Black Dog has announced an exclusive Auckland tasting event dubbed ‘A Taste of Black Dog’. In a first for the brand, Adrian Klemp and brewer Dan Lord will be taking guests through an interactive tasting session at Sweat Shop on Wednesday 17th April to celebrate its fifth Experimental Range and the release of its annual fresh hop brew, Hop Boxer.
The latest range welcomes the first brews in its single hop series ‘Lone Wolf’, designed to showcase individual hop characteristics. First in the series is Lone Wolf Mosaic IPA which will be launched alongside Silly Mid On, Indian Pale Lager. Hop Boxer, a fresh hop IPA also joins the family in time for the tasting event.
“We wanted to share with Auckland the first in our series of single hopped beers, along with a developed old favourite and some soon-to-be favourites at our first Taste of Black Dog event,” Klemp said. “Wellington beer aficionados have a passion for our brews and are spoiled for choice at our Cuba Street brewery, so we’re excited to bring some of Cuba Street to Auckland beer fans.”
The Wellington market is open to trying new things, which makes for a great place to test out beers and products to see if they are going to fly with the rest of the country. However, recently we have seen the opening of more and more craft beer breweries in Auckland which is driving growth in consumption and interest in craft brews.”
The new series heroes a single hop in each brew, showcasing its individual flavour and taste. Lone Wolf Mosaic uses the American Mosaic hop, which starts with a strong passionfruit aroma, followed by grapefruit and peach undertones on the palate. The beer finishes with a pleasant, soft bitterness.
Aligned with Black Dog’s pun-ny nature, the Experimental Range’s IPL has been dubbed Silly Mid On as a nod to the cricket IPL (Indian Premier League) and the well-known fielding position. For those Black Dog fanatics who fondly remember Kakariki, Black Dog has stuck to the tried and true with its latest rendition of Silly Mid On. The Nelson Sauvin single hop lager utilises both hop pellets and cones in the brew. To taste, grapefruit pith and subtle gooseberry flavours dominate the simple malt bill on the palate, before finishing dry with a soft bitterness.
Following the annual hop harvest, the highly anticipated fresh hop release Hop Boxer will also be on tap. Using 100 percent Riwaka hops, picked fresh and brewed within the same day, the resulting beer has a pungent, earthy green hop aroma with a bitter orange marmalade and a pronounced oily, resinous pine character. The finish on this brew is crisp and dry with an assertive bitterness, punching well above its weight.
