Overview
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:
- BentSpoke Brewing Co — Crankshaft IPA
- Balter Brewing — Balter XPA
- Your Mates Brewing Co — Larry
- Stone & Wood Brewing Co — Pacific Ale
- Black Hops Brewery — G.O.A.T.
- Better Beer — Better Beer Zero Carb
- Capital Brewing Co — Capital XPA
- Ballistic Beer Co — Hawaiian Haze
- Capital Brewing Co — Coast Ale
- Young Henrys — Newtowner
- Coopers Brewery — Original Pale Ale
- BentSpoke Brewing Co — Barley Griffin
- Balter Brewing — Balter Hazy
- Bridge Road Brewers — Beechworth Pale Ale
- Beerfarm — Royal Haze
- Pirate Life Brewing — South Coast Pale Ale
- Gage Roads Brewing Co — Single Fin
- KAIJU! Beer — KRUSH! Tropical Pale Ale
- Black Hops Brewery — East Coast Haze
- Heaps Normal — Quiet XPA
- Heads Of Noosa Brewing Co — Japanese Lager
- Brick Lane Brewing Co — One Love Pale Ale
- Little Creatures — Little Creatures Pale Ale
- Moon Dog Craft Brewery — Old Mate
- Philter Brewing — Philter XPA
- Mountain Goat Beer — GOAT Very Enjoyable Beer
- Feral Brewing Co — Biggie Juice
- Brookvale Union — Ginger Beer
- 4 Pines Brewing Co — 4 Pines Pacific Ale
- Big Shed Brewing Concern — Boozy Fruit
- Hawke's Brewing — Hawke's Patio Pale
- Bright Brewery — Alpine Lager
- Grifter Brewing Co — Pale
- Blackflag Brewing — Rage Juicy Pale
- Green Beacon Brewing Co — Wayfarer
- Stomping Ground Brewing Co — Gipps St Pale Ale
- Akasha Brewing Co — Hopsmith IPA
- Dainton Beer — Blood Orange NEIPA
- Revel Brewing Co — Strawberries & Cream Sour Ale
- Coopers Brewery — Sparkling Ale
- BentSpoke Brewing Co — Sprocket
- Capital Brewing Co — Hang Loose Juice Blood Orange NEIPA
- Coopers Brewery — Coopers XPA
- Your Mates Brewing Co — Sally
- BentSpoke Brewing Co — Cluster 8
- Black Hops Brewery — Neverland
- Balter Brewing — Eazy Hazy
- Ballistic Beer Co — Hawaiian Haze IPA
- Capital Brewing Co West Coast NEIPA — Mountain Culture Collab
- Coopers Brewery — Coopers Pacific Pale Ale
- Bodriggy Brewing Co — Speccy Juice
- Colonial Brewing Co — Colonial Pale Ale
- Grifter Brewing Co — Serpents Kiss
- Sunday Road Brewing — Cryotherapy
- Deeds Brewing — Juice Train
- 10 Toes Brewery — Pipeline Pale
- Burleigh Brewing Co — Bighead No-carb Lager
- Hop Nation Brewing Co — J-Juice
- Range Brewing Co — Lights + Music
- Black Hops Brewery — Hop Swap
- Black Hops Brewery — Black Hops Pale Ale
- Your Mates Brewing Co — Macca
- Balter Brewing — Captain Sensible
- Capital Brewing Co — Trail Pale Ale
- Hawke's Brewing — Hawke's Lager
- Burleigh Brewing Co — Twisted Palm
- One Drop Brewing Co — Double Vanilla Custard Pancake Imperial Nitro Thickshake IPA
- Cronulla Beer Co — Next Level XPA
- Sobah Beverages — Pepperberry IPA
- Jetty Road Brewery — Jetty Road Pale Ale
- Brouhaha Brewery — Strawberry Rhubarb Sour
- Stone & Wood Brewing Co — Cloud Catcher
- Blackman's Brewery — Juicy Banger
- 4 Pines Brewing Co — 4 Pines Pale Ale
- Brick Lane Brewing Co — Sidewinder Hazy Pale
- Hop Nation Brewing Co — Rattenhund
- Sunday Road Brewing — Enigma Ale
- Otherside Brewing Co — Anthem IPA
- Bad Shepherd Brewing Co — Peanut Butter Porter
- Ballistic Beer Co — Mexican Hot Chocolate Stout
- Black Hops Brewery — Hornet
- Little Creatures — Pacific Ale
- Your Mates Brewing Co — Eddie
- Dainton Beer — Jungle Juice
- Bodriggy Brewing Co — Utropia Pale Ale
- Young Henrys — The Unifier
- Hawkers Beer — West Coast IPA
- Mismatch Brewing Co — Mismatch Session Ale
- Gage Roads Brewing Co — Side Track All Day XPA
- Little Bang Brewing Co — Face Inverter
- BentSpoke Brewing Co — Red Nut
- Tumut River Brewing Co — Ginja Ninja
- Eumundi Brewery — Eumundi Alcoholic Ginger Beer
- Deeds Brewing — Once More Into the Fray
- Akasha Brewing Co — Mosaic IPA
- Ballistic Beer Co — Low Ha
- Capital Brewing Co — Rock Hopper IPA
- Wayward Brewing Co — Raspberry Berliner Weisse
- Willie The Boatman — Nectar Of The Hops
- Balter Brewing — CryoHaze
For more information about the GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers of 2021, head to the GABS website.