Western Australia’s Little Creatures Brewing Co took out the title of Champion Australian Craft Beer for 2016 for its Pilsner at the Australian Craft Brewers Conference (ACBC 2016) awards ceremony last Thursday (July 21).
The event attracted more than 400 of the industry’s leaders to the Lightspace venue in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
Jack Cameron and Jared ‘Red’ Proudfoot from Pirate Life Brewing celebrated their South Australian-based outfit winning the large Champion Brewery of the year award.
Brisbane-based operator Green Beacon took out the award for medium Champion Brewery and NSW’s Hope Brewhouse won the small Champion Brewery for 2016.
Best-of-the-best accolades were presented to these individual beers:
- Pirate Life Pale Ale, Pirate Life Brewing (Pale Ale).
- Pale, Colonial Brewing Co (Amber Dark Ale).
- Brown Porter, Black Font Brewhouse (Porter-Stout).
- Stone & Wood Gose, Stone & Wood (Wheat).
- Bourbon Barrel Strong Ale, Green Beacon Brewing Co, (Specialty Beer).
- Pilsner, Little Creatures Brewing, (Lager).
- Thunderbolt, Murray’s Craft Brewing Co Pty Ltd (IPA).
- Long Trip Saison, Nomad Brewing Co, (French and Belgian Style).
More than 600 industry leaders from across the craft beer supply chain attended ACBC 2016 at Brisbane’s Royal International Convention Centre.
Craft Beer Industry Association (CBIA) Executive Officer Chris McNamara said the calibre of craft beer in Australia had reached new heights.
“It’s no secret that the popularity of craft beer in recent years has heralded major changes to the industry,” he said.
“Only a couple of years ago, craft beer was still considered a niche industry, but now it’s very much the mainstream.
“The level of entries at this year’s awards have surpassed the quality of previous years and the flavours and techniques Australia’s leading craft brewers have employed are world class.”