Say Cheers to 2021's Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers

Think there's just one Hottest 100 in January? Think again. The second important countdown of the month actually goes rather well with the music poll that just proclaimed The Wiggles' cover of Tame Impala's 'Elephant' as the nation's best track of 2021. In fact, while you were listening to the hottest songs of the past year, you might've been sipping some of these other winners.

That'd be the great brews in the spotlight on the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers list, which does for yeasty tipples what Triple J's poll does for bangers. And, just like its music counterpart, a worthy victor has come out on top. That'd be Bentspoke Brewing Co, with the Canberra brewery taking out the top spot with its Crankshaft American IPA for the second year in a row.

In doing so, it bested 2017 and 2018 winner Balter Brewing Company, which came in second with its Balter XPA; Your Mates Brewing Co, which took third spot with its Larry pale ale; and Stone & Wood's Pacific Ale, the winner of the 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2019 polls, and 2020's second-place getter, which nabbed fourth position this year.

As it did in 2020, Bentspoke had five beers in the 2021 top 100 list in total, which is clearly something to toast to — also coming in 12th for its Barley Griffin Australian Pale Ale, 41st for its Sprocket American IPA, 45th for its Cluster 8 Imperial IPA and 91st for its Red Nut Red IPA.

Run by GABS — or the annual festival also known as the 'Great Australian Beer SpecTAPular' — the countdown is a people's-choice poll decided by booze-lovers around the country. Now in its 14th year, it saw a huge 2238 beers nominated this time around, hailing from 281 breweries.

Still playing the numbers game, 58 beermakers nabbed a spot on the 2021 list — and, states-wise, Queensland emerged victorious with 30 brews on the full rundown of 100 beers, followed by Victoria with 22, New South Wales with 20, the Australian Capital Territory with 12, and South Australia and Western Australia with eight apiece.

2021 was also a big year for new brews, with 37 beers making their GABS Hottest 100 debut. And, low- and no-alcohol tipples also made a splash, including Heaps Normal's Quiet XPA debuting at 20 and Sobah Beverages' zero-alcohol Pepperberry IPA taking 69th place.

If you're thinking "less background, more beer", here's what you've been waiting for: the rundown of the best beverages from the past year that just keep tempting tastebuds. Black Hops, Better Beer, Capital (with two showings), Ballistic and Young Henrys round out the top ten, while Coopers, Bridge Road, Pirate Life, Gage Roads, Kaiju!, Heads of Noosa, Brick Lane, Moon Dog, 4 Pines, Philter, Stomping Ground, Grifter, Hawke's and Mountain Goat and are among the other brands featured.

Working your way through the whole 100 isn't just a great way to show your appreciation for locally made brews, either — consider it research for the 2022 countdown.

GABS HOTTEST 100 AUSSIE CRAFT BEERS OF 2021:

