Price

I would’ve thought this denominator was clear enough, but apparently not… Pretty simply this is a relatively arbitrary system I’ve used since the inception of the original Beer O’Clock Australia blog. Originally the different categories indicated $2.50 jumps in the price of a bottle of beer. Obviously the market has changed now, $15 Hazies are a regular feature in the lineups of some brewers, & so the categories have changed accordingly. There’s no definitive borders in my head any more – it’s sort of a gut feel. Everytime a brewery is added to The Year of Local directory this page will be updated.

Cheap

There are so few craft brewers operating in this category, it’s very hard to compete with the big boys with their economies of scale. Hawkers attempt to enter this category with their Rover brand, however their core brand sees them not feature in this list.

Inexpensive

Beers from the brewers on this list are generally comparable with mainstream offerings.

Average

Brewers in this list sell their beer at about what you’d expect to pay for your traditional craft beer styles.

Slightly Pricey

This categorg can be a little misleading to some. Some of these brands sell their product at a premium, whilst others sell styles of beer that are expensive to make – lagers, DDH IPA’s, barrel aged beers etc.

Expensive

This category is the domain of the big Hazy IPA brewers, brewers who release a lot of barrel aged beers & those who like to experiment with crazy ingredients.

Special Occasions Only

A number of brewers listed below produce one off beers that would fit into this category. Hawkers, for example, are listed in the “Average” category but have recently released Imperial Stouts at $40+ a bottle. Bad Shepherd have recently released a $200 6-pack of Barrel Aged Imperial Stouts, whilst Black Arts regularly release bottles for $38 – only surviving being in this category by their releases being in 750ml bottles.