Status Quo, Status Unchanged: Mountain Culture Wins GABS, Again

For the fourth consecutive year, Mountain Culture Beer Co.’s Status Quo has retained the title as Australia’s favourite craft beer in the 2025 GABS Hottest 100 as voted by tens-of thousands of hop-hungry punters.

Should you reside beneath a rock, this NSW outfit have been pumping out golden nectar since 2019 when they first opened the doors to their Blue Mountains brewpub. The road hasn’t been without its hurdles, but success came quickly for the local heroes, crowned Australia’s Best New Brewery at the Beer & Brewer Awards just 12 months after joining the craft-brewing scene.

A steady stream of experimental releases followed, before the brewery struck gold in 2022 with what would become its flagship tin: Status Quo. A hazy pale ale loaded with tropical punch, its cult-like following carried Mountain Culture to their first GABS gold medal in the beer’s debut year.

RELATED: The Business Of Beer – Australia’s Once Booming Craft Industry Is Now On Life Support

One of the tightest and most hotly contested polls in GABS history saw Status Quo edge it at the final whistle once again – making history as the first beer to claim the coveted title four years running. Along the way, it held off heavyweights including Australia’s oldest independent brewery, Coopers, with its Original Pale Ale (2nd), and West Coast stalwarts Gage Roads with Single Fin Summer Ale (3rd).

“It’s such an amazing achievement for the team. Being voted Australia’s #1 beer four years in a row has never been done before, and that’s a testament to how hard they all work, from the brewers that actually make Status Quo every week, to the sales team who are out on the road making our beers more readily available in pubs and bottle shops across Australia.” said DJ McCready, CEO and Co-founder of Mountain Culture.

Now armed with an undisputed four-year reign as Australia’s favourite craft beer – alongside a production-site relocation, international growth ambitions, and backing from Australian sporting royalty – the once-humble brewery 100km west of Sydney is proving that mountains can, in fact, be moved. And this one is moving fast.

GABS Hottest 100 (2025)