1. BentSpoke Brewing Co — Crankshaft IPA
2. Balter Brewing — Balter XPA
3. Your Mates Brewing Co — Larry
4. Stone & Wood Brewing Co — Pacific Ale
5. Black Hops Brewery — G.O.A.T.
6. Better Beer — Better Beer Zero Carb
7. Capital Brewing Co — Capital XPA
8. Ballistic Beer Co — Hawaiian Haze
9. Capital Brewing Co — Coast Ale
10. Young Henrys — Newtowner
11. Coopers Brewery — Original Pale Ale
12. BentSpoke Brewing Co — Barley Griffin
13. Balter Brewing — Balter Hazy
14. Bridge Road Brewers — Beechworth Pale Ale
15. Beerfarm — Royal Haze
16. Pirate Life Brewing — South Coast Pale Ale
17. Gage Roads Brewing Co — Single Fin
18. KAIJU! Beer — KRUSH! Tropical Pale Ale
19. Black Hops Brewery — East Coast Haze
20. Heaps Normal — Quiet XPA
21. Heads Of Noosa Brewing Co — Japanese Lager
22. Brick Lane Brewing Co — One Love Pale Ale
23. Little Creatures — Little Creatures Pale Ale
24. Moon Dog Craft Brewery — Old Mate
25. Philter Brewing — Philter XPA
26. Mountain Goat Beer — GOAT Very Enjoyable Beer
27. Feral Brewing Co — Biggie Juice
28. Brookvale Union — Ginger Beer
29. 4 Pines Brewing Co — 4 Pines Pacific Ale
30. Big Shed Brewing Concern — Boozy Fruit
31. Hawke's Brewing — Hawke's Patio Pale
32. Bright Brewery — Alpine Lager
33. Grifter Brewing Co — Pale
34. Blackflag Brewing — Rage Juicy Pale
35. Green Beacon Brewing Co — Wayfarer
36. Stomping Ground Brewing Co — Gipps St Pale Ale
37. Akasha Brewing Co — Hopsmith IPA
38. Dainton Beer — Blood Orange NEIPA
39. Revel Brewing Co — Strawberries & Cream Sour Ale
40. Coopers Brewery — Sparkling Ale
41. BentSpoke Brewing Co — Sprocket
42. Capital Brewing Co — Hang Loose Juice Blood Orange NEIPA
43. Coopers Brewery — Coopers XPA
44. Your Mates Brewing Co — Sally
45. BentSpoke Brewing Co — Cluster 8
46. Black Hops Brewery — Neverland
47. Balter Brewing — Eazy Hazy
48. Ballistic Beer Co — Hawaiian Haze IPA
49. Capital Brewing Co West Coast NEIPA — Mountain Culture Collab
50. Coopers Brewery — Coopers Pacific Pale Ale
51. Bodriggy Brewing Co — Speccy Juice
52. Colonial Brewing Co — Colonial Pale Ale
53. Grifter Brewing Co — Serpents Kiss
54. Sunday Road Brewing — Cryotherapy
55. Deeds Brewing — Juice Train
56. 10 Toes Brewery — Pipeline Pale
57. Burleigh Brewing Co — Bighead No-carb Lager
58. Hop Nation Brewing Co — J-Juice
59. Range Brewing Co — Lights + Music
60. Black Hops Brewery — Hop Swap
61. Black Hops Brewery — Black Hops Pale Ale
62. Your Mates Brewing Co — Macca
63. Balter Brewing — Captain Sensible
64. Capital Brewing Co — Trail Pale Ale
65. Hawke's Brewing — Hawke's Lager
66. Burleigh Brewing Co — Twisted Palm
67. One Drop Brewing Co — Double Vanilla Custard Pancake Imperial Nitro Thickshake IPA
68. Cronulla Beer Co — Next Level XPA
69. Sobah Beverages — Pepperberry IPA
70. Jetty Road Brewery — Jetty Road Pale Ale
71. Brouhaha Brewery — Strawberry Rhubarb Sour
72. Stone & Wood Brewing Co — Cloud Catcher
73. Blackman's Brewery — Juicy Banger
74. 4 Pines Brewing Co — 4 Pines Pale Ale
75. Brick Lane Brewing Co — Sidewinder Hazy Pale
76. Hop Nation Brewing Co — Rattenhund
77. Sunday Road Brewing — Enigma Ale
78. Otherside Brewing Co — Anthem IPA
79. Bad Shepherd Brewing Co — Peanut Butter Porter
80. Ballistic Beer Co — Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout
81. Black Hops Brewery — Hornet
82. Little Creatures — Pacific Ale
83. Your Mates Brewing Co — Eddie
84. Dainton Beer — Jungle Juice
85. Bodriggy Brewing Co — Utropia Pale Ale
86. Young Henrys — The Unifier
87. Hawkers Beer — West Coast IPA
88. Mismatch Brewing Co — Mismatch Session Ale
89. Gage Roads Brewing Co — Side Track All Day XPA
90. Little Bang Brewing Co — Face Inverter
91. BentSpoke Brewing Co — Red Nut
92. Tumut River Brewing Co — Ginja Ninja
93. Eumundi Brewery — Eumundi Alcoholic Ginger Beer
94. Deeds Brewing — Once More Into the Fray
95. Akasha Brewing Co — Mosaic IPA
96. Ballistic Beer Co — Low Ha
97. Capital Brewing Co — Rock Hopper IPA
98. Wayward Brewing Co — Raspberry Berliner Weisse
99. Willie The Boatman — Nectar Of The Hops
100. Balter Brewing — CryoHaze

For more information about the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2021, head to the GABS website.