Well, Beer Lovers, I hope you are all staying safe out there.  These are crazy times we’re living through and I’m sure you could do with a little good news.  You haven’t heard from us in awhile and I promise it’s not because we’re packing up or because we’ve stalled.  In fact, we’ve been running around like crazy trying to make sure we could get beer in your hands by Memorial Day.  And I’m happy to say, if everything goes well, we should be brewing by the end of this month, which means….you guessed it, beer in hand by Memorial Day!  We have had to call a few audibles, however, and make a few changes to our business model but I’ll take you through those things in this update.  So grab a beer, kick back, and read on.

I guess I’ll start with the limitations on bars and restaurants and how that affects us.  Of course everyone is excited to come in and hang at the brewery and we had planned on it.  I absolutely cannot wait for you to see the bar we built in the brewing area…what are the kids saying these days – It’s so Gucci!  I think that means awesome.  I’ve included a sneak peak of our unfinished beer menu boards to prove it.  Unfortunately, it’s likely that the restaurant and bar restrictions will still be in place when we’re ready to open in mid-May, which means you won’t be sitting at the bar just yet.  But unless something changes, you will be able to stop in and get a growler for carry out.  Winner!

As much as I know you all can’t wait to get your hands on some fresh Black Dog beer, and I’m sure you’ll be some of the first in line for growlers (observing social distancing guidelines, of course),  we can’t make it on growlers alone.  This is where that audible comes in.  Remember how I kept telling everyone our project was bigger than they realized and that’s why it has taken us so long?  Well, that size and build out is allowing us to switch gears and open as a full on production brewery versus a brewpub.  That means we’ll be canning beer and sending it into the market.  You’ll also be able to pick up some cans at the brewery when you stop in for growlers, but we’ll be working with local retailers to make sure you can pick up Black Dog Beer wherever you normally buy  beer.

On the back end of this process, we had to fast track our label design and approval (labels have to be approved by the federal government) and begin sourcing cans.  So I am happy to share with you, our loyal Black Dog followers, a sneak peek at our can labels:

If I could describe the perfect IPA, it would be everything that Shawn has created with Shelby Dog.  I can’t wait to get this in the hands of you IPA lovers.  You should probably wear a hat when you first drink it because your mind will be blown.  The label is going to look a tad different because it’s a 16oz can label.  The rest of beers will be packaged as 12oz cans.  We chose to package Shelby Dog as a 4pk 16oz can because that’s the most popular IPA can package. 

For the easy drinking beer lovers, My Girl is going to be your go to beer.  Light, crisp and perfect when you want to knock back a few.  It’s also beautiful in a tall slender glass, but not so “uppity” that it isn’t brilliant right out of the can.

If you like amber beers, District Five will be your new favorite.  Trust me when I say, YOU. WILL. LOVE. THIS. BEER.  Light malty and roasty flavors with a crisp finish?  Hell yes.  Sign me up.

Good Vibrations is something of a phenomenon already.  Shawn’s been perfecting this recipe for about 10 years and let’s just say, I think he’s using some sort of magical ingredients in this one.  He’s done two small batches for us here and I saw two grown men wrestle for the last pint.  Seriously.  We’ll make more, people.

Okay Black Dog loyalists, this is probably our last update before we open the doors.  When the time comes next month, we’ll definitely send out notifications to our web subscribers but make sure to keep an eye on our social media over the next few weeks as well.  You don’t want to miss the first round of beer!

Cheers, Everyone and please stay safe!