Black Dog Brewery

It's not uncommon, certainly since craft beer began making waves in Australia, to stumble across beer versus wine events. It is uncommon, however, to stumble upon such an event at which every single drink ' both beer and wine ' has been created by the same person. But since adding brewing to his CV it's something that fourth-generation winemaker James Booth is able to do at Taminick Cellars, the winery that's been in his family since 1904.

After years of homebrewing in his spare time, James decided to dip his toes into the world of commercial brewing in 2011. Despite only having a 70 litre homemade setup on which to make his beers word soon spread, bringing a steady stream of beer lovers on the search for Victoria's latest to the cellar door. Somehow he managed to fit in enough brewing around his winemaking schedule to get the Black Dog beers (named after the family pet Macca) out and about far enough to give him the confidence to install a larger brewery in 2013.

Having launched with a range of four beers, James wasted little time in beginning to experiment, even using the barrels at hand for some of his brews. He later switched to cans from bottles, started growing hops that have been used in estate hopped saisons and a golden ale and has been known to collaborate with people both inside and outside the beer world.

As for the brewery's home, it's well worth a visit just to soak up the beautiful surrounds. Located a few kilometres outside Glenrowan at the end of a number of gravel tracks, the old brick building housing both wine and beer production and the barrique-lined cellar door looks out over vines and rolling fields as far as the eye can see, making Black Dog a welcome addition to the High Country's thriving brewing community.

Name
Black Dog Brewery
Address

339 Booth Road
Taminick
VIC 3675

Open Hours

Thursday to Monday: 11am to 5pm


This is a directory listing. To find out more, head here

Black Dog Brewery Regulars

Black Dog Brewery Drifter Lager

Published June 1, 2017
When is a lager not a lager? You could put forward a few potential answers, including this beer from Black Dog*. The Drifter Lager is tagged a "new world lager based on a German pilsner" but is one in which brewer James Booth has layered on the Aussie hops (Topaz and Enigma) like a builder with an industrial sized trowel to the point it's almost indistinguishable from many New World pale ales on the market. It pours a bright golden with a touch of malt sweetness but the spotlight is hogged… Read more
Style
New World Pilsner
ABV
4.7%
Stockists

Black Dog Cellar Door

Found at venues in and around the Victorian High Country

Black Dog Dead Dog Stout

Having played around with mostly hoppy styles for the majority of his core range, James Booth topped things off with a rich, hearty start. The Dead Dog pits Australian, British and German malts against Kiwi hops and the brewery's local Warby Range water to create a deeply dark beer that's as much about chocolate and mocha flavours as it is dark fruits.… Read more
Style
Stout
ABV
5.4%

Black Dog Leader of the Pack IPA

If the hops and bitterness in Black Dog's Howling Pale Ale just aren't enough for you, he brews an American style IPA too. The hops are king here, with the lineup changing but the amounts - lots - staying the same to create a beer bursting with citrusy and piney aromas and a decent lick of bitterness.… Read more
Style
American IPA
ABV
6.2%

Black Dog Howling Pale Ale

This beer inspired by the hoppy pales of the US is a constant work-in-progress according to brewer James Booth. He's always tweaking the hop varieties and levels - usually utilising a blend drawn from the States, Australia and New Zealand - on the search for more hop aroma and flavour. However each batch turns out, he recommends pairing it with Pad Thai and a Massaman curry.… Read more
Style
American Pale Ale
ABV
5.2%

Black Dog Lazy Dog Ale

Black Dog's quaffer is described as "a perfect session beer" and it's a solid claim too. Fruity hops and light, biscuity malts are kept subtly in balance to create a golden ale that you can easily return to for more.… Read more
Style
Golden Ale
ABV
4.8%

