MOON DOG LEMON HAZE
Beheadings by axe for crimes such as stealing a bottle of beer were popular public spectacles as late as the 1900s. Although it will no longer be for sneaking this beer, take a moment to check that there's nothing else happening in a mate’s life that he may be losing, if not his head, sleep over!
Origin – Abbotsford, Victoria
ABV – 5.0%
Size – 330mL can
Style – Hazy XPA
'Crack a Solo, be a Solo Man.' If these words don't ring any bells, you missed seeing the most iconic advert in Aussie history. Kicking off in the '70s, the Solo man was an ever-present image of masculinity for three decades. Famous for man-of-action feats, in his most eminent ad, the Solo man launched himself off a cliff in his kayak and down a mudslide before plunging 25m on a cascading waterfall into the river below. He then - obviously! - crushed his thirst with none other than a Solo. In one commercial, after working up a thirst rafting, he strips down to the buff and sits on a rock in the middle of the river and cracks a Solo. Why? 'Cause, it's sexy AF to get naked in on a rock!
Even though Moon dog's creators didn't get down to their birthday suits most would still describe their early approach to beer in a similar risqué AF fashion. Indeed, it's testament to the evolution of the beer world – and the impact Moon Dog have had upon it locally – that their approach isn't quite as daringly different these days. In the years since they took up residence in the Abbotsford warehouse, more brewing companies have launched with a similar approach to creating beers, by putting out limited releases that share common ground with the more outré ideas with which Moon Dog's founders first gained notoriety.
As that Australian beer landscape evolves and grows, so too does the business launched by brothers Josh and Jake Uljans and Karl van Buuren. There's now a core range of sensible beers that drives volume sales and supports a large team working across Australia. Yet their penchant for often daft small-batch experimentation has continued, as vividly on display in the seriously lemon hazy XPA. Featuring a trio of fruity New World hops (NZ Nectaron and US Sultana and Strata), this Solo of the beer world is pale, hazy and zesty. Soft in nature and with a slight bitterness, it's the perfect thirst crusher when standing around the bbq or post kayaking off a cliff… with or without clothes on!
