Black Dog Brewing Company

Uncategorized

By in Uncategorized Comments Off on So Much To Do, So Little Time!

So Much To Do, So Little Time!

I try to keep these little email blasts short and to the point but holy beer steins!  I’ve got a ton of stuff to share with you.  From beer releases to special events, we have more going on in the next few weeks than we ever have!  So grab yourself an ice cold Black Dog Beer and let’s get down to it. 

 

The kitchen is open!

You read that correctly, our kitchen is finally open full time!  If you’re thinking to yourself “about damn time!”  then join the club.  The labor shortage is the real deal, folks.  But hey, better late than never and I can honestly say, we’re very happy with the result.  The menu, which you can find right here, is small but you won’t be disappointed with anything you order.  But don’t take my word for it, come on in and have a bite!  

I should also mention that on occasion, depending on the release, the team might cook up something just a little special to go with our beer tappings.  And if you got a chance to pair the Black Dog Brownie with the S’Mores Pastry Stout release around Halloween, you’ll know what I’m talking about!

Jimmy's firkin fridays

No doubt many of you know Jimmy by now, especially if you’re a regular but did you know that Jimmy has begun his brewers apprenticeship under our Brewmaster, Jason Cook?  One of the coolest things we’ve been able to do here at the brewery is allow Jimmy to do some experimenting with his own 5 gallon firkin.  In fact, this Friday, November 19th, Jimmy is tapping his special brew that’s a variant of our newly released Graffiti Road.  Of course Jimmy will be here to chat about his creation but just a word of caution, there’s only 5 gallons and he’s tapping it at 3PM on Friday.  But not to worry if you can’t make it, Jimmy’s Firkin Fridays will be a monthly occurrence – and rumor is he has something special planned for Cousin Eddie Day!    

Copper beams tapping

Tapping this Friday, November 19th is Copper Beams, New England Pale Ale.  Copper Beams is the next beer in our wildly popular Beams series.  If you’ve had Citra Beams or Mosaic Beams, then you know why we’re so excited about this beer.  Copper Beams features the Michigan Copper Hop which imparts a slight melon flavor in addition to intense tropical flavors, with a bit of spice on the back end – all supported by that silky smooth malt profile that the Beams series is known for.  I had a chance to taste this earlier as we were canning and OMG! So good!

The Black Friday Double Tap!

It’s been a hot minute since we’ve done a double tap event and we’re bringing the thunder for this one!  Okay, so believe it or not, we did not plan on having two space themed beers.  Not sure how that happened but I submit to you “Cosmic Dog” our Double New England IPA which is the spiritual successor to our Birthday Beer, released back in May.  Cosmic Dog features Strata and Galaxy hops so you hop heads won’t be disappointed.  On the other end of the spectrum is Space Peanut, a Chocolate and Peanut Butter Imperial Stout.  While Cosmic Dog will be available in cans, Space Peanut is getting the 22.5oz bottle treatment.  Both will be available, as well as on draft, Friday, November 26th. 

THE BDBC EUCHRE LEAGUE

OH SNAP!  Did…did we just….

Yep.  We went and created a Euchre League!  Why?  Because someone had to do it!  The BDBC Euchre League gets started on Tuesdays beginning November 30th.  Now look, there are only 12 team spots available and all the details can be found right here:  BDBC EUCHRE PAGE so my suggestion is, head over there right away and get your team signed up.  These spots won’t last long and you don’t want to wait 8 weeks for season 2.

Of course there will be luxurious prizes (well probably a few Black Dog Gift Cards) but the real prize is bragging rights for carrying the house champion title!   

 

COUSIN EDDIE DAY

Cousin Eddie Day is nearly upon us so hopefully you’ve made plans to be here and join in the festivities.  At the very least, I hope you’re planning to drop by and grab a 4pk of Cousin Eddie’s Blackberry Ale.  This is the first we’ve canned Cousin Eddie’s and we are all beyond excited because the can labels turned out AMAZING!  And of course, the Blackberry Ale is tart, delicious, and everything you’d expect from a beer than boasts 1200 lbs of Blackberries!

Again, we’ll have games, music, food – perhaps a couple of special festive menu items – and plenty of beer so come and help us kick the season off right!


And if you’re so inclined, we’d love to see your best Cousin Eddie cosplay!

By in Uncategorized Comments Off on Prost!

Prost!

