Hop Thief 8 is the newest release from the James Squire Hop Thief Varietal Series. Like the other releases in the series, Hop Thief 8 is an American-style pale ale made from the finest hops available from the season.

For this release, Malt Shovel Brewery has sourced Cascade and Crystal hops from the Yakima Valley, Washington State USA, to create a unique brew that boasts spicy citrus and floral aromas.

Chris Sheehan, head brewer at Malt Shovel Brewery said of the process, “The team and I have had a ball searching the world for our next signature hops, and this search took us to the Yakima Valley in Washington State, USA. The desert like conditions at the base of the Cascade Mountains coupled with abundant irrigation, provided by the Yakima River, create an ideal environment to produce what many say are the world’s finest hops – and this is what we chose for Hop Thief 8.”

This year’s variation comes off the back of the hugely successful Hop Thief 7 that sold over 1.9 million litres.

“Whilst Hop Thief 8 looks lighter than version 7, previous Hop Thief’s have been a bit dark so we’ve tweaked the malt bill to bring the colour back to be true to style. It’s got the same full mouth feel of number 7, the body of the beer is identical and the flavour is that little bit more controlled. It’s very drinkable! We’ve also bumped the bitterness up, which some might say works against the current easy drinking trend… but trust us, bitter is good in this beer,” said Chris.

Hop Thief 8 is distributed by Lion at single bottle RRP $3.99, 6-pack RRP $19.99 and 24-pack carton RRP $59.95.