The results are in. Feral's invincible Hop Hog continues its march at the top, while Little Creatures is nudged out of the top three for the first time to be usurped by another US-inspired pale ale from 4 Pines.
La Sirene comes from nowhere to claim four spots, including a top five for its GABS beer Praline, while KAIJU! also score four top 100 finishes in their first full year of operations. And, for a brewery many may think of for one beer only, Pacific Ale, Stone & Wood notches no less than six beers – on par with Feral and just one behind Melbourne's Mountain Goat.
Session ales continue their rise, as do red IPAs / India red ales while, despite a feeling that craft lagers are on the rise, there's a mere one lager in the 100 this year. There's strong representation from Lion's craft brands – nine beers across Little Creatures, White Rabbit and James Squire, although once popular Knappstein has disappeared – and Coopers sees two beers hit the list including one brewed since 1852. On the other hand, in the year its latest home was shut down, CUB's craft arm Matilda Bay gains just one entry.
We've put many of the stats and trends in infographic form here but, as in past years, have unleashed The Crafty Pint's inner maths nerd and carried a little number crunching to present you with a breakdown of the top 100 and how the results compare with previous years.
What's more, we even brought The Crafty Pot into the fold for a spot of craft craft action to create the above, no expense spared, podium. Thanks, Pot!
HIGHEST NEW ENTRIES
There were 35 new entries, of which the highest were:
- La Sirene Praline (5)
- Riverside Brewing 777 (6)
- KAIJU! Beer Where Strides The Behemoth (12)
- Noisy Minor Admiral Ackbar (14)
- Modus Operandi Former Tenant (15)
BIGGEST CLIMBERS
- Prancing Pony India Red Ale (up 37)
- Noise Minor ANZUS IPA (up 35)
- Mornington Peninsula Pale (up 29)
Little Creatures Bright Ale (up 29)
Bridge Road Bling IPA (up 29)
TOP BREWERIES
Seven beers
- Mountain Goat
Six beers
- Stone & Wood
- Feral Brewing
Four beers
- 4 Pines
- KAIJU! Beer
- La Sirene
- Holgate Brewhouse
- Little Creatures
- Two Birds Brewing
Three beers
- 2 Brothers
- Bridge Road
- Fortitude / Noisy Minor
- James Squire
- Mornington Peninsula Brewery
- Nail Brewing
MOST POPULAR STYLES
(previous years figures in brackets – 2013 / 2012)
- Pale Ale – 20 (20 / 21)
- IPA – 18 (26 / 21)
- Session Ales – 14 (10 / 5)*
- Red / Amber Ales – 7 (6 / 6)
- Red IPA / India Red Ales – 6 (0 / 0)
- Double / Imperial IPA – 5 (3 / 4)
- Specialty (fruit, spice, flavoured) – 4 (1 / 2)
Imperial Stout - 4 (7 / 1)
There were also three black IPAs, brown / dark ales, ESBs and saisons, two stouts, sours and session IPAs and one Belgian pale, imperial red, porter and a solitary lager.
* Session Ales includes all golden ales, summer ales and mid-strength entries.
STATE BY STATE IN NUMBERS
(2013 figure in brackets)
- Victoria – 47 (46)
- New South Wales – 23 (24)
- Western Australia – 14 (11)
- South Australia – 9 (9)
- Queensland – 7 (10)
- Tasmania – 0 (0)
BY BEERS PER POPULATION SIZE
- Victoria
- Western Australia
- South Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- Tasmania
THE FULL LIST SHOWING CLIMBERS, FALLERS & NEW ENTRIES
| Brewery | Beer | Change from 2013 | |
| 1 | Feral | Hop Hog | - |
| 2 | Stone & Wood | Pacific Alee | - |
| 3 | 4 Pines | Pale Ale | Up 1 |
| 4 | Little Creatures | Pale Ale | Down 1 |
| 5 | La Sirene | Praline | New Entry |
| 6 | Riverside Brewing | 777 | New Entry |
7 | Goat | Summer Ale | Down 1 |
| 8 | Noisy Minor | ANZUS IPA | Up 35 |
| 9 | Bridge Road | Beechworth Pale | Up 2 |
| 10 | 4 Pines | Kolsch | Down 2 |
| 11 | Fortitude Brewing Co | Golden Ale | Up 23 |
| 12 | KAIJU! Beer | Where Strides The Behemoth | New Entry |
| 13 | Two Birds | Taco | Up 12 |
| 14 | Noisy Minor | Admiral Ackbar | New Entry |
| 15 | Modus Operandi | Former Tenant | New Entry |
| 16 | Mash Brewing | Copy Cat | New Entry |
| 17 | Riverside Brewing | 77 IPA | Down 5 |
