MOTIVE MATCHA Word 5, 30, 32, 33 24 Jul 2020 The Madness Co Pty Ltd
Craft & Coast Word 32, 33, 43 20 Jul 2020 THE CRAFT & CO PTY LTD
Shit the Bed Word 32, 33 20 Jul 2020 Bunsters Worldwide Pty Ltd
SUMMER OF SELTZER Word 32, 33 20 Jul 2020 St Andrews Beach Brewery Pty Ltd
SWEETWATER Word 16, 32, 33, 35, 40 20 Jul 2020 Sweetwater Hunter Valley Pty Ltd
H Figurative 3, 5, 30, 32, 35 21 Jul 2020 AUSTRALIA 3H NATURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES PTY LTD
3H NATURAL Fancy 3, 5, 30, 32, 35 21 Jul 2020 AUSTRALIA 3H NATURAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES PTY LTD
HIGHCASTLE DRINK LIKE A KING Figurative 32 21 Jul 2020 Xebra Brands, Ltd.
BACKYARDER Word 32 21 Jul 2020 Brick Lane Brewing Co Pty Ltd
Crooked Chef Word 25, 32, 33, 41 22 Jul 2020 Kosta Nikas
Rambler Brewing Company Word 32 23 Jul 2020 David Rooney
Madocke Word 32, 33, 40 23 Jul 2020 Madocke Trading Pty Ltd
MOON DOG FIZZER HARD SELTZER Word 32, 33 23 Jul 2020 Moon Dog Brewing Pty Ltd
Secret States Word 32 24 Jul 2020 Acintya Acintya
TC TOWN & COUNTRY Figurative 32 24 Jul 2020 THE WICKED CULT PTY LTD
RETA GLOBAL Word 29, 30, 32, 33, 35 27 Jul 2020 RETA GLOBAL PTY LTD
NORT Figurative 32, 33 28 Jul 2020 M. O. BREWING COMPANY PTY. LTD.
JUST EXCEPTIONAL BEER Fancy 32 28 Jul 2020 NOOSA BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD
DANDANNING BREWERY Figurative 32 28 Jul 2020 Calvin Squire
Great News!
3 Top beers battling it out for the last few years in Stone , Feral And Little Creatures Pale.
Love the chart – Though i had to laugh at Vale Ale, it sticks out like an imposter with a sore thumb.
Congrats to the Deserved winners!
I would definitely have to agree with Hop Hog as number 1! Great choice. Big big fan of the Angry man coming in at Number 10 also. I must agree with Top Gun, Vale Ale tastes like dishwater.