Eclectic Brewing’s DDH-DIPA Mosaic Theory took home Most Outstanding Beer in Show and Champion IPA, proudly sponsored by HPA. The Campbelltown craft brewery prides themselves on blending traditional techniques with bold innovation to create exciting flavours that delight every beer lover. After giving them some time to celebrate their awards, we got in touch with Head Brewer Chris De La Rue to congratulate the team and ask a few questions about their beers.    

Q: Congrats on your recent success at the 2025 RABCAs. You went home with the trophy for Most Outstanding Beer in Show and Champion IPA for Mosaic Theory. What does this recognition mean to you?  

A: I am still in awe of our recent success at RABCA. Winning trophies was the furthest thing from my mind. My focus is solely on the production of quality beer. When you look at the lineup of competing breweries and their respective beers, it is truly humbling to be recognised as having brewed The Most Outstanding Beer in Show and Champion IPA.   

Q: You also earned a slew of medals, including 1 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze. What’s the secret to making award-winning beers across multiple categories?

A: Product specification and recipe design is the first criteria. Second is to fully understand what you are doing and why (great beers are not made from a Google search). Third is brew day preparation and production processes. Behind the scenes, a hell of a lot of unrewarded work / effort goes into making a beer. While the accolade of winning medals is validation that your beer is true to style, it’s really the judges feedback that means the most. The stewards and judges put in a lot of hours to serve and critique our beers and their feedback is essential to ensure your next batch is your best batch.

 Q: You’re clearly passionate about quality, but you’re also dedicated to creativity and community. Of all your beers that medalled, which 3 mean the most and why?

A: The 3 beers that mean the most are in our Friends & Family Series. Mosaic Theory, Kayak and Unshaven which I named and brewed with respect to my best mates, Stix, Clutts and Shorty. I put my heart and soul into recipe design and brew day process. When you make a beer to respect someone then it must be right on the mark. The RABCA results confirm that these beers are very close to my heart. 

Q: On the journey from homebrewer to award-winning craft brewery, what’s the biggest milestone you’ve celebrated? 

A: When I think back over our two years of operation, I can recall several milestones, all of which have significant importance. But when you ask ‘on the journey from homebrewer to award-winning craft brewery’ then I have to say, as a homebrewer it’s lovely to have family & friends say “your beers are great” and “you should produce and sell your beers”. But as a craft brewery when you ask someone to spend their hard-earned dollars on your beer, then you damn well must make sure that your product is worthy of their money. To answer the question, our biggest milestone is two-fold: 1) being stocked in licenced venues and bottle shops who have come to us, and 2) having those wonderful craft beer drinkers who acknowledge that our beers are good through repeat business.

Q: We heard a rumour you’re in the process of setting up a new location. Can you tell us more?

A: We have purchased a new 7.5hL brewhouse (due to arrive around the end of September) and we have leased a new location in inner Adelaide. The site will be production and sales only. My focus is on quality beer production and I don’t want to be distracted with the operations of a taproom/ hospitality venue.

Q: You use a combination of the finest local and global ingredients. Which of our Aussie hops helps you brew flavours that stand out the most? 

A: I am passionate about local and wherever possible I will always use local over international. That said, the Aussie hop I use the most and is a real favourite of mine is Galaxy^®. It’s truly a magnificent hop and I use it both on hot and cold side brewing.