Updated on January 26, 2017
You know what’s brilliant? Using a day that’s already recognised and celebrated, and piggybacking on it for your own thing.
The Triple J Hottest 100 has done this perfectly, and now people all over the world tune in on Australia Day to hear which songs made it to the top.
And the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers has done it too… on the same day. Double piggyback! (Which, if you’ve never tried it, is ridiculously difficult to do.)
Thousands of beer lovers around Australia vote for the beers they’ve adored over the past year, and then on the big day we see how the numbers panned out.
Now, I’m not going to talk about who should or shouldn’t win, or which breweries should or shouldn’t be allowed on the list. Plenty of people have that conversation already, and to be quite frank—I don’t care enough.
What I do care about is sharing the beers I drank and enjoyed. And with a captive audience of more than ten readers, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.
#5 Modus Operandi – Former Tenant Red IPA
Before this beer was available in cans, I’d race across the city whenever I saw that it was on tap.
Before the cans were available in Queensland, I had a mate smuggle me one from Melbourne.
Now Former Tenant flows freely around Australia. That is a beautiful thing, because it is a beautiful, juicy beer.
#4 Mismatch Brewing – Negroni IPA.
I’ve already raved about this beer (as has my wife!), and I plan to do so again soon, so I’ll spare you here. But suffice it to say—it made the list.
#3 Green Beacon Brewing – Bourbon Barrel Strong Ale
I don’t drink bourbon on its own in the way I drink scotch on its own. I haven’t yet become a connoisseur of it, and I struggle to taste the distinctives between different bourbons. To me, it’s a one trick pony. A drink for cowboys.
But I’ll be damned if a bourbon barrel-aged beer done well ain’t a thing of wonder. Green Beacon have ridden the one trick pony into town, and the townspeople are whispering in awe behind closed doors.
#2 Bacchus Brewing – Red Bellied Black Imperial Red Ale
Everyone has a story about ‘this amazing beer I had once’. For the past few years, I’ve had a mate telling me about ‘this beer he had once’, the Red Bellied Black. Of course, you build up the hype in your head, and your palate changes, and if you ever get another chance to try that beer, it turns out it wasn’t anything special after all.
Well, last year I finally got to try ‘this beer he had once’. He was not imagining its majesty. The vanilla and tropical fruit, the melon, the deep booziness it unleashes… this is a beer to tell people about for years to come.
#1 Boatrocker Brewing – Ramjet 2016
I’ve had different vintages and versions of this beer. (I have two different versions cellaring at the moment!) And every single one has blown me away.
Rich, creamy head. Thick, silky body. Sweet, warm, and everything that makes you melt. Each sip reminds you that there’s no other place you’d rather be. Such is its hold on me that I don’t think I have a single picture of me drinking it. When the Ramjet comes out, everything else simply ceases to exist, including my phone.
Cannot recommend highly enough. Thank you, Boatrocker. Thank you.
Did you vote in the Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers? What were your picks?
What a great list!
A good way to celebrate today would be to find an establishment where they were all available and listen to the Hottest 100 whilst slurping the Tastiest 5…
…could we just do that another day now? Please? Please?