Wow!  What a year.  I mean, what else can we say but hasta la vista, 2020!  Here at he brewery we are very happy to be looking forward to 2021 with hope, optimism, new possibilities, and new beers of course!  But before I get into some of the stuff we’re working on, were you able to get any of Cousin Eddie’s Blackberry Ale?  It went like crazy and was easily the most sought after limited release we’ve done to this point.  Unfortunately, if you missed it, you’ll have to wait until next year.  But don’t worry!  We’ve already started planning some festivities around next year’s Cousin Eddie’s tapping and it will hopefully coincide with Mooresville’s Victorian Christmas celebration which was cancelled this year because of covid (stupid covid).  We might even bring the heat with some of those nice aviator hats (the Cousin Eddie hat) sporting a Black Dog logo.  Just spit ballin.’

So let’s chat about what’s on the horizon.  For those of you that are a little miffed to have missed Cousin Eddie’s Blackberry Ale, we have something in the way of a consolation prize that we’ll be tapping on Friday, January 15th.  It’s a little something we like to call “Beastie Boysen”  Boysen Berry Ale.  We’ll share the artwork next week but suffice it to say, if you like berries, you will LOVE this beer.   Now, just a PSA, we are doing LIMITED quantities again.  So if you missed Cousin Eddie’s and you want to get ahold of some Beastie Boysen, put it on your calendar and make a day of it.  

Next, I am ecstatic to announce that we’ll be tapping Kuntz’s Old German Lager at the end of January.  If you’ve been following us for awhile you know this one means a whole lot to us here at Black Dog.  This beer has not been brewed by a Kuntz led organization in almost 100 years so this is a homecoming of sorts.  To craft this family tradition, we used locally grown malt from our friends over at Sugar Creek malts along with German noble hops and German lager yeast.  Needless to say, we’re super excited to tap it and share (drink) some history with you all!  Check out our previous post for more history on the Kuntz brewery and the original Kuntz’s Old German Lager.

Finally, I am happy to announce that a staunch brewery favorite is coming to 16oz cans here at the end of this month.  Ladies and Gentleman, give a warm round of applause to our newest Black Dog can, Alevis Hopstello!  One of our surprise hits since opening, we’ve had a lot of requests for Alevis to hit the can ever since folks first got a taste of this hoppy American pale ale.  If everything goes well, you should be able to pick up your 4pk at the brewery beginning Friday the 22nd and it will start making it’s way into the market the following week.  Keep your eyes peeled for the official announcement on our social media. 

In other news, we’re about to open family seating here at the brewery.  I know, I know… it’s about time.  But hey, better late than never.  Anyway, we just have to finish installing our exit signs and get the official sign off from the Fire Marshal and you can bring those under 21 folks into the front of the building.  That also means that we’ll actually begin using the front doors for the entrance (although you’ll still be able to come in the side brewery door if you’re over 21).  Again, we’ll make the official announcement over social media as always, but we should be up and running here in the next couple of weeks.

Now, one last piece of “better late than never” news, with horrible post-Christmas timing, our Black Dog Brewing Company online store is finally up and running.  As you might guess, ordering and maintaining swag stock at the brewery is very challenging since you crazy Black Dog Brewery devotees buy it all within a few days.  So, we give you the Black Dog Brewery Online Store.  We’ve only loaded a few items so far but over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be adding different designs and items that you’re sure to love.  So grab those Visa gift cards you got in your stocking and buy yourself some Black Dog swag.

That’s all for this round, my beer drinking friends.  We hope to see you at the brewery for growler special Tuesday, Trivia Wednesday, Music Bingo Thursday, Live Music Friday, Saturdays are awesome anyway, and Pint Special Sundays!  

Cheers!       

By in Uncategorized Comments Off on New Beer Alert!

New Beer Alert!

Ermagerd!  We’re like the Pointer Sister’s over here, so excited and we just can’t hide it!  We’ve got something special for you just in time for the holidays and we’re tapping it this Friday at 3pm!  

But before I tell you about the beer, I’m going to bring you in on a little piece of history that you may or may not be aware of.  Black Dog Brewing Company is located in the old Mooresville bowling alley, or “Big M Bowl” as it was called.  If you’ve been in and noticed the bowling lane tables, that was our first call back to our bowling alley past.  It’s been great listening to all of the stories from folks who used to come here and bowl in Big M’s heyday and we realized that this is a piece of our history that we want to highlight and continue to share with all the new people that make it down to the brewery.  Beer and bowling have always had a natural relationship and this building has always felt like the perfect fit for us.  

Now, we’ve been tossing around some ideas on how to tie in our ten pin history  with a beer but it wasn’t until Shawn crafted his latest masterpiece that it all fell into place.  If this beer was going to represent our past then it needed to have some razzle-dazzle, sort of like Bill Murray in Kingpin.  In short, it needed to melt your face with it’s awesomeness.  

