Take the train as far south along the coast as you can and you’ll hit Nowra. And there you’ll find HopDog BeerWorks, one of Australia’s youngest – and smallest – microbreweries. Opened in 2011 with a brewhouse measuring just 200 litres, its founder and brewer Tim Thomas wasted little time building a reputation for his beers among craft beer circles, appearing at bars in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne within months.
While the brewery may be new, Tim has been brewing for years, starting out at Sydney’s Lord Nelson and later spending time at Five Islands (now Illawarra Brewing Company) before taking some time out. His beer sabbatical didn’t last long, with the lure of the mash encouraging him to persuade his wife to let him start up HopDog in her hometown. Decision made, they’d found a site in an industrial unit just off the Princes Highway, installed the brewery and were brewing within 12 months.
A self-confessed hop junkie and lager hater, Tim has nonetheless mixed up highly hop forward beers with a wide variety of other styles, including spiced Belgian beers and barrel-aged fruit ales to name but too. Courtesy of a tiny bar at the front of the brewery, punters can take them home in growlers too, with Friday afternoon deals ($12 a fill!) bringing a steady stream of locals to the door.
HopDog BeerWorks Beers
The Regulars
The Specials
Regulars
HopDog Pale
A Kiwi twist on the classic US pale ale style, HopDog’s Pale uses a single NZ hop variety – and plenty of it – to create a highly aromatic beer that, as the name of the brewery suggests, is all about the hops, with a bigger bitterness than you’ll find in most Aussie beers of its kind.
Style: American Pale Ale
Strength: 5.0%
Bitterness: 50 IBU
HopDog Midgee
Styles as a “South Coast Red Mild Ale”, this is one of a small but growing number of lower alcohol beers from Aussie micros that don’t skimp on flavour. There’s plenty of rich malt character and a touch of Kiwi hops in a beer that goes some way to rescuing the reputation of light strength beers.
Style: Midstrength Red Ale
Strength: 2.9%
Bitterness: 30 IBU
HopDog Horns Up
Like it’s little brother, the Pale, this is a beer that’s all about the hops. OK, so it’s a rye IPA, which lends the malt side of things a little twist, but that’s really not where the focus is. Loads of US and Kiwi hops take control in a beer that’s big on aroma, hop flavour and bitterness. As Tim puts it: “This IPA finishes strong and dry with a lingering bitterness that just goes on, and on, and on like a screaming heavy metal guitar solo, and [has] an aftertaste that reminds you that you’ve just had an awesome hoppy experience, like the ringing in your ears after a decibel shattering concert.”
Style: US IPA
Strength: 5.8%
Bitterness: 70 IBU
HopDog Black Sunshine
An oatmeal stout that makes up part of the HopDog year round range, the Black Sunshine is a deeply black beer that’s all about the coffee and chocolate characters from its roasted malts. Sure, there’s some hops in there too, but they’re playing second fiddle to the dark side, with a hint of dark fruits in there too and a smooth, rich body delivered by the use of 15% oatmeal in the mash.
Style: Oatmeal Stout
Strength: 4.8%
Bitterness: 30 IBU
Specials
HopDog Ham on Rye
As the entries for The People’s Pint have rather surprisingly shown, it seems plenty of Aussies like a bit of smoke in their beer. Certainly, that’s the case with the HopDog family, as head brewer Tim explains: “The idea for the beer came from a visit to the Lowenbrau Keller in The Rocks in 2004 with my wife, Mrs HopDog, where we had Rauchenfels Stenbier and Schlenkerler Marzen. Wow! Smoke! Fell in love with them, and had to bring some of my own style to it.” The result is the Ham on Rye, which has taken eight years to appear but which is available now. A smoked rye golden ale, made with 50% German rauch/smoked malt, a hefty whack of rye, and plenty of NZ Southern Cross hops, it’s got both smoke and bacon going on, plus, says Tim: “a hint of cracked pepper and citrus”, adding that it’s “bacon sandwich in a glass”.
Available:
Style: Smoked ale
Strength: 4.7%
HopDog Alluvial Peach
A beer described by the brewer as “the elevator music of our beer line up compared to the arena rock spectaculars of the rest”, this is a fruity number with quite a genesis. Made with 50kgs of fresh Araluen peaches per 100 litres of a simple Belgian wheat beer – “minus the orange peel and stuff” – then aged for 30 days in used French oak barrels. Look out for a hint of tartness in a smooth, sweet and peachy affair.
Available:
Style: Fruit beer
