The 2025 Beer & Brewer Awards have named Mountain Culture Beer Co.’s Co-founder and Head Brewer DJ McCready Brewer of the Year.
The award recognises McCready’s leadership in driving quality, consistency and innovation within Australia’s independent beer sector and comes the same week the brand celebrates its sixth birthday.
Reflecting on the past six years McCready said it has been filled with lessons and a love of beer.
“We’ve had a lot of amazing moments at Mountain Culture over the last six years, to be honest, it really feels like 16. Though I’m not really on the production floor as much these days, I am still a brewer at heart.
“All the lessons I’ve learned from coming up as a professional brewer in the industry I have used to help us create a truly unique company at Mountain Culture. Whether that be trying new things, mixing art and science, or bringing something to life that people are excited about,” he told Beer & Brewer.
When asked about his recipe for success, McCready said it’s about nailing the small things.
“If we’re talking about the product itself, we’ve always been big believers that it’s the sum of many small things, done to the highest quality that equal a great product.”
He added: “But the real secret sauce for what we’ve done at Mountain Culture has been hiring and empowering a great crew of passionate brewers led by Jumbo.”
A big part of Mountain Culture and McCready’s success has also been the ability to remain focused and have fun, which is why one of his greatest achievements has been “punking the industry by throwing a smoked beer festival and making everybody sign up to it”.
McCready, who founded Mountain Culture with his wife Harriet in Katoomba in 2019, has built one of the country’s most successful modern craft breweries, with three consecutive wins of the GABS Hottest 100. Under his direction, Mountain Culture has combined a strong technical brewing foundation with creative flair, producing a portfolio that has resonated strongly with both retailers and consumers.
The brewery’s flagship Status Quo Pale Ale remains a top-performing core beer, while McCready’s approach to limited releases and hop-forward styles has helped set benchmarks for freshness and flavour across the category.
Originally from Maine in the United States, McCready brought extensive international brewing experience to Australia and has since become a leading voice in the evolution of the local craft industry. His focus on consistency, quality control and brand authenticity has played a key role in Mountain Culture’s rise from a small regional operation to a national craft leader.