My friends, allow us to present you with “7-10 Split” Imperial IPA.  This bad mamma-jamma comes in at 9.4% ABV and 85 IBU’s.  But don’t let the IBU’s shake you – it’s an unbelievably balanced beer that is at once a brilliant showcase of the style and an entirely new experience.  We used Citra, Amarillo, and Chinook hops to give 7-10 Split massive lush tropical fruit notes with undertones of grapefruit and pine.  Those big hoppy flavors are backed by the use of carapils and crystal malts which give the balance that high ABV beers need. 

Again, we’re tapping 7-10 Split this Friday, November 20th.  To celebrate, Chris Garner will be providing live music beginning at 7PM and the Gather ‘Round BBQ Food Truck will be here starting at 4:30 PM.              

We hope to see you here!

By in Uncategorized Comments Off on “New Brews and Cold Weather”

“New Brews and Cold Weather”

Well, fellow beer lovers, we have made it past Halloween and the clocks have fallen back which can only mean one thing….cold weather is coming (although we do get a bit of reprieve this week as temps are going to soar into the 60’s and 70’s!  That means the Black Dog patio will be open for business!)  Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of stuff to keep you moving and shaking as we head into the holidays.  And since we’re a brewery, let’s start with the good stuff.  Beer!   

We’re tapping our “Bark Side of the Moon” Stout this Friday, November 6th and I gotta tell you, if you like dark beer, this one is going to be your jam.  We used 100% locally grown malt from Sugar Creek Malts in Lebanon, Indiana and went across the pond to find the perfect English yeast.  The result is a stout with deep notes of coffee and chocolate balanced with smooth caramel and bread flavors, as well as mild fruit undertones. The addition of flaked rye gives this beauty a soft mouthfeel while it finishes dry and crisp.

Now, for those of you that are hunting around for those “bigger” beers to keep you warm, the team is brewing an imperial IPA on Wednesday that will be ready sometime mid to late November.  Keep an eye on our social media as we’ll be unveiling the name, artwork and tapping details here in the next week or so. 

Finally, we’ve only got a few kegs of Surfer Girl Strawberry Blonde left and that will probably be gone this week.  But for those of you digging our fruit beer releases, we’ve got something delicious planned for you on Thanksgiving week.  Again, stay close to our social media and we’ll announce details as time gets a little closer.  Get your growlers ready though, cause you’ll want to share this with the fam over some turkey and Aunt Susan’s green bean casserole.  Or you can be a hog and keep it all to yourself.  No judgement here.

Now, in other news….

Unfortunately cold weather means JP’s BBQ will go into hibernation for the season.  So if you’re a fan of steak nights on Fridays and Saturdays, this weekend, November 6th and 7th, will be JP’s last set up of the year.  We’re supposed to have highs in the 70’s so the patio will be open, steaks will be sizzlin’, and the beer will be flowing.  All we need is your bright smiling face!  

But wait…what does that mean for the rest of the winter?  

Well, the good news is the Happy Taco is sticking around for the season.  He may adjust his schedule here at the brewery but you’ll be able to get those giant burritos and amazing street tacos that go perfectly with an Alevis Hopstello…or My Girl…or Good Vibrations….you get the idea.  We have also worked a deal with Popz Pizza here in Mooresville and now you can order pizza directly to your table at the brewery!  So beer and tacos, and beer and pizza.  Seriously, it’s like Shangri-La over here Black Dog Brewery.     

As if beer and food wasn’t enough, we’d also like to help you forget the dumpster fire of a year that 2020 has been by having a little weekly entertainment lined up at the brewery.  You’ve likely heard about Wednesday Trivia and Thursday Singo but we’ve also added live music on Fridays from 7 to 9 pm.  Check our events page for updates and details on who’s entertaining.  And of course, we always have the football games on Sunday so don’t be a stranger.

And one last tidbit of information, we’re working on getting some space set up in the front of the building for family seating.  More to come on that so stay tuned.

I almost forgot to add – Black Dog Brewing Company will be featured at Chef JJ’s 4th QTR beer dinner on Friday, November 13th.  This is a huge deal for us, as Chef JJ’s beer dinners are absolutely legendary.  Located right behind the Slippery Noodle downtown, this is absolutely one of the coolest spaces we’ve seen.  Throw in amazing food and some Black Dog beer and we’ve got ourselves an epic night!  Tickets are on sale through Chef JJ’s site.

By in Uncategorized 10

Good Vibrations

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears;”  I come to tell you a story…a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down!  Alright, alright.  I’ll bring it down a notch but can you tell I’m in a good mood?  Well, that’s what Good Vibrations is all about. 

In our last post on Shelby Dog IPA, I talked about the fact that every beer should have a reason for being.  To take that a step further, we believe a beer should have it’s own personality; it should have an emotional connection to the drinker that goes beyond the bounds of the glass.  This is the difference between a craft beer and yellow fizz.  Unfortunately, that’s not always easy to do.

