New-look Hop Ale

A shortage ofquality hops has prompted a winter makeover for Young Henrys Hop Ale.

The new-look Hop Ale has all the key elements of the original but it’s now dark, the brewer has revealed.

“Not stout-black, more super dark red. If you triumphantly hold a pint of this beauty up to the light it’ll show off amazing crimson hues, but in the depths of a darkened winter pub she’ll be black as the night,” Young Henrys said.

The change has come about because of difficulties in sourcing the hops that Young Henrys had been relying on for the beer, founder Richard Adamson told Australian Brews News.

“The hops we were using were starting to be really hard to get as we have scaled up production, but also we felt the quality of some of the U.S. Hops last season was variable,” he said.

Adamson said some of the hops, particularly Centennial, were showing an onion or garlic character.

He has been informed that this is down to seasonality, but it is also more prevalent in later picked hops. It may also be the result of expanded hop plantings, and therefore more hops being produced outside the norm.

“We had seen some of it in our Hop Ale and I don’t much like it,” he said.

The new and improved Hop Ale is available on tap, handpump and in longnecks from the Newtown brewery.