We’re over the moon to share that our Cerveza Crisp Lager has just won the Best Australian Style Lager trophy at the 2025 Australian International Beer Awards (AIBAs).
This category is the most widely consumed beer style in Australia, traditionally dominated by household names like Great Northern, VB and Carlton Draught. For our small, family-owned brewery to take the top spot is both surreal and deeply rewarding.
It also means we’ve now taken home back-to-back trophies. Last year we were awarded Best Pilsner for Koldsplif West Coast Pilsner – in the same year we were crowned Champion Medium Australian Brewery – and this year it’s Best Australian Style Lager. For a brewery best known for hoppy ales, these awards show just how far we’ve come with lager.
When we started KAIJU! more than a decade ago with a ludicrously-hopped Double IPA, lagers weren’t on our radar. But behind the scenes, Nat has been quietly obsessed with them for years. Time spent with his wife’s family in Germany gave him the chance to visit traditional breweries and study their methods. He even came back with a unique yeast strain that’s now at the heart of our lager program. That yeast, combined with Nat’s relentless focus on crisp, clean fermentation, became the secret weapon behind Cerveza.
Cerveza was brewed to be light, refreshing and easy-drinking – but always with depth and nuance. We wanted a beer that everyday drinkers could enjoy, while also earning the respect of fellow brewers. Winning Best Australian Style Lager tells us we’ve achieved that.
With more than 2,300 entries from 22 countries, the AIBAs are the largest annual beer competition in the world. To be recognised in a category as competitive and iconic as Australian Style Lager is a huge honour for our small team.
From our hop-heavy beginnings to back-to-back lager trophies, we’re proud to keep proving that independence, creativity and technical precision can stand tall against the biggest players in the industry. Whether it’s the tropical punch of KAIJU! KRUSH! or the crisp refinement of Cerveza Crisp Lager, our mission has always been simple: make beers we believe in, and share them with people who love drinking them.
Cerveza Crisp Lager is available in Dan Murphy’s, BWS, independent bottleshops and our online store.
Cheers to many more years of cracking beers!
Callum Reeves
Chief Boss, KAIJU! Beer