When we first started tossing around the idea of a witbier (white beer), Shawn already had the foundations of his recipe ready to go.  Unlike an IPA, the flavor from a witbier comes from the yeast and the malt bill.  Hops are used sparingly and really only for bittering, not for flavor or aroma purposes.  But the master stroke for Good Vibrations is the “secret sauce” – a very special blend of orange, chamomile, and coriander.  Blended in with just the right recipe, the spices, malt, and yeast work together to create something altogether magical – if it’s done correctly.  A step in the wrong direction can very easily end up making your beer taste like carbonated orange juice with a weird spice flavor.  Lucky for us, Shawn is an artiste!  And I’m not kidding when I say he has created the liquid form of good moods.  So with Shawn’s recipe already locked and loaded, we had to figure out the best way to convey the personality of this beer to you, our drinker.

For us, every beer throws out a “vibe.”  Whether it’s a mental picture we associate with a certain style or maybe it’s something we were discussing when we started brewing the beer, that vibe is in there somewhere.  Once we find it, after some sculpting, it eventually becomes the personality of the beer.  As it turns out, we didn’t have to search too long to find the vibe of this beer.  In fact, it was apparent right from the beginning that everyone was going to love this beer and have fun with it.  I believe Shawn is the one that mentioned the name but as soon as he said “Good Vibrations,” we all agreed it was perfect.  We started brainstorming almost immediately on the artwork and decided that we wanted to have a dog on the beach with lots of bright colors.  I think a surfboard was discussed at one point but once we had the dog and the big orange sun, we knew we were onto something.  So let me break down this label for you.

First and foremost, the star of Good Vibrations is named Wilson.  I’ll see if any of you can make the connection on the name – if so, leave your guess in the comments below.  Although Wilson is a mutt,  he’s the very definition of cool with those sweet blue sunglasses.  He also takes center stage on the Good Vibrations tap handle, which is a work of art in itself.  

Second, the sun, which is a big orange slice in the background, is a call out to that delicious orange flavor that this style has become known for.  Yes, we will garnish it with an orange but I encourage you, when you have your first sip, try it without the orange garnish and do a little “un-fruit-influenced” evaluation of your own.

Third, the beach in the background is actually painted from a photo of Indiana Dunes National Park.  It is hard to find a good beach picture in Indiana but not impossible!

And finally, notice the color palette.  The light blues, bright whites, and pops of orange and green really make you think about summer, relaxation, and good times, right?  Again, we’re working hard and using every tool  to communicate the personality of Good Vibrations.

In the end, Good Vibrations was one of the easier beers to create from beginning to finish.  It’s personality was right there from the start, which is fitting.  I’m pretty sure Good Vibrations will be the unofficial sponsor of your good mood so here’s a pro-tip – when you get to walk into the brewery for carryout beginning Saturday May 23rd from noon to 9PM  (yes, I did just give you a special early heads up and thank you for reading our posts!), get some Good Vibrations in cans and/or growlers, take it home, crank up your favorite song while you’re chilling on that patio, and let the Good Vibrations flow!       

 

Subscribe with your email below and get all the black dog brewing company updates

By in Uncategorized 3

The Inaugural Brew

In a few short days, we’ll be brewing beer for the very first time out of 11230 N SR 67, Mooresville – “Flagtown” Indiana, home of Black Dog Brewing Company.  As I am typing this, Shawn and Trent are giving the equipment a dry run, dialing in their numbers, making sure the new boiler is firing, and getting prepared to make world class beer.  It’s been a long road to get to this point, so to celebrate the commencement of brewing operations here at Black Dog Brewing Company, over the course of the next couple of weeks we’ll take an in depth look at our flagship beers, from recipe conception to artwork design.  That being said, it’s only fitting we kick it off with Shelby Dog IPA.

Shelby was not only our best friend and the inspiration for our brewery name, she embodied the spirit in which we’ve approached this IPA.  In early discussions, we knew Shelby Dog had to be lively, playful, and bold, yet not so intense that it created a “one and done” scenario.  The IPA style has gone through some changes over the years and there are countless variations, including East Coast style, West Coast Style, Hazy, Imperial, Brut, etc.  In fact, some of those late 1990’s to early 2000’s editions of IPA’s were so malty by today’s standards it would be hard to call them IPA’s.  We had a lot of late night, beery-eyed discussions on all of this, but in the end, Shawn had a plan.  Shelby Dog IPA would have a light malt profile that would support and showcase the perfect blend of hops.  But which hops should we use?  Now the real work began.

