As they celebrate ten years, Hop Nation have turned back the clock to look at some old favourites. First up is their very first beer, The Fiend, which was crafted with all Australian hops, as the trained winemakers had a plan to craft each beer with only hops from certain countries (it might not have lasted, but now you know where the brewery’s name comes from). While I’m pretty sure I remember drinking my first ever Fiend at The Gertrude in Fitzroy (RIP), I don’t quite have the recall to remember exactly how it tasted. But the 2024 version certainly brings to mind the first beer’s sessionability and biscuity malt character, alongside melon and passionfruit from those local hops and as I drink it, I can't help but think back to an age before Trump.
Then there’s The Dawn, which is a beer that I remember drinking for the first time like it happened yesterday. A pal from uni and I had just finished an exam, and the world was our oyster. In our shared ebullience, I managed to convince him to head with me to some industrial corner of Footscray to drink beer in a warehouse next to a place where they actually packaged oysters. On the way, he told me about some beer he’d tried in America called Toppy Header (or something like that anyway…) and how juicy it seemed to be. We walked into this newly-opened taproom, and the bartender suggested we simply must try The Dawn, a big hoppy beer brewed to celebrate Hop Nation’s opening and based on this newer, hazier style of beer out of America.
In that moment, it was love at first sniff, as I wondered if somehow this bartender had served me a pint of pineapple juice. Before we finished it, co-founder Dunc appeared to chat about the inspiration for the beer, having studied what they could from Heady Topper (hey – turns out he wasn’t too far off). The Next Dawn might have changed a little, with the modern hop profile showcasing Citra Cryo, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy, but it remains as juicy and textural in its mouthfeel as I remember. Enjoy the birthday beer, and you’ll find a hop mix that covers lush notes of oranges, papaya, mango and passionfruit while being a dangerously drinkable 8.5 percent ABV.
Will Ziebell
Published November 19, 2024 2024-11-19 00:00:00