The Hop Review was one of the great independent digital publications to emerge during the most recent wave of craft beer entrepreneurship. Founded in 2012 by Jack Muldowney and Tom White the site has put out high-quality content and photography from the Midwest and beyond for almost a decade. On January 8th, 2020 The Hop Review announced it had published its final piece.

Today, I’m proud to announce they’re joining the Hop Culture family.

What does this mean? Moving forward, all of The Hop Review’s stellar editorial content will have a permanent home on Hop Culture. Additionally, Hop Culture will be taking over The Hop Review’s newsletter.

For The Hop Review team, the decision to transition out of beer media couldn’t have been an easy one. To get more information on that, I’ll let you read the team’s thoughts. But for Hop Culture, the decision was simple.

hop review shut down

Photo courtesy of The Hop Review

If you’ve been reading The Hop Review’s content at any time since 2012, you’ll know why we agreed to take over their legacy. During their run, The Hop Review published weekly, conducting over 150 feature interviews and curating craft beer culture across the globe. They earned awards from Saveur for Best Drinks Coverage. They also threw industry-leading events.

Perhaps most importantly, The Hop Review stood for authenticity. They created amazing content and shined a light on the industry in the Midwest. They helped define craft beer culture.

In 2020, it’s more important than ever to reflect the values that build the type of community in which you want to live. For us, authenticity is a cornerstone. We also believe in diversity, inclusion, and expression. And also, like The Hop Review, fun. Sometimes, that’s cool, too.

The Hop Review’s values align with our own, which makes a merge so easy. And if this weren’t true, I wouldn’t give you lip service (authenticity, remember?). The Hop Review is ready to pass the torch at a time when we’re ready to take over, and we have a history of creating great content in the service of similar values.

the hop review

Photo courtesy of The Hop Review

Plus, we don’t think this is the last you’ll see of The Hop Review team. Muldowney and White will remain influential writers, photographers, and storytellers in the industry and we have to imagine you’ll see them as contributors and collaborators down the line.

It’s a match made in heaven.

For readers of The Hop Review, welcome to the party! We look forward to having you as a part of our community. The Hop Review has always impressed the hell out of us and we look forward to continuing their legacy.

Stay juicy,

Kenny G
Founder, Hop Culture

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