Great Northern Super Crisp was Australia’s biggest selling beer in 2025, the fifth year it’s taken out the title.

Market research company Circana combined its data with stats from Dan Murphy’s and Asahi and Lion to determine the top 10 beer brands for the year.

Asahi Beverages Group Chief Executive Amanda Sellers told the Daily Telegraph: “We are a national of beer lovers but it’s great to see moderation is no longer just a trend, it’s a permanent part of Aussie beer culture.

“Having two mid-strengths in our top few beers would have been unthinkable not that long ago.”

Great Northern was launched by Carlton and United Breweries in 2010 to rival XXXX in Queensland. Former GM Cameron Levick told the Brisbane Times prior to the official launch: “We’re so confident about the taste of this beer that once people try it they’ll be certainly very pleased and want to come back and buy some more.”

Asahi also recently opened its first-ever flagship venue for Great Northern – Northern Grounds – on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

On tap at Northern Grounds, patrons can enjoy the full range of Great Northern brews, alongside a selection of classic, contemporary and craft beers including fellow Queensland icons Balter and Green Beacon and the popular Hard Rated.

Australia’s top 10 favourite beers for 2025

1. Great Northern Super Crisp
2. Carlton Dry
3. XXXX Gold
4. Coopers Pale Ale
5. VB
6. Hanh SuperDry
7. Corona Extra
8. Carlton Draught
9. Tooheys
10. Asahi

Shifting tastes across Australia

Mid-strength beers were the winners on the top 10 list, but Endeavour Group reports tastes vary across the nation.

Queenslanders and West Australians are the biggest adopters of lower alcohol options, while there has been an increase in the volume of full-strength beer consumption across Victoria and Tasmania.

“Victoria and Tasmania currently stand out as the ‘traditionalist’ anomalies in the national landscape … the rest of the country is moving faster toward mid-strength and moderation,” Endeavour Group head of beer and cider Gill Webb told the Australian Financial Review.

“We are seeing a ‘tale of two tastes’ across Australia. While beer remains a staple, the growth in Queensland and WA is being driven by the innovation in the ready to drink category options like low-sugar seltzers and lemon drinks that suit the warmer climate.”

Webb said beer remains the undisputed king of the Australian alcohol category, with Gen Z driving the strongest dollar growth in the category.

Lion’s top tap beer for 2025

Lion has also revealed that Stone & Wood’s Pacific Ale – featuring Galaxy hops for a tropical aroma – is now its number one distributed tap beer.

Founded in 2008 by Jamie Cook, Ross Jurisich and Brad Rogers, Stone & Wood’s Pacific Ale was an immediate hit with beer lovers. The trio couldn’t keep up with demand, with Jurisich telling The Crafty Pint in 2018: “There was a pile of purchase orders for Pacific Ale that we couldn’t jump over. We didn’t have remotely enough beer.”

“We have a weekly meeting in the business where the production and sales guys try to match supply with demand,” Rogers added. 

“During that summer the meeting got given the title of ‘loaves and fishes’, a name it still has today, as that pretty much captured the miracle like task we faced every week of trying to work out how we we would meet such a huge demand with such little beer.”

Lion bought the Byron Bay-born craft beer brand in 2021. According to a poll taken by news.com.au earlier this year, Stone & Wood’s Pacific Ale is Australia’s favourite craft beer.

Pictured above: Beer taps at the Dove & Olive, Surry Hills, Sydney.