After the release of the GABS Hottest 100 list, an additional three sub-lists have been revealed, further celebrating Australia’s craft beer industry and the trends that influenced this year’s podium.
The lists include the Hottest 100 Indie Craft Beers, the Next 100 which lists the beers that placed 101-200, and the highly-anticipated debut First Choice Liquor Market New Craft Beer List, which covers new beers released in 2023 in the order they ranked in the GABS Hottest 100.
This year’s New Craft Beer List included beers from 71 different breweries, with a number of limited releases proving popular, and breweries of all sizes making the list.
Scooping first place was Balter Brewing’s Cerveza, which placed 45th on the overall list, followed by Mountain Culture’s Summer Pale Ale, and Heads of Noosa Brewing Co’s Black Japanese Lager. New and emerging breweries such as The Uraidla Brewery, Cypher Brewing Co and Brendale Brewing Co were also among those to make the list.
Within the list of new brews, Brisbane’s Range Brewing placed six new releases, which was the most places held by one brewery, followed by Gold Coast’s Balter with four, and three each from Gold Coast’s Black Hops Brewing and Marrickville’s One Drop Brewing Co.
State-wise, Queensland topped the charts with 33 beers placing on the New Craft Beer List, followed by 30 from New South Wales, 16 from Victoria, 10 from Western Australia, six from South Australia, three from Australian Capital Territory and two from Tasmania.
Head of First Choice Liquor Market, Michael Bornholdt said: “This is the first year of the First Choice Liquor Market New Craft Beer list, which is an excellent way for craft beer lovers to discover the brand-new brews to make the top 100.
“We’re celebrating craft beer month at First Choice Liquor Market and encourage everyone to head into store or online to sample the winners and support the breweries who are making such great-tasting drops, including exclusives like Young Henrys COLD XPA and CBCo Brewing’s Hazy New England Pale Ale.”
Looking to the Hottest 100 Indie Craft Beers, Mountain Culture and BentSpoke made an appearance once again with Status Quo and Crankshaft placing first and second respectively, while Your Mates Brewing took third position with Larry.