Few breweries can say they’ve brewed the most popular craft beer in Australia, and fewer still can say they’ve done it three years in a row. But for Mountain Culture, Status Quo Pale Ale has once again taken out top honours in the GABS Hottest 100 poll.
This three-peat is no small feat. Only one other brewery, Feral Brewing Company, has ever pulled it off, and it’s been a decade since it last happened. The win certainly cements Mountain Culture’s place in Australian brewing history, and Beer & Brewer sat down with Co-founder DJ McCready to find out what it means to be named Australia’s favourite craft beer once again.
“We’re over the moon to be here again. We feel very fortunate to our fans, that they’ve gone out there, tried the product, and taken the time to vote for it. We appreciate the community that are interested in this kind of beer and continue to support Mountain Culture as a team.
“Every year has been just as suspenseful for us, and we find it absolutely amazing that we’re back here. We’re still only five years old and 100 per cent independent, and it’s such great recognition to be put up there as the number one beer in the country, given that we’re a product-led brewery,” he stated.
So, what does it take to keep brewing Australia’s most popular beer?
Firstly, McCready attributes much of Status Quo’s success to the combination of the beer’s unique flavour and easy-drinking style, that makes it approachable to such a broad demographic of beer drinkers.
“We’ve always been a company unto our own – we don’t really look over the fence at what other breweries are doing. Status Quo is a very unique product in the beer world, we focus on making it really flavourful and really approachable.
“We see it as a product that reaches a lot of different people, and that people find enjoyable no matter where they sit in the interest of beer.”
You might expect Mountain Culture to stick to the winning formula, but that’s not the case. The brewery is constantly refining and improving its recipe while staying true to the beer’s core identity, and it’s this combination of consistency and innovation that has kept Status Quo at the top of the charts.
“My background has always been professional brewing – I got into the beer industry when I was 23 years old and now, running Mountain Culture, my focus has always been product quality. Everything we’re doing year on year is about making the beer better, whether that’s new equipment that we’re investing in, new processes, or the relationship that we’re forming with our raw material suppliers,” says McCready.
“I want that beer to be better every time we make it, and it’s a process that constantly needs to be looked at, re-tweaked, inspected and pushed in different ways. I’d say we’re trying to make our products better year-to-year, but it’s really day-to-day.”
While such accolades are a huge achievement, McCready also sees success in much simpler terms. People keep drinking Status Quo, and that’s what really matters.
“We’re putting [Status Quo] out there and it’s growing on its own. We have our marketing campaigns and we’re always trying to get people to try the beer, but we look at where we sit in the category and we’re experiencing 33 per cent year-on-year growth with this product across the board in hospitality venues, major liquor retailers and independent liquor retailers.
“The numbers just keep growing, and it’s still topping that list because people just like the product and they keep purchasing it,” he explained.
At the core of this success is a simple truth, the team at Mountain Culture have stayed true to what they’re passionate about. They brew the kind of beer they love to drink, and that authenticity has resonated with people.
“I love brewing hoppy beer. I love going out and talking to hop farmers about the innovations that they have, and better ways we can use these ingredients to enhance our products. I love drinking hoppy beers when I hang out with my mates.
“It’s about staying true to what you’re interested in, and asking how you can constantly make it better. We’re constantly tweaking the recipe, and looking at how we can improve it, how we can make it an experience that people want to come back to,” McCready concluded.