Six Degrees North is a Scottish craft brewery based in Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, with a fascinating and somewhat unusual approach to brewing: they specialise in Belgian-inspired ales made with Scottish ingredients and sensibilities, creating a hybrid style that sits between two great brewing traditions. Hopocracy is one of their most celebrated beers — a heavily hopped pale ale that uses the Belgian yeast tradition as a canvas for serious modern hop character.
Tasting Notes
Hopocracy pours a hazy golden colour with lively carbonation and a white head. The nose is immediately striking — tropical fruit and citrus hop character upfront, with a subtly fruity, slightly spicy Belgian yeast note underneath that sets it apart from a straightforward American pale ale. On the palate it’s vibrant and complex: tropical and citrus hops lead, the Belgian yeast adds a fruity, slightly peppery dimension, and the finish is dry and refreshing with lingering hop bitterness.
Verdict
Serve cold and drink fresh. Hopocracy is a genuinely interesting and distinctive beer that bridges two brewing worlds in a way that works brilliantly. If you enjoy both Belgian ales and modern hop-forward pale ales, this is a beer specifically designed to satisfy both impulses simultaneously. Six Degrees North are doing something genuinely original, and Hopocracy is their most exciting expression of it.
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