Over the past two years, I’ve continued to share pictures and stories from our R&D small batch process.  Although we did a number of different beers, this allowed us to play around with different hop combo’s and dial in the flavors we were looking for.  Ultimately, we decided on the following four hops for Shelby Dog IPA:

  • Centennial – prized for it’s versatility, the Centennial hop is earthy and floral with notes of citrus
  • Chinook –  similar to Centennial but also adds elements of pine and spice
  • Huell Melon – intensely fruity with notes of honey dew and strawberry
  • Amarillo – one of our favorites, the Amarillo hop has major citrus aromas and flavors

Makes your mouth water, doesn’t it?  Add all of these to a brilliantly light malt profile with a soft mouthfeel and we have what we set out to create – an IPA that’s lively, playful, and bold with hop flavor, but easy to drink more than one.  

Now, with Shawn’s master plan in place, it was time to design the artwork.

Let me start by saying that the message sent by label artwork and branding is highly undervalued and overlooked way too often in the beer business.  Make no mistake, the time and effort that goes into each handcrafted beer is nothing short of a highly scientific, creatively balanced art form.  Whether it’s the delicate touch of a brewmaster’s inspiration or the story behind a beer’s reason for being, there is tremendous artful expression in every handcrafted beer.  Why would we disrespect that art form with more half-baked, or even worse – goofy looking, art?  That. Drives. Me. Nuts.  Just like the recipe, we knew Shelby Dog’s label had to draw you in and make you want more while still respecting the recipe that Shawn had spent so much time in perfecting.

We started with the version you see here, which became the inspiration for all of our labels.  We like the painted look, again calling out to the art form of craft beer, but it wasn’t the perfect picture of Shelby and it didn’t really do anything to call out the hops.  It is an IPA, after all.  Tiffany and I did some digging and found a much better picture of Shelby and added it to the wood background which has become a staple of our brand.  With the hops painted in on the right side, we felt this final artwork (pictured) did a much better job of representing the art as well as the actual beer.

Here in a few short weeks, when you have your very first Shelby Dog IPA, after your taste buds recover from the sheer undeniable deliciousness of our flagship beer, take a minute to reflect on the craft and all the hard work and thought that went into making the perfect IPA.

We absolutely cannot wait until we can share this amazing beer with you!

Cheers!      

Subscribe with your email below and get all the black dog brewing company updates

Subscribe with your email below and get all the black dog brewing company updates.  Once you’ve signed up, make sure to check your spam folder occasionally.  You don’t want to miss out on updates due to an overzealous spam filter!

By in Uncategorized 6

CAN You Believe It?

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! 

Subscribe with your email below and get all the black dog brewing company updates

Subscribe below to get all the latest Black Dog news and updates.  Once you’ve signed up, make sure to check your spam folder occasionally.  You don’t want to miss out on updates due to an overzealous spam filter!

By in Uncategorized 5

2020 – The Year of the Dog

Okay, so it’s not technically the year of the dog, according to the Chinese calendar, but for our team and everyone following the brewery, 2020 is absolutely the Year of the Dog.  Now that the major building renovations in the brewing area are complete and we’re in the final stages of electrical and plumbing, the excitement is literally keeping us up at night.  I’m going to try and cover all the big details of the last few months, answer some frequently asked questions, and share some beer tidbits with you but there’s so much I won’t be able to include everything.  We do try and keep our social media current with everything going on, so make sure you’re following us and if you haven’t seen anything in awhile, we’ve probably fallen off your feed so search us!

I guess I’ll start with this amazing picture of the brewing area.  This is where all the magic happens and will be a temporary seating space/bar area when we first open.  So yes, you’ll get to sit back here, enjoy a beer, and take in the beauty of hundreds of thousands of dollars of stainless steel!  The floor is a little dirty and the cooler door is open, but you get the idea.  As I said, the seating in this area will only be temporary though,  while we get our  “front end” taproom up and running in phase 2 of the project.  I guess I should also mention one of the other really cool features of this area which is the glass garage doors that were just installed.  I couldn’t get a great picture of them because of the amount of light that shines through but suffice it to say, it completes the cool brewery atmosphere.    

The road to get to this point though, has been a long complicated process, with most of the physical work beginning in September, once we finally got the green light to begin renovations/preparations on the building itself.  Since that time it’s been an absolute crazy few months with contractors all over the place.  We completed the big, giant, state-mandated firewall, the trench drains were installed, floors finished, preliminary electrical started, preliminary plumbing started, big cooler built and installed, tanks put into place, and plenty of cold after-work beers to wash it all down.  And of course, we threw in a hurdle or two because no big project would be complete without a snag, like hitting a water line while installing the electric….thus the digging beside our building (pictured).  But we like to view these snags as “talking points” for when we serve your first Black Dog beer.  Oh the stories we will have.

