Workin’ it
I am truly blown away at the ground swell of support that we’ve received from the community. When we did our initial demographics study of Mooresville, we knew that it would support a craft brewery, but to have the validation from so many phone calls, emails, and Facebook followers is amazing. Seriously, if you want to feel like a rock star, go to a chamber of commerce meeting and tell them you’re building a craft brewery. At the very least you’ll make a lot of new friends.
To say that we’re creating a buzz would be understating what’s happened over the last few months. From meetings with the Mooresville Redevelopment Commission to calls from neighboring cities interested in becoming our new home, Black Dog Brewing Company is finding it’s way into the heart of Morgan County. I know we’ve been hinting at announcing our official location but we’re not quite there just yet. As marketer and business guy, I can’t begin to explain how important it is that we get our building right. Aside from making sure we make sound “back of the house” business decisions from a lease stand point, the building itself will be one of the biggest assets to our branding. It’s worth the agony of waiting up front to make sure Black Dog Brewing Company is set up for success from the get-go. That being said, the Morgan County Economic Development Corporation is working with us directly to ensure our success. The excitement continues to build!
So now, let’s talk beer.
If you follow us on social media, thanks to Daniel Hensley, Brew Bus driver extraordinaire, you know that we’re brewing up an Irish Red. Now, I know that’s not the sexy pick right now, as everyone’s brewing East Coast style IPA’s or a fruity take on Berliner Weiss, but there is a reason I chose an Irish Red for our next brew.
Our commitment with Black Dog Brewing Company is to give you a better craft beer experience. More oft than not, that experience usually includes food. This is where I usually go into a tirade of how the wine people have pulled the wool over our eyes, making us think that wine is the apex of food pairings. I’ll spare you from the full disposition but suffice it to say, beer is king when it comes to food pairing. When it comes to summer barbecue favorites like hamburgers, hotdogs, and any other savory meat, Irish Red is the king of kings, as far as I’m concerned. The light malty-sweet palette of an Irish Red paired with a hamburger and carmelized onions is a match made in heaven. The malty palette of the beer is followed by a crisp clean finish that’ll stand up to just about any condiment. Even you sacrilegious few who like ketchup on your hotdogs can’t sidetrack this pairing.
The bad news is, we finished brewing last night around 6 PM and now we’ve got about 30 days before this beauty is ready. So, to keep you occupied, I highly recommend searching out Smithwick’s (prounounced Smitticks). It’s made by Guinness and is the single best example of this style. Also, it was one of the original Irish Red styles, first brewed by John Smithwick in 1710. The more you know!