| 18 | Mountain Goat | The Delmont IPA | New Entry |
| 19 | KAIJU! Beer | Hopped Out Red | New Entry |
| 20 | Prancing Pony | IRA | Up 37 |
| 21 | Thirsty Crow | Vanilla Milk Stout | Down 11 |
| 22 | Feral | Barrique O'Karma | Up 11 |
| 23 | Stone & Wood | Cloud Catcher | New Entry |
| 24 | White Rabbit | Dark Ale | - |
| 25 | Matilda Bay | Fat Yak | Down 3 |
| 26 | Mountain Goat | Steam Ale | Down 10 |
| 27 | Two Birds | Sunset Ale | Down 10 |
| 28 | Coopers | Pale Ale | Down 5 |
| 29 | KAIJU! Beer | Metamorphosis | New Entry |
| 30 | Little Creatures | IPA | Down 25 |
| 31 | Holgate Brewhouse | Temptress | Down 18 |
| 32 | Mountain Goat | Fancy Pants | New Entry |
| 33 | Feral | Watermelon Warhead | New Entry |
| 34 | Hawthorn Brewing Co | Pale Ale | Down 4 |
| 35 | Mismatch Brewing | Archie's Red Ale | New Entry |
| 36 | La Sirene | Cherie Kriek | New Entry |
| 37 | Mismatch Brewing | Session Ale | New Entry |
| 38 | Bacchus Brewing | Sex, Drugs 'n' Rocky Road | New Entry |
| 39 | Mornington Peninsula Brewery | Imperial Stout | Up 26 |
| 40 | Shenanigans Brewing | Winston | New Entry |
| 41 | Two Birds | Bantam | New Entry |
| 42 | Mountain Goat | India Red Ale | New Entry |
| 43 | Lord Nelson | Three Sheets | Down 15 |
| 44 | James Squire | Hop Thief | New Entry |
| 45 | Bridge Road | Bling IPA | Up 27 |
| 46 | KAIJU! Beer | Aftermath | Up 18 |
| 47 | Stone & Wood | Jasper Red Ale | Up 6 |
| 48 | Hargreaves Hill | ESB | Down 13 |
| 49 | 4 Hearts Brewing | Pale Ale | Up 20 |
| 50 | Mornington Peninsula Brewery | IPA | Up 24 |
| 51 | Little Creatures | Bright Ale | Up 29 |
| 52 | Mountain Goat | Hightail | Down 25 |
| 53 | 4 Pines | ESB | Up 7 |
| 54 | Burleigh Brewing | 28 Pale Ale | Down 22 |
| 55 | James Squire | 150 Lashes | New Entry |
| 56 | La Sirene | Saison | New Entry |
| 57 | Moon Dog | Black Lung IV | Up 27** |
| 58 | Two Birds | Golden Ale | Down 22 |
| 59 | 2 Brothers | Growler | Up 19 |
| 60 | Holgate Brewhouse | Road Trip | Down 42 |
| 61 | McLaren Vale | IPA | Down 47 |
| 62 | Six String Brewing | Dark Red IPA | Down 7 |
| 63 | Boatrocker Brewing | Hop Bomb IPA | Down 19 |
| 64 | Nail Brewing | Clout Stout | Down 2 |
| 65 | McLaren Vale | Vale Ale | Down 56 |
| 66 | Kooinda | Full Nelson Black IPA | Down 51 |
| 67 | Boatrocker Brewing | Ramjet | Down 46 |
| 68 | Nail Brewing | Red Ale | New Entry |
| 69 | BrewCult | Hop Zone | Down 17 |
| 70 | La Sirene | Wild Saison | New Entry |
| 71 | James Squire | Chancer | New Entry |
| 72 | Mornington Peninsula Brewery | Pale Ale | Up 27 |
| 73 | Holgate Brewhouse | Mt Macedon Ale | Down 42 |
| 74 | Brewboys | Hoppapotamus IPA | Up 22 |
| 75 | Young Henrys | Newtowner | New Entry |
| 76 | Bridge Road | Bling Bling Double IPA | Down 9 |
| 77 | Stone & Wood | Garden Ale | Up 18 |
| 78 | 2 Brothers | Grizz | Up 1 |
| 79 | Nail Brewing | Hughe Dunn Imperial Brown | New Entry |
| 80 | Stone & Wood | Stone Beer | Down 38 |
| 81 | Little Creatures | Rogers | New Entry |
| 82 | Odyssey Tavern & Brewery | Calypso Pale Ale | New Entry |
| 83 | Murray's Brewing | Angry Man Pale | Down 6 |
| 84 | Feral Brewing | Sly Fox | Down 44 |
| 85 | White Rabbit | Belgian Pale Ale | New Entry |
| 86 | Moon Dog | Jumping the Shark | Down 67** |
| 87 | Feral Brewing | BFH | Down 39 |
| 88 | Coopers | Sparkling Ale | New Entry |
| 89 | Ekim Brewing | After Battle Pale | Down 16 |
| 90 | Holgate Brewhouse | Hopinator Double IPA | Down 44 |
| 91 | Stone & Wood | Lager | Down 8 |
| 92 | Modus Operandi | Zoo Feeder IPA | New Entry |
| 93 | Australian Brewery | Pale Ale | Down 32 |
| 94 | Prancing Pony | Pale Ale | Up 3 |
| 95 | All Inn Brewing | Pocahontas | Down 3 |
| 96 | BrewCult | Can't Fight The Funk | Down 14 |
| 97 | Feral Brewing | Tusk | New Entry |
| 98 | Mountain Goat | IPA | Down 59 |
| 99 | 2 Brothers | Creme Caramel | New Entry |
| 100 | Wolf of the Willows | XPA | New Entry |
** The Moon Dog beers are different beers from those bearing the same name in 2013.
You'll find more in the infographic here.
