The countdown for the twelfth GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beers is done and dusted and Stone & Wood Pacific Ale is back on top. A record 35,500 people cast votes for their favourite five beers in what's grown into the biggest people's choice vote in the country.
Ben Summons, CEO of the Fermentum family of businesses of which Stone & Wood is part, told The Crafty Pint that coming in at number one was a joyous moment for him and the crew at their Byron Bay home.
“We’re proud to be at the pointy end any time so it was pretty cool to get the top spot,” he says. “I think what’s held us there is a steady building of distribution and more drinkers trying us and putting us in their repertoire as one of their favourites. We’ve reached a kind of scale where there’s a lot of people who enjoy our beer regularly.”
As to whether Pacific Ale can remain on the list for another decade, you won’t find Ben gazing into a crystal ball but he says the list showed breweries that make great beer and really connect to their communities will do well.
“We’ll always do our hardest to try and grow the brand the right way and keep investing in quality and the brand so we can keep introducing it to more and more drinkers,” he says.
“It was really cool to see a lot of other breweries shoot up the list and that’s a testament to the strength of these new breweries opening up over time and making great beer and connecting with their local communities.”
Here's the Top 10 for your brewing pleasure:
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