 

Now, despite all the work, we have had more going on than just construction projects.  On December 7th, we had the opportunity to host our first big investor event at the brewery, in order to kick off our second round of equity buy-in.  Of course, Shawn had a couple of amazing beers ready to go for the event, one of which is pictured at the top of this post – “Flagtown Cheer,” our winter red ale, and “The Stout Route,” which is an American stout brewed with cacao nibs.  How good was the beer?  Well let’s just say that David Blaine couldn’t have made those kegs disappear as fast as we did.  We had a great time and for an event that was supposed to last 2 hours, we went closer to 6 hours.  That was probably my fault because once I get a chance to start talking about the brewery, I can’t shut up.  But it is our passion project and we are resurrecting our family name and putting it back in the brewing business, (check out the original Kuntz Brewing bottle, pictured, one of our investors snagged – how cool?!) so what can I say?  Plus, where else do people get a chance to be a part of something like a craft brewery that has a rich family history in the beer business?  Awesome, right?   Which brings me to that first frequently asked question – “Is there still an opportunity to invest?”  The answer is yes, now that we’ve opened our second round of equity.  You can just reach out to us right here if you’d like to learn more.

Aside from the investors event, we’ve also had an opportunity to host a few meetings in our El Dorado room, which has turned into one of my favorite places in the brewery (outside of Shawn’s “laboratory” of course, where all the brewing equipment is).  The El Dorado room is sleek, stylish and says “let’s have a great meeting and then drink a beer!”  That brings me to the second question, which we get asked A LOT:  “Can you guys host a party/meeting or can we book the El Dorado room?”  So, the answer is technically yes, but we don’t have anything to offer other than space right now, since we can’t really serve food or drink yet.  Once we get open, we’ll have plenty of event space but for the time being, we’re limited to accommodating small work meetings and such.  So if you have ten or less people and you’re looking to get out of the office for a quick meeting, we’d be happy to give you a tour and let you use the El Dorado Room.  Just drop us a line and check availability.   

Then, on December 21st, we hosted our Mug Club Members as they got a chance to come in and pick up their loyalty cards, get their mugs numbered, and take a tour.  I speak a lot about my passion for the brewery but the excitement these guys radiate in anticipation of Black Dog Brewery is truly inspiring.  We had planned to close down the Mug Club pre-purchase at the end of December but based on interest we’ve kept it open.  So to answer another one of those frequently asked questions, yes you can still pre-purchase Mug Club memberships.  However, we’ll likely close it down here towards the end of January as we near grand opening.      

What a great segue into our next frequently asked question:  “What’s taking so long?!” Well, that’s an easy one.  The Black Dog Brewery is  a massive, million dollar- plus project.  I think that’s probably one of the greatest misconceptions about the brewery – we’re not a neighborhood brewpub.  At the height of it’s operation, the Kuntz Brewery was brewing 90,000 barrels of beer (almost 3 million gallons) and to live up to that sort of legacy, we knew we had to go big.  We just chose to do it at the beginning because it will allow us to expand capacity very simply down the road.  Once we finish with phase one, we’ll be able to reach 10,000 barrels of production by just adding a few fermentors.  So, we know you’ve been waiting a long time but trust me, the wait will be worth it.  We’re about two months away at this point, which means you’ll be enjoying Black Dog Beer before you know it…and once you get a taste of Black Dog Beer, you’ll never look back!      

That brings us to my final touch point for this update and that’s Black Dog Beer!  As always, Shawn’s been tinkering with a few small batches and right now, we have a nice Belgian golden sitting in the fermentor and we just kegged an amazing hoppy pale ale.  I have not had a chance to sample the Belgian just yet, but I did taste the pale as we were kegging and OMG.  Shawn dry-hopped the hell out of this one and the result is a giant bouquet of citrus that climbs out of the glass and crawls right up your nose.  However, the body of the beer is nice and balanced without the extreme bitterness that usually accompanies that big hoppy smell, making this a very sessionable pale ale.  

Now,  I can’t wait to get my hands on a sample of the Belgian golden.  It was a beautiful dark gold color when we put it into the fermentor and should lighten up just a bit when it’s finished, making it just about perfect.  This one will clock in at right around 7 to 7.5% ABV and Shawn tells me to think “candy in a glass.”  No wonder I can’t sleep at night.  Well, looks like  Shawn’s done it again.  I guess we may need 70 taps at the bar….  

I should  see if Netflix will sign us up for a documentary – “Jeremy Dreams of Beer.”   

