new hop hog

[Spiesy]

I also spoke personally with Brendan and he has not changed the recipe or the hopping at all.

Are they using the same hop crop that they have always used?

Hops change year to year, which is why most breweries alter the hops used to try and maintain a standard.

The 2011 Amarillo I had was AMAZING. The last batch of Amarillo I got, 2012 or 13? was shithouse in comparison.

 

[daveHQ]

Without getting too far off track

I'm a big fan of fat yak, I have found the bottles to be quite hit and miss also, most are great, but sometimes there just not as hoppy as they sometimes can be

The fat yak on tap is always better, and is always good with plenty of hop aroma

 

[Spiesy]

I've had ordinary Fat Yak on tap. But more ordinary ones in the bottle.
Seeing this beer anywhere usually fails to excite me. If it does excite me, it speaks volumes about the company it is keeping.

 

[Snowdog]

Okay here is my two cents worth
I drank quite a bit of Hop Hog in Perth when i was there for xmas an i must say it is still one of the most consistent and reliable beers to buy in packaged
I also spoke personally with Brendan and he has not changed the recipe or the hopping at all.
One thing with craft beer is there will be a little bottle variation, i would say Feral are well above at least 98% of other aussie produced beers when it comes to consistency

Yeah, well maybe if I see it on tap somewhere I'm at I'll give it another go then. But with the last few bottles I just got from three different places all having the same consistency, I'm off buying bottles of it now. It is not the same beer I enjoyed a few years back but is more like a pale ale now. Still good, just not the same. I get the bottle variation and the variations in hops and malts and water and all, but it seems to big of a difference. The Little Creatures Pale 6 pack I got had a hoppier taste at this time. They have been varying since I can remember, but not a whole bunch.

As for Fat Yak, I don't mind it on tap but don't care for the bottles. Usually I have that when in a bar with the usual suspect line up (Finnigan's Chin in Keperra for example).

 

[Foster]

I bought a four pack with the new label the other day in Hobart so that I could compare it against ony of my brews. I was blown away when mine had a way better hop aroma & flavour. Unfortunately, its because this four pack of HH is crap! Its over carbonated as well.

 

[surly]

I drank a pot of this on tap at the terminus yesterday.
Found it to be very hoppy and pretty decent. I remember loving it in the past (been a while since I last drank it), didn't "love" it this time, but still thoroughly enjoyed. Plenty of hop flavour and aroma.

 

[lukiferj]

I had a 4 pack last night from Dan Murphy's. Both taste and aroma were awesome out of the bottle. I have not had a bad one yet since they changed to the new packaging but maybe I have been lucky.

 

[paulmclaren11]

Had one of the new bottles on Friday night. Aroma was awesome once in the glass.

It seemed a little lighter in colour than I remembered (not a complaint at all).

Was really good and still one of my favs for sure (I had it after a LCPA and it shat all over it - I keep trying to like LCPA these days but it just lacks something).

 

[Yob]

I had a few of these at the GB on Tuesday night, (Pints from the bar, not bottles)

Dunno.. I felt both the malt character and the nose wasnt what I remember it to be and it was just lacking something... that big punch in the face you normally get.. it might be Hop availability for a brew run or something, not sure.

I certainly hope it gets back to form as Im quite smitten with this particular beer.

 

[danestead]

Hop hog has 5 hops, generally.

Cascade, centennial, citra, simcoe and amarillo (when available).

Maybe there is a lack of amarillo in the current ones people are drinking and that has somewhat changed the flavour and aroma people are getting?

 

[stm]

I found it a little underwhelming when I tried it (draught) at the Royal Albert Surry Hills. Just a nice APA rather than a full-on IPA which I was expecting.

BTW, the Royal Albert is a great little pub.

 

[lukiep8]

No recipe change. The beers get checked before packaging so over-carbonation must be coming somewhere along the distribution line (excessive heat). They get refrigerated from brewery to destination. Can't really control what shops do with things.

 

[O'Henry]

I thought Hop Hog was all Aussie hops for the last two years.

 

[QldKev]

I've given up on it. I'm not paying a top price for a hit and miss product.

 

[nu_brew]

I had some white label the other night and thought the malt was lacking. I commented to missus that it reminded me of Passito in body and flavour.

 

[Pickaxe]

I reckon it's mainly sure to people's palettes getting used to their own fare, massive fresh dry hopped big beers they're making. No supply chain across Australia is gonna compete with that!

pickaxe

 

[jkhlt1210]

Anyone taste a difference in the new hop hog? Tasted one in the new packaging so assume it's relatively fresh, but was really dissapointed, minimal aroma and taste. None of the signature big hop profile.

May just have been dodgie storage or handling from the retailer or something. Id hate for this cracker to go down the crapper.

I have tasted both old and new Hop Hogs and live them both. They both tasted the same to me but obviously not to you. It's my favourite beer goddamn it's so bloody good!

 

[GalBrew]

I had some white label the other night and thought the malt was lacking. I commented to missus that it reminded me of Passito in body and flavour.

Sure it wasn't Sly Fox? The labels are very similar and that is a pretty good description of it.

 

[jkmeldrum]

I've been a lover of this beer for a long time. Flew to Perth just to go to the brewery in the Swan Valley. Buy it by the carton regularly and have noticed a drop in favour recently. Mainly all in the new packaging.

One thing I noticed on the new label is that it looks like they have crossed out the 'India' part of the India Pale Ale. Has anyone else noticed that? I wondered if they were now making this as a pale ale and maybe they've got an even bigger IPA up their sleeve!

Just a thought

Molly

 

[danestead]

I've been a lover of this beer for a long time. Flew to Perth just to go to the brewery in the Swan Valley. Buy it by the carton regularly and have noticed a drop in favour recently. Mainly all in the new packaging.
One thing I noticed on the new label is that it looks like they have crossed out the 'India' part of the India Pale Ale. Has anyone else noticed that? I wondered if they were now making this as a pale ale and maybe they've got an even bigger IPA up their sleeve!
Just a thought
Molly

I noticed the crossed out ipa and was confused. Ill ask one of the brewers on facebook and get back to you however if its still 5.8% itd be an ipa