Photo courtesy of North News & Pictures Ltd.
No, not Uncle John; but Charlie the dog, who can have a dog beer while you have one of your own. Man’s best friend and man’s favorite beverage have finally come together. At the The Brandling Villa pub in South Gosforth, Newcastle they couldn’t bear the idea of leaving Fido out, so the pub is now serving beer for dogs. An ingenious attention-grabbing idea!
Next time you want a fresh one from the tap, there is now no need to leave your best wingman behind. The Branding Villa pub is just like most European bars, but does just a few things a little bit differently. For example, The Branding Villa welcomes pet owners to enjoy the atmosphere not only with each other, but with their 4-legged friends as well.
You can be sure that your pooch will be hounding you to bring him back; the pub decided that dogs should be able to join in on the craft beer revolution as well. The new beer is made from malt, hops, and meat extract. The beefy beverage is obviously non-alcoholic, and not surprisingly unappealing to people. The taste of the beer is as revolting as dog food to humans, but it’ll certainly suit a puppy’s palate.
Pub manager Dave Carr told The Daily Mail: “It tastes of beef. I don’t want to give it to my dog without trying it first. It’s pretty revolting – and my dog doesn’t like it, but I’ve got enough people who drink my stock, so it’s nice if my dog doesn’t join in.”
The beer was such a hit that within two weeks Carr went through the entire 48 bottle stock. Disappointingly as of yet, there are no plans to ship the beer – so you’ll need to visit the pub with your pet for them to enjoy their very own brew with you.
“I scoped the internet looking for ridiculous stuff, and we became dog-friendly. There aren’t many pubs you can go to with your dog,” explained Carr. “The dogs were drinking water and eating biscuits, so we also created a dog menu, designed for dogs but based on traditional English dishes.” You’ll find things like fish-flavoured beef stock – that’ll be the “cat-flavoured gravy” among the delectable doggie dishes. They can even get their own version of chicken chasseur, but it doesn’t end there. Every good meal deserves a great ending, so don’t forget to remind your little friend to save room to order on of their doggy desserts. To combat that inevitable dog breath, Dentastix are offered as after dinner mints. Dave added: “Dog friendly is really the way it should be. Pubs should have wooden floors and dogs in front of the fire.”
I was surprised to hear that this isn’t the first beer made for dogs. Actually, right here in the US 3 Busy Dogs brews Bowser Beer (around $20 for a six pack) which is made from beef or chick broth with malt barley. The beer is non-carbonated, non-alcoholic, and it doesn’t have any hops – which can be toxic for dogs.
So bottoms up, well that might be difficult without thumbs.
Regardless, cheers – or woof – to an interesting new trend, one that’ll hopefully be near you soon.
-K
