But the GABS list 100% about marketing spend and distribution. If you’re a small player you don’t have a hope, no matter the quality of your beers. That’s okay, they’re getting to the point of not even bothering to hide that it’s a popularity contest anymore. I didn’t even vote this year, not because I didn’t want to but because the beers I wanted to vote for weren’t even available to do so. That put me off a bit this year.
Great to see the majority representation is still indipendant though.
Well done to the young bloke, grifter do some great stuff!
Batter is probably the most over rated brewery in history of over rating things and breweries. Never a better example of hype over substance. Without Mick Fanning they’re bog standard.
Which is reflective of the market and the fact that’s Dan’s sell the vast majority of beer in this country.
I was getting spammed flat out by a few breweries I connect with, others that I’m a big fan of and connect with as much as possible literally didn’t give a toss.
Wildflower and La Sirene didn’t bother, Boatrocker half-heartedly. All fantastic breweries, none in the top 100 and I’m sure not bothered in the slightest. For others it’s a massive part of their marketing and sales drive.
Interesting what happens when a bit of vibe takes over. Reckon they’re probably benefitting from PL’s downfall with the parochial South Australian Beer drinking public looking for somewhere else to “spend” their votes.
But good on em, it’s no Golden Stout time though!
I dont mind xpa , haven’t tried any others . Anyone who gets in the industry with a profile like fanning and gets people into it isn’t all bad. Personally and declaration of bias, my son’s pale much better
The XPA is excellent (for a style that doesn’t actually exist), the rest are over rated AF. The froth around the IPA and IIPA particularly is ridiculous. They’re so incredibly lacking in depth and complexity. But certainly more broadly they are very good for the industry as a whole, given the attention they attract, they’re certainly responsible for attracting more consumers to craft beer (a fair few mates of mine have come a little further down the rabbit whole thanks to Balter XPA and Kaiju Krush). Wonder what will happen to them when Brewdog gets up and running next year. Suspect they’ll be a bit more immune from the impact of Brewdog owing to what is essentially an image they’re selling as much as the beer itself. But they’re tracking along a very similar trajectory to Pirate Life so I still reckon a buy out is on the cards. Unless they want hold onto it on a philosophical basis.
I guess the smaller beers with less distribution wouldn’t get voted for as much because not as many people get to try them yeah? Your average voting Joe has probably only tried whats on the shelf at their local Dans. It’s a shame to think a lot of people will use this list as a guide to discovering great beers. There are some rippers on there though. Just not as high up as they should be.
Everyone has their own path of discovery. If someone voted for Furphy and Coopers then decides they’ll track down Jedi Juice, likes it then eventually lands on Sauce…
It’s a public vote where people are encouraged (not incentivised!) to vote for certain brands or support their area. Some will, some will go it alone and vote for their 5 faves. The outcome is certainly not the best beers, but when beer enjoyment is a personal and subjective act it never can be. It’s impossible to say something should be higher, because that’s personal taste speaking and 31,000 other people think differently.
This is where you get into murky waters about palate education and “qualified” or “unqualified” opinions. My mates scoff at my tastes and some of the more outlandish brews I try. However what they don’t understand is the nuance of hop varieties, the different malt profiles and how the impact of yeast strains on beer flavour.
“Beer should taste like beer”… except that the ingredients in beer can give it a broad range of flavours.
Same thing with wine. I’ve studied it extensively and the more i know about it the more my palate deviates from what average drinkers like. The more complex wines don’t agree with every day drinkers so much. And if you try to explain it to people you can start sounding pretentious very quickly.
Pretense is projected by those insecure in themselves. In essence, it’s their problem not yours that you have a more developed understanding of something.
I’ve often wondered if It would be feasible to have a certified Cicerone only rating/ranking website. A place where you can only get opinions and ratings on beers from educated and experienced drinkers.
I take Ratebeer and Beer Advocate scores and rankings a bit more seriously than Untappd just because people are encouraged to write reviews like they’re judging and you get plenty who really know their stuff. But still you have “unqualified” opinions (such as my own!).
