Little Creatures, Pirate Life, Green Beacon and Hope Brewhouse have all performed well at the Craft Beer Awards.
Little Creatures Pilsner won the coveted gong of Champion Australian Craft Beer for 2016 at the awards in Brisbane.
Large Champion Brewery went to South Australia’s Pirate Life, Medium Champion Brewery went to Brisbane’s Green Beacon and Small Champion Brewery went to Hope Brewhouse from NSW.
The awards were a finale to the Australian Craft Brewers Conference (ACBC 2016), which was held throughout the week at the Royal International Convention Centre.
It was the first time the event had been held in Brisbane, with more than 600 industry leaders from across the craft beer supply chain in attendance.
Craft Beer Industry Association (CBIA) executive officer Chris McNamara said the calibre of craft beer in Australia had reached new heights.
“It is no secret that the popularity of craft beer in recent years has heralded major changes to the industry,” he said.
“Only a couple of years ago craft beer was still considered a niche industry but now it is very much the mainstream.
“The level of entries at this year’s awards have surpassed the quality of previous years and the flavours and techniques Australia’s leading craft brewers have employed are world-class”, he said.
Other winners on the night included:
- Pale Ale – Pirate Life Brewing, Pirate Life Pale Ale
- Amber Dark Ale – Colonial Brewing Co, Pale
- Porter-Stout – Black Font Brewhouse, Brown Porter
- Wheat – Stone & Wood, Stone & Wood Gose
- Specialty Beer – Green Beacon Brewing Co., Bourbon Barrel Strong Ale
- Lager – Little Creatures Brewing, Pilsner
- IPA (India Pale Ale) – Murray’s Craft Brewing, Thunderbolt
- French & Belgian Style – Nomad Brewing co, Long Trip Saison