Beer lovers guide book names 12 of the best

Publishers of The Critics' Choice: Australia's Best Beers - a list of 100 of the best beers of the last year according to an industry panel - have provided a sneak peek at their top 12.

The publisher, Barrel Media, asked a panel of brewers, venue operators and retailers as well as beer writers, journalists and bloggers to vote for their favourites to produce the third edition of the guide.

According to the publisher, panelists could choose beers without too much concern for technical specifications or detailed sales figures. They were instead selected based on the personal experience of each voting panel member.

“A brewer on the voting panel might select a beer because it represents a lost or forgotten style or one that’s tricky to brew. A retailer might choose a beer based on general sales or because a particular beer just seemed to walk out the door whenever new stock arrived,” the publisher said.

“A bar or specialist venue may choose a beer that had some ‘Wow!’ factor or that brought new drinkers over to the world of Craft Beer. Beer writers and social media commentators could pick a beer because it created a buzz in blogs and on-line forums. All of them, of course, could choose beers simply because they love to drink them.”

Barrel Media also conceded that the results were not definitive. “Having just declared that choosing ONE favourite beer is a difficult task, how then can you take one hundred beers and put them in the ‘right order’? Well, you can’t. Simple as that. Beer is a very subjective thing and it is hoped that this book will provoke debate, encourage discussion and possibly become the centre of a few robust ‘dialogues’ between friends,” they said.

These are the beers that made it into the top 12:

1  Feral Brewing Co - Hop Hog

2  Stone & Wood - Pacific Ale

3  Holgate Brewhouse - Chocolate Temptress

4  Feral Brewing Co - Watermelon Warhead

5  Two Birds - Sunset Ale

6  Bridge Road Brewers - Chevalier Saison

7  Little Creatures Pale Ale

8  Kooinda - Full Nelson Black IPA

9  Mountain Goat - India Pale Ale

10  Hargreave’s Hill - ESB

11  Two Birds - Golden Ale

12  Mountain Goat - Steam Ale

The  Critics’ Choice: Australia’s Best Beers is available online.