UPDATE: Balter acquired by Carlton & United
The 2019 Australian Craft Beer Survey has revealed that Balter Brewing has retained the title of Australia’s best craft brewery.
More than 23,000 beer drinkers voted in the survey, when is created by craft beer retailer Beer Cartel.
Richard Kelsey, Director of Beer Cartel, said that Balter taking out best craft brewery for the second year in a row – after only three years in business – really highlighted the quality of the brewery.
“We’ve been doing the Australian Craft Beer Survey for the past four years – this is the first time a brewery has taken out the title of Australia’s best brewery more than once,” he said.
“With an estimated 600 breweries now operating in Australia, it really does show the quality of Balter,” said Kelsey.
Stirling Howland, Co-Founder and Brand Director of Balter Brewing Company said: “To win this award on the back of the Hottest 100 earlier in the year is a wonderful feeling. We’ve been kicking around for two and a half years and it has been a pretty amazing journey to date.
“When we started Balter, it was always about the beer and connecting to our community through our work. We’ve been blown away by how well our beer and brand has been received and these types of people’s choice awards are a real affirmation that we’re on the right track.”
Balter XPA also recently took out Most Distinctive Craft Beer at the Australian Drinks Awards.
This year’s top 5 breweries are:
- Balter
- BentSpoke
- Stone & Wood
- Bridge Road Brewers
- Black Hops
Additional findings of the research included:
Awareness of the Independent Brewers Association (IBA) seal of independence has grown steadily – 41% are aware of the Independence Seal released by the Independent Brewers Association, up from 31% in 2018. Of these, most (58%) said the seal influences their purchase behaviour.
Preference for cans has overtaken bottles for the first time. Overall preference for cans has grown 8 percentage points to 38%, while preference for bottles has decreased significantly to 27%.
Core range beers still account for the majority of purchases. While past research indicated a large proportion of consumers are regularly drinking beers they’re never previously tried, the frequency of purchase of core range beers is much higher.
Most drinkers are positive towards the direction craft beer is heading and are excited by the opportunity to try something different. Despite this a large proportion (76%) believe support of a breweries core range is important for its survival.
To learn more about the 2019 Australian Craft Beer Survey visit: http://www.beercartel.com.au/blog/2019-australian-craft-beer-survey-results/
