From Fresh, The West Australian, Feb 12

AUSTRALIA’S TOP 10

1. Little Creatures Pale Ale (WA)

2. Murray's Icon 2IPA (NSW)

3. Mountain Goat Hightail Ale (VIC)

4. Knappstein Reserve Lager (SA)

5 Little Creatures Bright Ale (WA)

6. James Squire Golden Ale (NSW)

7. Coopers Sparkling Ale (SA)

8. Coopers Pale Ale (SA)

9. Holgate Mt Macedon Pale Ale (VIC)

10. James Squire Amber Ale (SA)

Little Creatures Pale Ale has been named Australia’s favourite craft beer. The US-style, hoppy, 5.2 per cent ale, which has been copied by most microbreweries in recent years, came out top in the inaugural poll to find the “Hottest 100 Aussie Brews”.

The Fremantle brewery can be doubly proud because Little Creatures Bright – its 4.5 per cent summery ale - was the only other WA beer to make the top 10 of the voters’ choice.

The on-line poll run by Melbourne’s The Local Taphouse was open for almost three months and, while Melbourne’s cosmopolitan aficionados probably provided a majority of informed responses, hundreds of craft beer lovers from elsewhere in Australia were able to vote for their favourite tipple.

Some small-brewery beers don’t get much beyond their neighbourhood while bigger brands enjoy inter-state exposure, and this must be factored in when considering the poll results.

“Obviously, the most widely distributed craft beers would be more familiar to many of the people who voted,” The Local Taphouse’s Steve Jeffares admitted. “Still, all we wanted to do was get a feel for what people prefer to drink across Australia.

“The idea of the poll came when I was having a few drinks with friends on Australia Day eve in 2007. We were listening to The Top 100 songs on the radio and I thought it would be nice to get the public to vote for a similar list of their favourite beers. We have 20 craft beers on tap at any one time, and as it turns out we’ve already served more than 70 of the top 100.”

The top 10 “hottest” line-up reveals some interesting indicators. Most noticeable is the dominance by South Australian rather than WA craft breweries – helped by the popularity of the big Coopers’ brewery in SA and the presence there of a Lion Nathan brewery which makes some James Squire beers. Then, considering the poll was centred on Victoria, that State has only two representatives.

A nation awash with lagers may be astonished that nine of the 10 favourite brews are ales. Only one lager makes the elite list – the unique Knappstein Reserve, from the revived Enterprise brewery at a South Australian winery. Regular readers will recognise it as the one I’ve repeatedly named as the best domestic lager by far. Perth’s most savvy retailers agree and report that Knappstein’s reputation has grown so much that customers no longer need nudging towards it.

The poll results were announced at Melbourne’s Summer SpecTAPular beer festival late last month. Among the rest of WA’s brews, Nail Stout at No.16 and Nail Ale at 25 led the way, with Feral faring next best with White at 27th and Hophog IPA joint 72nd.. Colonial IPA (53), Gage Roads IPA (55), Little Creatures Rogers (57) and Little Creatures Pilsner (joint 82nd) were the others to register with voters. For the full 100 hottest beers list, visit www.thelocal.com.au

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COLONIAL GETS A SHOW

WA’s lightweight showing in the “Hottest 100” poll is balanced this month at the bar in Melbourne. Proving it is more than just “Local” in East St Kilda, the Taphouse “showcase” for February is of Colonial brews from Margaret River. The bar has previously served Colonial Kolsch German-style light ale, but the showcase puts Kolsch, Wheat, Pale, IPA and Porter on tap at the same time. It plans to showcase Feral Brewery’s beers next.

Meanwhile, The Local Taphouse held a fundraiser for Hargreave Hill brewery, which was destroyed in the Victorian bushfires. Breweries from around Australia donated kegs.

The bar describes itself as a friendly beer café, “passionately catering to Australia's growing taste for better beer” so successfully that it is to open a second venue soon, in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Its permanent tap range includes such classy imports as Trumer Pils and Erdinger Hefe Weizen as well as Aussie craft beers including Little Creatures.

BREAK-OUT 2(w.pic7)

Low-carb Pure Blonde is available in cans from this month, in bars and off-premise shops. While purists would rather not be left holding the can - because it’s always preferable to taste beer from glass - the Foster’s Group’s reason for giving customers the option of buying the 4.6 per cent lager in 375ml aluminium canisters is logical.

“The can provides Pure Blonde drinkers with an alternative to glass where there are specific venue restrictions on glass, or for non-glass events,” group premium beer marketing manager Ben Summons said, adding that cans were perfect for “barbecues, festivals, camping trips or outdoor functions”. It would also be available at events where glass vessels were restricted.

He also pointed to another consumer benefit: the cans hold 20ml more beer than the smaller (355ml) stubbies, but cost the same. That means one “free” sip per can.

“The Pure Blonde can also offers existing (canned-beer) drinkers the opportunity to trade up to something more premium that is also low carb,” Mr Summons said.

The full-strength low-carb beer segment has grown dramatically since the 2004 launch of Pure Blonde, and the brand now commands about 50 per cent of the market, which it shares with almost 20 competitors.

Pure Blonde cans are priced about $16 a six-pack.

By Vic Crossland