White Dog Brewing Proves that Love is a Four Legged Word #VisitIdaho

Greetings, Great Beer Now fans and followers! This is the second in a multi- part series of blog posts relating to the Great Beer Now Spuds and Suds Beer Tour, which took place in southwestern Idaho, from Boise northward to the mountain resort city of McCall. I got to experience the burgeoning Boise craft beer scene and several impressive breweries in the small but vibrant resort towns. Open a can or bottle of your favorite beer and follow along on my journey through the Gem state of Idaho and my discovery of the beers that make it famous. Cheers!

American breweries number in the thousands. Each brewery starts off as a business idea and eventually, that business idea must include effective marketing, including a catchy name, theme, and so forth. A common theme is that of animals and one western brewery that uses the animal theme but in a more subtle way is White Dog Brewing, located at 705 W. Fulton Street in Boise, Idaho.

Wag the Brew

White Dog Brewing is a brewpub of sorts, with a nice size interior and small outdoor patio space. When the weather is nice, they open the garage- style door, linking the outdoor patio to the indoor dining area and bar.

Inside White Dog Brewing guests will find a space that features a dog and wolf theme, at least to a degree, and a good deal of space between tables so that you can easily walk around and not worry about bumping into others. And the skylight in the center of the dining space is great for letting the natural sunlight shine down on you while you eat and drink.

White Dog Brewing doesn’t serve its own food, but the establishment has an apparently continuous business relationship with the food service known as Smoke & Thyme. They create and serve the many beer- friendly food dishes available for patrons with a menu that includes burgers, sandwiches, tacos, salads, and desserts.

Your Bowl or Mine

White Dog Brewing has a rotating beer menu and when I was there, they had about 12 beers on tap. Here is a list of the beers I sampled when I visited White Dog Brewing, listed alphabetically by name followed by the style and my Untappd rating on a 5- point scale:

• Blood Orange, Hefeweizen, 3.75
• Citraic IPA, American IPA, 4
• New England Hazy IPA, New England IPA, 4.25
• Scotch Ale, Wee Heavy, 4.25
• Tropical Sunset, American IPA, 3.75
• Vanilla Cream Ale, Cream Ale, 3.75

Overall Average Rating: 3.96

My beer experience at White Dog Brewing was a positive one. I found each beer well- crafted and tasty, with only a slight difference from one beer to the next in terms of my overall rating. If I had to name a single beer as my favorite, it would be the Scotch Ale, with the New England Hazy IPA as an extremely close runner- up.

Canine Cravings

White Dog Brewing is a family affair. Founded by brothers Joe and Troy Moore, this Boise brewery is one of multiple brewing operations all located within a short distance from Idaho’s state capital building. It’s a labor of love between two siblings who started off as homebrewers and decided the time was right to share their craft with the people of Boise and the world.

I visited White Dog Brewing as part of a beer tour of the Boise and McCall regions of Southwestern Idaho and it was my second brewery visit of the day. I arrived at White Dog Brewing anxious not only to try the beer, but also to grab a quick bite to eat as I was famished at the time, having not eaten since leaving the Boise airport early that morning.

With a name like White Dog Brewing, I entered the establishment expecting an all- out assault of canine kookiness. I have visited many dog- themed breweries and beer bars and they often spare nothing in their use of America’s favorite furry, four- legged pets for decorative and naming purposes. I walked through the door and prepared myself for an attack of the warm-and-fuzzies, with cute dogs galore depicted on every wall, in every beer title, and in the naming of every food.

What I got, however, was something quite different. Yes, there are some dog photos on the walls, but only a small number and if I didn’t already know the name of the brewery, I might not even guess that dogs were part of the theme. Even the names of the beers are free from canine references. This took me by surprise at first and I was a little disappointed that I missed out on that emotional high that only a cute, furry face and a wagging tail can invoke.

After a short while, however, I began to appreciate the lack of excess and settled into my seat surrounded by other bloggers, ready to sample beer and grab a bite to eat. The interior of White Dog takes on the look of a restaurant more so than that of a tap room. And the lack of an overdone dog theme is, in fact, more conducive to the type of relaxed atmosphere that most guests crave. You don’t have the visual distractions at White Dog Brewing like you do with many other breweries. That means you can focus on the beer, the food, and good conversation.

I started my visit to White Dog Brewing with a flight of beer and quickly ordered food. I decided to go with the all- American food to match the all- American dog theme. My choice was a burger with hand- cut fries. It was a large size burger, delicious and juicy. Before I knew it, my hunger pangs had been replaced by calming twinges of happiness as I soaked up the brew, the food, and the small talk taking place around me.

White Dog Brewing doesn’t brew a massive amount of beer, but they do brew enough to do some canning, perfect for those who want to grab some beer to go. One interesting fact is that White Dog Brewing uses actual people and their dogs for the artwork on each can’s package design. They don’t use actual photos, but rather animated depictions of selected people and their dogs. Once again, the dog theme is absent in the names of the beer, but there is no mistaking the dogs and their influence when you look at those red cans candidly illustrated with a proud dog owner and his/her feisty yet loyal canine.

Animal themes are a common choice when naming and marketing a brewery. By going for the dogs, White Dog Brewing utilizes one of the most common themes of all, but in a quite subtle and non- distracting way that lets you concentrate on the beer and all the great things that go with it. White Dog Brewing is a cool place to chill out with food and brew in hand so be sure to visit this canine brewing operation the next time you’re in Idaho’s capital city. And tell them Great Beer Now sent you.