The Royal Queensland Beer Awards invited Aussie brewers to compete for national recognition once again in 2025. Supported by a team of brewers, beer writers and industry figures, the competition has become a trusted guide for Aussie beer drinkers, and is the first commercial beer competition of the calendar year.
Hop Products Australia (HPA) were particularly proud to award Slipstream Brewing the HPA trophy for Champion Small/Medium Brewery for the second year in a row. They also took out the top gong for Grand Champion Beer, as well as Champion Amber Dark-Ale, Champion European-Style Lager and The Star Entertainment Group Best QLD Beer. After the awards, we got in touch with Head Brewer Gavin Croft to congratulate the team and ask a few questions about their hot streak.
Q: Congratulations on your slew of trophies and medals at the 2025 Royal Queensland Beer Awards. Have you made any changes in the last 12-months that directly contributed to this success?
A: The mentality of constant improvement that we’ve had for the past few years hasn’t changed. But that does mean that recipes and process are regularly being refined to improve our quality.
Q: Your Classic Saison Draught picked up Grand Champion Beer, Champion European-Style Ale and The Star Entertainment Group Best QLD Beer. What makes this beer special in your eyes, and are there other underrepresented beer styles you think the Aussie market should embrace?
A: Twenty years ago, Saison Dupont showed me that there can be so much more to beer than just being a social beverage. A real wow moment that stuck with me, and has inspired me ever since. Saison is a really simple style at heart that is both refreshing and complex in it’s flavour. Our Classic Saison leans a little more into the citrusy tartness than many Belgian examples, but it was brewed with our balmy Queensland weather in mind. If you take a broader view of the Australian market, almost every style is underrepresented. Lager and Pale Ale rule supreme. But I will highlight Pilsner as a frustrating one, because it suits our market, but the name seems to scare people off. Some brewers make the decision to market their Pilsner as Lager instead, because they know it will sell better.
Q: You managed to secure a whopping 33 medals at the Awards. Which is your favourite beer that received a medal, but not a trophy?
A: Gold Wild Ale was a real labour of love that was almost 2 years in the making. We were very happy with that beer, and it was recognised with a gold medal. It’s probably a good thing that it didn’t get a trophy, because it’s not one that we can quickly rebrew and restock the shelves with. We’ve got a few more batches already aging in barrels, but they will be ready in their own time.
Q: Your medal winning Uncharted IPA features HPA-4029. Why did you choose to brew this beer with one of the leading experimental hops from our breeding program?
A: Our Uncharted IPA series always takes a bit of a risk using hops we’ve never seen before in a single hop IPA, but Sim had given us strong sensory feedback on 4029 from last years harvest, so we were excited to give it a go. The result was fantastic, with big tropical fruit aromas of pineapple & passionfruit (which we were expecting) alongside plenty of resinous pine and grapefruit peel.
Q: Last year, you mentioned that Vic Secret™ was your favourite Aussie hop? Is it still the top hop, or is there a new contender?
A: Vic Secret and Galaxy are always up there amongst my favourites. After using 4029 though now I’m not so sure. Perhaps a few more brews with it will take it to top spot.
Q: You went to the Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas in 2024. Did you pick up on any new beer trends that are yet to make their way down under?
A: We saw a swing back to West Coast IPA from Hazy IPA being the trending style, with breweries now preferring to make clear IPA but with less bitterness than 10 years ago.
