Melbourne Royal’s Australian International Beer Awards (AIBA) is the marquee event on Australia’s beer calendar—and with hundreds of brewers and hospitality professionals gathered in one room, a good time is practically guaranteed. Established in 1987, the ABIAs have beer appreciation down to an art.
The night opened at the Victoria Pavilion, with brewing professionals dressed to impress. Brewers from tiny independent operations to executives representing multi-national corporations rubbed shoulders. The night offered more than just a celebration; it brought the industry together. For many, it was a joyful opportunity to connect with peers from around Australia and abroad. Many of whom traveled to Melbourne specifically for the event. 
The star attraction? The coveted Champion AIBA trophies.
The competition drew 2,277 entries from 22 countries, making it the largest annual beer competition in the world. Judges evaluated each entry blind, assessing beers on flavour, aroma, and appearance without influence from branding or packaging.
Winners ranged from little local breweries to international heavyweights, repeat winners and first time champions.
Each championship trophy winner first scored a gold medal from a table of expert judges before advancing to the championship round. All that’s to say, the winning beers represent the very best in their style categories.
Now on to the champions.
Wedgetail Brewing from Western Australia won Champion Australian Beer for their Dark Lager. A remarkable upset by a little WA brewery founded by two helicopter pilots.
Here in Victoria, Hawkers won Champion Large Australian Brewery and Stomping Ground picked up the Champion Victorian Brewery award.
New South Wales’ Philter Brewing enjoyed a phenomenal run. Since its debut, their XPA has continued to scoop up awards. In addition to the XPA winning Best Australian Style Pale Ale, they also won Best Modern IPA for their Haze, as well as Champion Medium Australian brewery.
Returning champions Dollar Bill Brewing, the husband-and-wife team from Ballarat, continued their winning streak. Since 2022, they’ve taken home AIBA trophies every year, including back-to-back Champion Beer awards. This year, they secured Australian Gypsy Brewer and Best Fruit Beer for Brambalama Ding Dong, a barrel-aged boysenberry sour ale. 
Queensland brewery Slipsteam represented the Sunshine State winning Champion Small Australian Brewery, and a trophy for Best Belgium/French Ale for their funky Gold Wild Ale.
One of the buzziest moments of the night occurred when the founder of Alaska’s 49th State Brewing took to the stage to accept his Medium International Brewery Award. David McCarthy boarded a plane for Melbourne with less than 12 hours’ notice to attend the awards in person. He arrived on stage in new clothes (thanks to lost luggage), tales of motorbike trips, and a beaming smile.
Other international winners include Weihenstephan winning the Large International Brewery Category. (As the world’s oldest brewery still in operation, Weihenstephan has been brewing continually in Bavaria for almost 1,000 years.) The Trumer Pils company, which is ‘only’ 400 years old, won champion international beer for their pilsner. Whilst New Zealand’s Altitude Brewing took home trophies for Small International Brewery and Best Modern Pale Ale.
I’m also hoping to get my hands on the unique Barrel-Aged Feijoa Sour by Shining Peak, which won best Barrel-Aged Beer. As well as Deadman’s Happy Camping sour cheery beer from Hong Kong. They picked up best ‘Speciality Beer’, which is no easy feat in this diverse category.
Closer to home, local legends Kaiju won an AIBA trophy for their Cerveza lager. (An ironic twist, considering Kaiju initially made a name for themselves brewing big, hoppy beers.) And speaking of legends – after twenty years in the brewing scene and venues in Beechworth and Melbourne, Ben Kraus ascended the stage to collect Bridge Road Brewers’ first AIBA trophy. Winning the Non-Alcohol category for their Free Time Raspberry Sour.
Wedgetail wasn’t the only WA brewery to win big. King Road, no stranger to the AIBA stage, won Best International Lager and Best International Style Pale Ale this year. And Boundary Island Brewery won best traditional IPA.
For those in NSW, Reckless Brewing scored the Best Stout prize. Whilst Merino Brewery won awards for their ESB and low alcohol Camden IPA.
Fun fact – the competition poured through over 1,000 litres of beer samples and used nearly 13,000 glasses over three days of judging.
The celebration was well earned, but the industry still faces serious challenges. With more independent breweries entering voluntary administration, there’s never been a more important time to support local beer. So why not channel the spirit of an AIBA judge? Pick up a few award-winning brews, gather your mates, and celebrate the best of what beer has to offer. After all, great beer tastes even better when it’s shared. 
-Jenny Schmidt
Jenny loves the magic of fermentation and supports craft beer alchemy.
The Australian International Beer Awards are conducted annually by Melbourne Royal. The AIBAs inspire and celebrate excellence in brewing, beer packaging design and beer media. View the full results and 2025 trophy winners at Melbourne Royal.
