On Tuesday the 31st of October I visited the Hop Dog Beer Works in Nowra, New South Wales. This brewery opened just over six years ago, although, Tim the owner and brewer, has been in the craft brewing industry for seventeen years. He produces small batches of beers so that he can guarantee freshness and uses only quality ingredients to maintain quality beers.
The brewery initially used a 200 litre system but it now consists of a 800 litre brew system and has six 800 litre fermentation tanks. They have a taproom at the brewery as well as a second venue in Nowra town centre called The Dog and Monocle. This is a restaurant as well as a bar.
The taproom is open from Wednesday to Saturday and has a great offer on Friday when they will fill growlers for $13. They have a core selection of three beers and produce a regularly changing range of seasonal and specialty beers. The core beers are Cosmic Highway, Redhopulous and Horns Up.
Their beers can also be found in selected bottle shops between Canberra and Sydney.
The beers that I sampled were:
- Cosmic Highway, 4.7% abv, this is a Pale Ale with a golden colour and a sweet citrus and tropical fruit aroma. It has a biscuity, malt initial flavour and then a mild bitter finish.
- Something, Something, Kettle Sour, 5.6% abv, this is golden ale that has been aged on Japanese Umoboshi ( these are a salty, tart, sweet preserved plum). The beer has a golden colour and a subtle sour aroma. It has a very sweet initial flavour that is followed by a fruity gentle sourness.
- Redhopulous, 5.0% abv, this is a Red Ale that is amber in colour and a biscuit and caramel malt aroma. It has a wonderful malty flavour and then a fruitiness on a mild hop bitter finish.
- Horns Up, 5.8% abv, this is a Rye IPA with a straw colour and a citrus, pineapple and tropical fruit aroma. It has a sweet tropical fruit taste that flows into a spicy fruit bitterness on the finish.
- Sludge Core, 8.0% abv, this is a Rye Double IPA with a golden straw colour with a tropical mango, pineapple and pine aroma. It has a nice smooth mouth feel and a sweet fruity flavour before a generous, resinous, dry hop bitter finish.
- Panda Popping Fairy Turkish Floss, 8.3% abv, this is a sweet Milk Stout that has been aged in Lark Whiskey barrels and was produced for GABS. It contains popcorn, fairy floss and rose water. It has a black colour and a sweet roasted malt aroma. It has a super sweet flavour with hints of dark chocolate. It is unusual and very delicious.
- The Baconator, 5.5% abv, this is a collaboration brew with a heavy metal band called Reign of Terror made for the release of their EP “Tormentor of Lost Souls”. It is a smoked amber ale with a copper colour and a smoked meat aroma. It has a great smoked malt flavour with tastes of bacon and smoked meat. Available in bottles only.
- Psychedelic Lizard Wizard, 4.7% abv, this is a citrus and Szechuan pepper Belgian Pale Ale, it has a hazy golden colour and a spicy citrus aroma. It has a complex tart citrus flavour with a mild spiciness on a dry finish. Available in bottles only.
- Mage Armor, 7.7% abv, this is a Belgian styled Tripel with a hazy, light orange colour and an aroma of Belgian yeast, bananas and tropical fruit. It has a creamy mouth feel and a sweet flavour of malt and fruit on a gentle bitter finish. Available in bottles only.
- Super Beast 2016, 10.5% abv, 85 IBU, this is their 5th anniversary Barley Wine, it has a cloudy copper colour and a strong fruity aroma. It has a nice smooth mouth feel and a rich, strong , sweet flavour of raisins and alcohol soaked fruit. Delicious! Available in bottles only.
- Super Beast 2017, 10.3% abv, 75 IBU, this is their 6th anniversary Barley Wine, it has a cloudy copper appearance and a sweet fruity hop aroma. It has a fantastic strong sweet fruity flavour of Christmas cake on a mild bitterness. Wonderful!! Available in bottles only.
The Hop Dog Beer Works is making some delicious beers, some of which that are very unique and unusual. It is also a great venue to have a few brews. It is definitely worth a visit.
I would like to thank Tim for taking the time from his busy brewing schedule to talk with me and for his hospitality. 