Esker's Old Dark Ale first appeared as Old Cattle Dog before the brewery transitioned from the Australian Brewery, but remains the same – right down to its penchant for winning gold medals and trophies.
It’s a beer you want to order at a country pub while you’re sitting next to a bloke that the bartender keeps referring to as Old Joe, but you later find out isn’t named Joe at all.
It’s a beer that smells like Lindt chocolate with 85 percent cocoa, but when you take a bite it tastes like cola and a smooth roasted coffee bitterness that’s as soothing as rain on a tin roof.
It’s a beer that brought home a gold medal at the 2021 AIBAs and the Champion Draught Beer trophy from the 2021 Royal Sydney Beer & Cider awards.
It’s a beer that does exactly what senior brewer Charlie Claridge designed it to do... “When we first created the recipe for the Old Cattle Dog, the goal was to create a dark ale that was clean and approachable,” he says. “It shows that a great beer doesn't have to be complicated.”
It’s a beer that keeps you company like an old friend. Like an old cattle dog. Or, these days, an old dark ale
Mick Wust
