Having opened its doors eight years ago in Footscray, the beloved Hop Nation Taproom will unveil a bold new look at the end of next month – just in time for beer and footy lovers to celebrate the Grand Final long weekend in style.

With last drinks at the original taproom pouring this Sunday 27th August, Hop Nation will shut up shop (providing takeaways only) and unveil its freshly revamped space on Thursday 28th September.

Hop Nation partnered with the hospitality interior design veterans at Studio Y to bring its vision of a Brooklyn-warehouse-meets-Melbourne-brewery to life.

The previous layout of the taproom will be completely transformed, creating an expansive, open-planned brewhouse perfect for friendly catch-ups with mates, larger events of up to 50 people, watching the footy and enjoying a bite to eat alongside your favourite Hop Nation beers.

There will be 17 brews on tap to try, featuring the full Hop Nation Core Range, Ray Hard Seltzers – including a brand-new limited-release Pink Grapefruit & Lime Seltzer – and seasonal limited-edition brews, including a Hazy Mid, Oat Cream IPA, Grapefruit West Coast IPA and moreish Guava, Dragon Fruit & Toasted Coconut Sour.

The team will also be pouring a new release Footscray Draft on opening, which is a fun, fresh beer brewed to celebrate their home suburb.

One of the most exciting additions to the taproom is the all-new purpose-built kitchen, where ex-Figlia Pizzeria chef Alex Addams Williams will be heading up Good Pizza. The pizzeria will focus on long-ferment dough, in both thin 13” rounds and thick, crispy pan varieties, with no toppings off-limits.

Alongside food and drinks, the freshly renovated taproom will be hosting a slew of new events, including an AFL Grand Final party on Saturday 30th September on opening weekend, where the game will be projected loud and proud onto the walls of the brewhouse.

Ongoing, there will also be new limited-release beers on tap fortnightly, Happy (or should we say Hoppy) Hour Thursday and Friday from 3 – 6pm, and of course, a nod to Oktoberfest with three European-style beers on offer – a Rattenhund Classic Pilsner (which is part of the core range), and two limited releases: a Kellerbier and a Czech Pilsner.

Hop Nation will open the doors of its revamped taproom on Thursday 28th September 2023 and will be operating Thursday – Sunday, 3pm to 9:30pm.