A podcast for lovers of wine, beer, liquor (incl. whisky, whiskey, bourbon, gin, vodka, tequila etc) and cocktails, Drinks Adventures hosts wine makers, brewing and distilling experts, sommeliers, bartenders & more.
Craft beer company Hop Nation Brewing was founded in Footscray, Melbourne in 2014 by winemaking friends Sam Hambour and Duncan Gibson.
While the brewery started out making hoppy beers, Sam and Duncan have continued to expand into new and intriguing territories.
They have a side label for sour beers, Site Fermentation Project; and they’ve returned to winemaking with an affiliated brand, Site Wine.
Hop Nation is also one of many craft breweries to have diversified into alcoholic seltzer, with the creation of another new brand, Ray, in 2020.
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While in Melbourne for Good Beer Week a few weeks ago I dropped by Hop Nation’s original site in Footscray for a long overdue interview with Sam.
Our catch-up turned out to be well-timed, as Hop Nation dominated proceedings at the Australian International Beer Awards the following night.
The company picked up a remarkable four trophies including one of the major awards, Champion Medium Australian Brewery, and Best Pilsner for Rattenhund, which you’ll hear me discuss with Sam in this interview.
These achievements follow Hop Nation’s recent expansion into a new production brewery in Mornington, which has enabled the company to fine tune its beers.
So there was plenty to talk about with Sam, and that’s without even mentioning the 2021 release of The Kalash, their bourbon barrel aged imperial stout that drops on June 3, around the time this episode goes to air.
Same as in 2020, there’s a second version of The Kalash coming out this year, which you heard foreshadowed by David Baker of Victoria’s Bakery Hill Distillery, back in Season Three of this podcast.
And perhaps you can expect even more barrel-aged beers from Hop Nation, which Sam reveals will soon begin distilling whisky, gin and brandy as the latest additions to its impressive beverage portfolio.
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