1. Mountain Culture Beer Co Status Quo (NSW)
2. Coopers Brewery Original Pale Ale (SA)
3. Gage Roads Brew Co Single Fin Summer Ale (WA)
4. BentSpoke Brewing Co Crankshaft (ACT)
5. Philter XPA (NSW)
6. Range Brewing Disco (QLD)
7. Balter Brewing XPA (QLD)
8. One Drop Brewing Co We Jammin’ Smoothie Sour (NSW)
9. Beerfarm Royal Haze (WA)
10. Seeker Brewing Mystic (NSW)
11. Young Henrys Newtowner (NSW)
12. Blackflag Brewing Rage Juicy Pale Ale (QLD)
13. Your Mates Brewing Co Larry (QLD)
14. Bridge Road Brewers Beechworth Pale Ale (VIC)
15. Stone & Wood Pacific Ale (NSW)
16. Mountain Culture Beer Co Juice Trip (NSW)
17. Balter Brewing Eazy Hazy (QLD)
18. Margaret River Beer Co In The Pines (WA)
19. Stomping Ground Brewing Co Gipps St Pale Ale (VIC)
20. Hawkers Beer West Coast IPA (VIC)
21. Pirate Life Brewing South Coast Pale Ale (SA)
22. Little Creatures Pale Ale (WA)
23. 4 Pines Brewing Co Japanese Lager (NSW)
24. Rocky Ridge Brewing Co Jindong Juicy (WA)
25. Black Hops Brewing G.O.A.T. (QLD)
26. Burleigh Brewing Co Bighead No Carb Lager (QLD)
27. Bright Brewery Alpine Lager (VIC)
28. Young Henrys Classic Premium (NSW)
29. Heaps Normal Quiet XPA (NSW)
30. Mountain Goat Beer GOAT Very Enjoyable Beer (VIC)
31. Blackman’s Brewery Juicy Banger IPL (VIC)
32. Balter Brewing Cerveza (QLD)
33. 10 Toes Brewing Pipeline Pale Ale (QLD)
34. 4 Pines Brewing Co Pacific Ale (NSW)
35. Akasha Brewing Freshwater Pale Ale (NSW)
36. Shout Brewing Co Mullet Pale Ale (VIC)
37. Capital Brewing Co Coast Ale (ACT)
38. Bad Shepherd Brewing Co Peanut Butter Porter (VIC)
39. Hop Nation Brewing Co J-Juice Hazy IPA (VIC)
40. Reckless Brewing Co BX Lager (NSW)
41. Rocky Ridge Brewing Co Cali IPA (WA)
42. Shapeshifter Brewing Co Party Shirt (VIC)
43. Feral Brewing Co Biggie Juice (WA)
44. Coopers Brewery Sparkling Ale (SA)
45. Pirate Life Brewing Hazy XPA (SA)
46. The Grifter Brewing Co Pale (NSW)
47. KAIJU! Beer KRUSH! Tropical Pale Ale (VIC)
48. Green Beacon Brewing Co Wayfarer Tropical Pale Ale (QLD)
49. Mountain Culture Beer Co Cult IPA (NSW)
50. Blackflag Brewing Affinity Pale Ale (QLD)
51. CB Co Brewing Pale Ale (VIC)
52. Bridge Road Brewers Bling IPA (VIC)
53. Balter Brewing Hazy IPA (QLD)
54. Range Brewing Lights + Music (QLD)
55. Capital Brewing Co Capital XPA (ACT)
56. Stone & Wood Easy Pale Ale (NSW)
57. Co-Conspirators Brewing Co The Matriarch NEIPA (VIC)
58. Two Bays Brewing Co Pale Ale (VIC)
59. BentSpoke Brewing Co Sprocket (ACT)
60. Gage Roads Brew Co Hazy As (WA)
61. Bojak Brewing Calypso (NSW)
62. Hiker Brewing Co Horizon (NSW)
63. Bright Brewery Pale Ale (VIC)
64. Mountain Goat Beer Tasty Pale Ale (VIC)
65. Shelter Brewing Co Hazy IPA (WA)
66. Bowden Brewing Dive In IPA (SA)
67. Bodriggy Brewing Co Speccy Juice (VIC)
68. Willie the Boatman Albo Pale Ale (NSW)
69. 4 Pines Brewing Co Hazy Pale Ale (NSW)
70. Capital Brewing Co Haze Oasis Pale Ale (ACT)
71. Margaret River Beer Co River Dog (WA)
72. Black Hops Brewing East Coast Haze (QLD)
73. Wayward Brewing Co Hazy Mid (NSW)
74. 4 Pines Brewing Co Pale Ale (NSW)
75. Banks Brewing Cake Eater OCDIPA (NSW)
76. Slipstream Brewing Co Laguna Pacific Ale (QLD)
77. Coopers Brewery Australian Lager (SA)
78. Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel Three Sheets Australian Pale Ale (NSW)
79. Good Land Brewing Co Little Mate Hazy Mid (VIC)
80. Range Brewing Dripping In Green Citra (QLD)
81. Feral Brewing Co Hop Hog (WA)
82. Big Shed Brewing Boozy Fruit (SA)
83. Young Henrys Natural Lager (NSW)
84. Reckless Brewing Co Red IPA (NSW)
85. Gage Roads Brew Co Side Track All Day XPA (WA)
86. Moffat Beach Brewing Co Passenger Pale Ale (QLD)
87. Brewmanity Beer Co Mouth Of Melbourne (VIC)
88. Helios Brewing Co Dionysus Oat Cream DIPA (VIC)
89. Six String Brewing Co Coastie Lager (NSW)
90. Coopers Brewery Best Extra Stout (SA)
91. Dangerous Ales Crispy Boi Lager (VIC)
92. Stomping Ground Brewing Co Big Sky Hazy Pale (VIC)
93. Wolf Of The Willows Brewing PUP Hazy Pale Ale (NSW)
94. WhiteBay Brewery Hazy Australian Pale Ale (NSW)
95. Burleigh Brewing Co Twisted Palm (QLD)
96. Prancing Pony Brewery Prancing Pony Double IPA (NSW)
97. Hop Nation Brewing Co Rattenhund Classic Pilsner (VIC)
98. Coopers Brewery XPA (SA)
99. BentSpoke Brewing Co Barley Griffin (ACT)
100. Matso’s Brewery Mango Beer (WA)