Subscribe with your email below and get all the black dog brewing company updates

Subscribe below to get all the latest Black Dog news and updates.  Once you’ve signed up, make sure to check your spam folder occasionally.  You don’t want to miss out on updates due to an overzealous spam filter!

By in Uncategorized 4

Symphony of Construction

We’ve come quite a ways since our last update.  In fact, this past month has seen a ton of action going on in the brewery – you might say it’s been a Symphony of Construction!  Get it?  Symphony of Destruction…Megadeth… song/album from the early 90’s?  Right.  So anyway, like I was saying, we have our floor drains in, the firewall is almost finished, the floors are scheduled, and our big glass garage doors are soon to be installed.  We’ve also finished the amazing El Dorado Room, our epic conference and party room (and hosted two meetings already), as well as given countless tours.  Chef Chris has been dialing in the menu and lining up food permits while Shawn has been working on hop contracts and production schedules.  Oh, and our first shipment of tap handles and growlers came in earlier this week! 

Can I get a “hell yeah!”

So, what’s left?  Well, with any luck, we should be moving our brewing equipment and tanks into place beginning that first week of December.  In the meantime, we have our friends over at SCIREMC working on getting us “UNLIMITED POWER!!!” (which has turned into a bit more of a job than we anticipated), and we’ll have to get our boiler, water treatment, and glycol systems assembled.  There’s still quite a bit of work, but it’s moving quickly.  But rest assured, we’ve got beer on our minds and soon we’ll be raising a pint and toasting a finished brewery.  In the meantime, let me share with you some of the cool things we’ve been working on.

As many of you know, we have an open investment party scheduled at the brewery on December 7th.  This is an exclusive event for people who would like to find out more about owning a piece of the brewery and it’s a chance for us to show off our progress (the tanks will be in place for this one!), sample some of our planned menu, and of course, sample the small batch beers we’ve been working on.  For this event in particular, we’ll be sampling the “Stout Route,” which I think could be an award winning American Stout brewed with cacao nibs, as well as a very special beer that will be the winter seasonal for our limited Flagtown Series.  I’m keeping this one close to the vest and only our attendees will get to see it, but we just pulled some samples out of the fermenter today and holy balls!   Speaking of balls – those meatballs we shared out a few weeks ago via social media will be making an appearance as well!  In order to get in to the event, you must RSVP to the evite at this link.  

For those that have been around Mooresville for awhile, you’ll recall that our building is the old Mooresville bowling alley.  That’s cool for a number of reasons, not to mention that beer and bowling go together like mac and cheese.  Unfortunately, everything and anything that had to do with bowling was long gone when we got the building.  Being the nostalgic types, we really wanted to preserve that history somehow and give a nod to those old glory days of weekly bowling leagues, popcorn, and ugly shoes.  Well, we finally got our hands on some old bowling lanes and we have something really cool planned for the wood.  But I don’t want to give too much away just yet because we haven’t finished the project.  Just stay tuned to our social media and I should be able to share some pictures in the next week or so.  By the way, based on our recent experience, 9 feet of bowling lane weighs approximately 700,000 lbs.

You also might like to know that our Mug Club preorder closes at the end of November.  I’ve got to tell you, I knew these mugs were cool when we ordered them but now that we have them, they are beyond cool!  We had the chance to “test drive” them earlier today and I could tell that not only did my beer taste even better, my social status was instantly increased.  Seriously, I now speak with a sophisticated English accent and play polo.  Okay…for real though, they are incredibly cool, come with a load of benefits, and you’ve got about a week and half left.  Better get on it.

That’s it for now but there’s so much going on at the brewery, I can’t possibly squeeze it into a single post.  We’ll be updating our social media regularly with progress so if you want to stay “in the know,” click on those links down there and follow us if you’re not doing so already.

We hope you have a very warm and happy Thanksgiving!  Cheers!     

Subscribe with your email below and get all the black dog brewing company updates

Subscribe below to get all the latest Black Dog news and updates.  Once you’ve signed up, make sure to check your spam folder occasionally.  You don’t want to miss out on updates due to an overzealous spam filter!

By in Uncategorized 1

Thirsty yet?

I know you’re at least as thirsty as I am and I could use a beer right now…about 80 barrels of beer, to be more specific.  The bad news is we’re going to have to wait until around the first of the year for that initial round of Black Dog brew.  The good news is we finally made it through that pesky state and town building permit process and we get to start installing our floor drains today, which is the first step in getting our brewing equipment situated.  So major construction is officially underway and I gotta tell ya, it feels great. We’ve also started holding office hours and operating in our office space which has definitely brought the “good beer energy,” as Shawn likes to put it.  Needless to say, we’ve been extremely busy which is why you haven’t heard from me in awhile.  It also means I have a ton to share with you!  Since it’s Friday and you deserve a half day, grab a beer, kick back, and let’s get you caught up on your favorite brewery to be.  

