Family-owned West Australian microbrewery, Feral Brewing, has again taken out the number one spot in the Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers poll for a third consecutive year with its Hop Hog American Pale Ale.
Stone & Wood came in second with its Pacific Ale, having been featured in the top 10 for the past six years. Rounding out the top three was 4 Pines Pale Ale, while Little Creatures Pale Ale came in fourth.
While the top four beers are almost exactly the same as last year’s poll, the fifth spot was interestingly claimed by new entry La Sirène’s Belgian Praline Ale, which won the 2014 People’s Choice Award at the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular.
The poll, now in its eighth year, is run by The Local Taphouse beer bars, with thousands of beer lovers across the county voting from a selection of more than 1,800 beers.
Co-founder of The Local Taphouse, Steve Jeffares, said it’s been exciting to see the results this year.
“The increase in the number of new beers and styles being brewed is incredible and many of these are found in this year’s results. While Pale Ale easily remains the most popular style, India Pale Ales, a stronger, hoppier style is catching up, following the trend in the United States,” said Jeffares.
Beginning as a bit of fun for the bar’s staff, the poll has now taken off. The voting process is a strict one, with just one vote per person and the breweries involved can also only vote once.
“It’s exciting to see it now attracts so many beer fans. It’s a great opportunity to think about what beers rocked your boat during the year,” said Jeffares.
For the first time you can easily sample the top ranked beers in the countdown, with BeerBud.com.au partnering with The Local Taphouse to offer a range of exclusive hottest 100 mixed cases.
“Our collection of mixed cases feature the highest ranked beers which are still available in 330ml or long-necks and provide the perfect way to sample the most loved and very best Aussie craft beers,” said BeerBud co-founder Mark Woollcott.
Our friends at BeerBud have kindly given us a Hottest 100 mixed case of 24 to give away! To go into the running to win, simply tell us on Facebook which beers would be in your top 5 and why?
For the complete list of the Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2014, click here.
Written by Caitlin Burns