Media Release

Western Australia reclaims the ‘hottest’ beer of 2012 in annual poll

The ‘Hottest 100’ Aussie Craft Beers of the Year have been announced and the ‘Hop Hog’ India Pale Ale from Feral Brewing in Western Australia’s Swan Valley has been voted number one for the first time.

Hop Hog beat previous winners Pacific Ale, from Byron Bay’s Stone & Wood Brewery, and Perth’s two-time winner Little Creatures Pale Ale. It also had another beer in the top ten with its ‘WatermelonWarhead’ Berliner Weiss at number nine.

Run by The Local Taphouse, one of Australia’s leadingspecialtybeer bars, the ‘Hottest 100’ Aussie Craft Beers poll started five years ago as a fun excuse for staff and customers to try and whittle down all the great beers enjoyed that year to just five favourites. With thousands of craft beer lovers around the country now voting in the poll, and with an incredibly diverse 1119 beers from 178 breweries to choose from, the task is getting even harder. Should you vote for those bold, creative one-off brews or perhaps the ‘old faithful’ you drink time and again?

Guy Greenstone, co-owner of The Local Taphouse, wasthrilled with the record number of voters.

’While it is effectively a popularity contest, it’sremarkable how closely the results tally with what the annual Critic’s Choice list looks like, particularly at the top of the table. It’s also terrific to see some beers brewed especially for our Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular, including the Watermelon Warhead, were in the final hundred.”

“With new microbreweries opening around the countryseemingly every day, and a growing number of beer bars selling those craft beers, it’s awesome to see so many new names on the final 100,” says Greenstone’s partner, Steve Jeffares.

The results are counted down every Australia Day onThe Local Taphouse, Australian Brews News and Crafty Pint websites and social media, where itprovokes vigorous discussion. The Local Taphouses in Sydney and Melbourne also tap the top ten beers as they are announced.

The randomly selected voter who wins 5 cases of craft beer is Stuart Pollard from Sydney.

