Status Brew New England Pale Ale

Australia’s most voted beer. Now you can brew it in your kitchen.

Mountain Culture’s Status Quo has topped the GABS Hottest 100 four years running. It’s a New England Pale Ale built on a mountain of late hops and a pillowy haze that makes it taste more like tropical juice than anything you’d call a beer. It’s that good.

Status Brew is our take on it. We’re not claiming it’s identical , Mountain Culture have a head start of a few million dollars in brewing equipment. But its got the hop character, hazy golden body and the aroma that hits you before the first sip!!

The kit uses the same hop varieties that define the original, Cashmere for creamy, exotic tropical softness; Citra for citrus punch; and Mosaic in the dry-hop for big stone fruit aroma. Flaked oats and wheat malt build the soft, hazy body that makes a NEIPA drink the way it should. A 20-minute hop stand after the boil does the flavour work, and the dry-hop does the rest.

What’s in the box

Everything you need to brew 20 litres of this Status Quo-inspired NEIPA comes pre-measured and ready for brew day & full step-by-step instructions .

Beer stats

Tasting notes

Appearance: Hazy golden with a dense, creamy white head and that unmistakeable soft glow.

Aroma: Tropical stone fruit, citrus, and creamy exotic softness — Cashmere, Citra, and Mosaic doing what they do best. The aroma hits before the first sip.

Mouthfeel: Pillowy soft and smooth, with a full, rounded body from the oats and wheat that makes the beer drink like liquid sunshine.

Perfect for

• NEIPA fans who love Status Quo and want to experience what it’s like to brew something seriously close to the original at home
• Anyone who’s been curious about New England-style hazy pale ales and wants a kit with a genuine reference point
• Home brewers who want to work with a premium three-hop combination Cashmere, Citra, and Mosaic.

One tip

Drink it fresh. NEIPAs are at their best in the first few weeks after conditioning — that’s when the Mosaic dry-hop aroma is loudest. Don’t save it for a special occasion. The special occasion is opening it.

Frequently asked questions

Is this an official Mountain Culture recipe or a licensed clone?

Status Brew is AHB’s own inspired take on the New England Pale Ale style that Status Quo represents. We’ve used the same hop varieties that define the original’s character (Cashmere, Citra, and Mosaic), and built the kit around the oat and wheat malt body that makes NEIPAs drink the way they do. It won’t be identical, Mountain Culture have serious commercial brewing equipment behind theirs but it’s genuinely in the same flavour territory.

What makes this different from the standard NEIPA kit?

The Status Brew kit is built around a specific, named hop combination Cashmere, Citra, and Mosaic that directly references the character of one of Australia’s most celebrated NEIPAs. It also includes flaked oats and wheat dry malt for the pillowy, hazy body the style demands, and uses a hop stand after the boil rather than a standard boil addition for more nuanced hop flavour. The result is a more targeted, refined NEIPA experience built around the tropical stone fruit profile that defines the style.

What does each hop variety contribute?

Cashmere is a US-grown variety with a unique creamy, tropical softness think coconut, lime, and stone fruit, that gives the beer its exotic, rounded quality. Citra is one of the most celebrated modern hops, delivering intense citrus punch: grapefruit, lime, and passionfruit. Mosaic goes in as a dry-hop and is responsible for the big, complex stone fruit and berry aroma that’s the first thing you notice when you crack the lid. Together they produce a layered, expressive hop character that’s genuinely hard to put down.

What does the hop stand involve and why does this kit use one?

A hop stand means adding hops after the boil has finished and letting them steep for around 20 minutes as the wort cools, rather than adding them during the rolling boil. The lower temperature preserves more of the delicate aromatic oils that would otherwise be driven off by heat. It’s the technique that gives NEIPAs their distinctive ‘juicy’ flavour character — more fruit-forward and less harshly bitter than a standard boil addition. The instructions walk you through it step by step.

What do the flaked oats contribute?

Flaked oats add body, smoothness, and the characteristic soft, pillowy mouthfeel that defines a well-made NEIPA. They’re also part of what creates the style’s haze the proteins in the oats interact with hop compounds during fermentation to produce that beautiful cloudy appearance. Without them, the beer would be thinner and less rounded. Don’t skip the oats.

Why is US-05 yeast used for this kit?

Fermentis Safale US-05 is the workhorse American ale yeast — clean, reliable, and highly attenuating. For a NEIPA, you want a yeast that ferments completely and stays out of the way of the hops, rather than adding fruity esters that compete with the hop character. US-05 does exactly that: it finishes dry and clean, leaving the Cashmere, Citra, and Mosaic front and centre.

How much beer does this kit make?

This kit produces 20 litres , enough for approximately 26 × 750ml longnecks or 55 × 330ml stubbies. Given that NEIPAs are best fresh, 20 litres is a great size: enough to enjoy properly and share with a few people, without sitting on it too long.

How long does it take from brew day to drinking?

Allow around 5 weeks in total , fermentation and dry-hopping takes approximately 2 weeks at 18–23°C, followed by around 3 weeks of bottle conditioning for proper carbonation to develop. Once it’s ready, drink it fresh. The Mosaic dry-hop aroma fades over time, and this is a beer that rewards immediacy over patience.