First and foremost, let’s talk about these floor drains.  I know….way to start off with a bang, Jeremy.  But hear me out on this because if we ain’t got floor drains, then we ain’t got a proper brewing space.  Between this and the base plumbing, it’s easily the most costly and time consuming part of our construction project.  It’s also the first major step in getting the brewing area completed.  So trust me when I say it’s a load off my shoulders to see the guys out there cutting cement and getting material ordered.  In the picture you can see how extensive the cutting was and for those of you that have lived in Mooresville for awhile, you can make out the old bowling alley floor just below that top three inches of cement.      

Since we announced Black Dog Brewing Company and shared our plans, the most asked question that comes our way is “what kind of beer are you going to have?”  That’s a fairly open ended question and the answer is “the delicious kind.” The second most asked question is “will you have food?”  The answer was always yes, but the real question is just how much and what kind?  Our thoughts on food offerings have evolved over the last year as we continue to get that question and evaluate the business.  

So don’t worry – we got you, Fam!  

We are very excited to announce the newest member of our Black Dog Brewing Company team, Head Chef, Chris Hendricks.  Chris is an entrepreneur himself, having owned and operated Ironsides over in Franklin, where he concentrated on Scandanavian and traditional American pub fare.  He’s currently working with Tiffany on a small but amazing menu that includes Swedish meatballs, salted pork belly, beer cheese sliders, and a few other things that will blow your mind.  If you like meat, cheese, bread, and maybe a potato or two, then Chris is about to be your new favorite person.  He’s absolute magic in the kitchen.  By the way, between Chris cooking food samples and Shawn making beer samples, I am living in my own personal heaven.  I’ll probably look like Jaba the Hutt the next time you see me, but damn I’m happy!

Speaking of beer, in the midst of all that has been going on, Shawn has continued to work on seasonal offerings and production timelines based on our projected opening.  We’ve had countless discussions on which styles to queue up in which months and you probably wouldn’t be shocked to hear that he has our first year’s worth of production outlined.  Of course, the best part of this process for me is the small batch brewing we do as we work to slot certain seasonals into the lineup.  In the past month, he’s put together the “Highland Hound” Scottish ale (on nitro!), a gold medal winning porter that we have not named yet, “Razmataz” raspberry witbier, and getting ready to head to the keg, our Harvest Pumpkin ale which I absolutely cannot wait to try.  He created a “pumpkin slurry” (pictured) that was added to the mash and then used a blend of Fall spices in the boil that smelled incredible!  Plus, we’re going to put a cute dog on the label so how can you not love it?

For those of you that routinely follow us on social media, you’ve seen our occasional updates on equipment so I won’t dive into the ultra boring world of water treatment.  I’ll just leave it at the fact that last week we hauled in the biggest, baddest reverse osmosis system you’ve ever seen.  All that means to you is consistently amazing beer!  That being said, let’s talk about something a little more sexy.  Remember all those tap handle mock-ups we shared?  Well, the prototypes finally came in and suffice it to say, we love them!  The design team that put these together really knocked it out of the park and I can’t wait until you see the other toppers we have in the works.  We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section so don’t be shy…well unless you’re an internet troll and then we invite you to comment on the Budweiser website. 

Finally, one of the most exciting things for me over the course of getting the brewery up and running is the shear excitement from the community.  From getting high-fives from random strangers while walking through Lowe’s or fielding your questions via social media and email, it’s that buzz and excitement that solidifies my belief that we’ve tapped into something special.  As such, we really wanted to give you all a chance to double down on your excitement as you patiently await our grand opening.  That’s why we decided to go ahead and open up Mug Club memberships for pre-purchase.  Specific to this pre-purchase, you also get to buy your first few rounds of pints and get some one of a kind BDBC swag.  Now we’ve had the pre-purchase open for awhile and we only have about 50 spots left (out of 200).  Once they’re all spoken for, you’ll have to wait until next year to buy your membership – if any come open.  Otherwise, it’s waitlist city.  If you’re thinking about purchasing for yourself or even as an incredibly awesome Christmas gift, then you’ll probably want to do so sooner rather than later.      

Until the next update, cheers!

Subscribe with your email below and get all the black dog brewing company updates

Subscribe below to get all the latest Black Dog news and updates.  Once you’ve signed up, make sure to check your spam folder occasionally.  You don’t want to miss out on updates due to an overzealous spam filter!

Planning a Holiday Party?

Book your event at the brewery!

Book Now

you look so young!

are you over 21?

yes
no, get me out