The full list
1. Hop Hog IPA (Feral, WA)
2. Pacific Ale (Stone & Wood, NSW)
3. Little Creatures Pale Ale (Little Creatures, WA)
4. Vale IPA (McLaren Vale, SA)
5. Black Pepperberry IPA (Mountain Goat, VIC/Mikkeller, Denmark)
6. Kölsch (4 Pines, NSW)
7. Temptress Chocolate Porter (Holgate, VIC)
8. Vanilla Milk Stout (Thirsty Crow, NSW)
9. Watermelon Warhead Berliner Weisse (Feral, WA)
10. Dark Ale (White Rabbit, VIC)
11. Pale Ale (4 Pines, NSW)
12. 4 Degrees Pale Ale (4 Hearts Brewing, QLD)
13. Four Brothers IPA (Birbecks Brewing, SA)
14. Vale Ale (McLaren Vale, SA)
15. Pale Ale (Hawthorn, VIC)
16. Sunset Ale (Two Birds, VIC)
17. Full Nelson Black IPA (Kooinda, VIC)
18. Pale Ale (Balmain, NSW)
19. Newtown Brown (Young Henry’s, NSW)
20. Golden Ale (Two Birds, VIC)
21. Yowie Lager (King Valley Brewery, VIC)
22. India Saison (Bridge Road, VIC)
23. FIGJAM IPA (Burleigh, QLD)
24. Pale Ale (Endeavour, NSW)
25. India Red Ale (Wayward, NSW)
26. Pale Ale (Coopers, SA)
27. ESB (Hargreaves Hill, VIC)
28. Zephyr Double White Ale (Doctor’s Orders, NSW)
29. Steam Ale (Mountain Goat, VIC)
30. Imperial IPA (Mornington Peninsula, VIC)
31. 44 Amber (Riverside, NSW)
32. Saison (La Sirène, VIC)
33. 77 IPA (Riverside, NSW)
34. Amber Ale (Endeavour, NSW)
35. Before The Dawn IPA (Mountain Goat, VIC)
36. India Pale Ale (Mountain Goat, VIC)
37. Fat Yak Pale Ale (Matilda Bay, VIC)
38. White Ale (White Rabbit, VIC)
39. Dark Harvest – Black IPA (Bridge Road/Mikkeller)
40. Children of Darkness – Black
IPA (HopDog BeerWorks, NSW)
41. The Quiet American – Belgian Ale (Little Creatures, WA)
42. Black Lung – Smokey Stout (Moon Dog, VIC)
43. Pale Ale (Australian, NSW)
44. B2 Bomber – Black IPA (Bridge Road, VIC)
45. Angry Man – Pale Ale (Murray’s, NSW)
46. Bright Ale (Little Creatures, WA)
47. Pale Ale (Burleigh, QLD)
48. Hightail Ale (Mountain Goat, VIC)
49. Beechworth Pale Ale (Bridge Road, VIC)
50. Road Trip IPA (Holgate, VIC)
51. Midnight IPA (Temple, VIC)
52. Mad Brewers Hoppy Hefe (Malt Shovel, NSW)
53. Growers Ale (Endeavour, NSW)
54. Chevalier Saison (Bridge Road, VIC)
55. 4 Degrees Summer Wheat (4 Hearts, QLD)
56. Ipswich Challenger – Pale Ale (4 Hearts, QLD)
57. ‘Plasma’ White IPA (Doctor’s Orders, NSW)
58. Three Sheets Pale (Lord Nelson, NSW)
59. Hopinator – Double IPA (Holgate, VIC)
60. Icon 2IPA (Murray’s, NSW)
61. Edward Pale Ale (Grifter, NSW)
62. Reserve Lager (Knappstein, SA)
63. ESB (Holgate, VIC)
64. Pale (Cavalier, VIC)
65. Bling IPA (Bridge Road, VIC)
66. Return of The Craig – Irish Red Ale (Mountain Goat, VIC)
67. Pilsner (Hawthorn, VIC)
68. Real Ale (Young Henry’s, NSW)
69. Amber Ale (Hawthorn, VIC)
70. Drop Dead Red IPA (Grifter, NSW)
71. IPA (4 Hearts, QLD)
72. 55 Pale (Riverside, NSW)
73. Lager (Stone & Wood, NSW)
74. Atomic Pale (Gage Roads, WA)
75. Hop Bazooka – IPA (Southern Bay, VIC)
76. Whale Ale (Murray’s, NSW)
77. My Wife’s Bitter (Burleigh, QLD)
78. Russian Imperial Stout (Mornington Peninsula, VIC)
79. Mt. Macedon Ale (Holgate, VIC)
80. Lager (Balmain, NSW)
81. Resistance – India Red Ale (Bright, VIC)
82. Stone Beer (Stone & Wood, NSW)
83. Puffing Billy – Bock (Little Creatures, WA)
84. Galaxy IPA (Bridge Road, VIC)
85. Rogers (Little Creatures, WA)
86. Pale Ale (Kooinda, VIC)
87. Darkwood Ale (Bellingen, NSW)
88. Seedy Goat – Coffee IPA (Mountain Goat, VIC)
89. Pale Ale (Moo Brew, TAS)
90. Cunning Ninja – Imperial IPA (Bacchus, QLD)
91. Extra Strong Vintage Ale (Coopers, SA)
92. Harvest Ale (Bellingen, NSW)
93. Day of the Long Shadow – Spiced Winter Ale (Little Creatures, WA)
94. Karma Citra – Black IPA (Feral, WA)
95. Pilzner (Pinchgut, NSW)
96. Stout (4 Pines, NSW)
97. Vale Dark (McLaren Vale, SA)
98. Hefeweizen (Moo Brew, TAS)
99. Black Pig – Porter (Bellingen, NSW)
100. Garden Ale (Stone & Wood, NSW)