Black Dog Brewery Specials

Black Dog Triple Tripel Parts I & II

Published March 30, 2018
When it comes to celebrating your sixth birthday as a brewery is there an appropriate number of tripels you should brew? For James Booth, at Black Dog Brewing, he settled on three: Straight Up, Dry Hopped and Barrel Aged. While the last of these is currently dozing in Liqueur Muscadelle barrels, the other two are available now to toast in celebration of the six years of beers at the Glenrowan brewery-on-a-winery. The Straight Up is a beer that’s very much about yeast and malt, making it something… Read more
Style
Belgian Tripels
ABV
7.2%
Stockists

Black Dog Brewery

Sovereign Liquor for those in the Victorian High Country

And more to follow once James has finished vintage

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Black Dog Brewery Estate Hopped Golden Ale

Published November 5, 2017
Clearly, Black Dog brewer James Booth doesn't like having time on his hands. Not only does he brew and package every Black Dog beer and also act as the winemaker on the fourth generation family winery Taminick Cellars, he decided to start growing his own hops a few years back. He's used them in a couple of beers before, most notably an Estate Hop Saison; in 2017, he decided to put three varieties – Cascade, Chinook and Columbus all handpicked and added fresh – into a simpler beer, this Estate… Read more
Style
Fresh Hop Golden Ale
ABV
4.9%
Stockists

Black Dog Cellar Door

Found at venues in and around the Victorian High Country

Black Dog Brewery Belgian Dark Ale

Published November 5, 2017
A bridging beer for spring, this one from Black Dog. It's a Belgian dark ale built with German and Belgian specialty malts, a Belgian yeast strain and hops from rather closer to the brewery's Glenrowan home – the High Country's Ellerslie Hop. It pours an enticing deep ruby chestnut colour and delivers the sort of complexity one looks out for in such Belgian style beers. You'll pick up lots of raisins, plums and dark berries on the fruity side, cola, dark sugar and a touch of chocolate on the sweet… Read more
Style
Belgian Dubbel
ABV
6.0%
Stockists

Black Dog Cellar Door

Found at venues in and around the Victorian High Country

Black Dog Brewery Aussie Terrier

Published August 2, 2017
Black Dog brewer James Booth doesn't tend to hold back when it comes to designing his beers, with many nudging at the upper reaches of their particular style. And that's certainly the case with the Aussie Terrier. On the can, James calls it a "sessionable hoppy ale" and it is that, but it's also one that packs plenty of punch. The main cause is the Aussie hops involved in the mix, with most of those offered by Hop Products Australia making an appearance here. They deliver something of a… Read more
Style
New World Pale Ale
ABV
4.5%
Stockists

Black Dog Cellar Door

Found at venues in and around the Victorian High Country

Black Dog Brewery Margherita Mastiff

Published March 1, 2017
Given the presence of both saltiness and sour characteristics in the gose style, it's perhaps little surprise that more than one brewer has turned out a Margarita/Margherita style beer since the German beer style made its surprise grab for drinker's affections. Black Dog's take is a lively one: sharp lime aromas dominate, backed up by a cleansing acid tang and a touch of salt. As you'd expect, it's a refreshing combo, resulting in something that sits between cocktail, beer and soft drink.… Read more
Style
Margherita Gose
ABV
4.7%
Bitterness
12 IBU
Stockists

Black Dog Cellar Door

Found at venues in and around the Victorian High Country

Black Dog Blood Hound Lager

Published November 30, 2014
A select handful of people may have sampled Black Dog's Blood Hound Lager before as there was a tiny pilot batch released a while back. For its formal release, there's a fair bit changed, not least in the use of a lot more Australian hops, including Enigma, in what seems to becoming something of a (welcome) for the Glenrowan brewery. It takes as its starting point a Vienna lager base, with winemaker / brewer James Booth lining up a veritable smorgasbord of tasty and colourful German malts to give… Read more
Style
Vienna Lager
ABV
5.7%
Bitterness
39 IBU
Stockists

Spotted Mallard

Mr Paul's

Others TBC

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Black Dog Estate Hopped Saison

Published November 11, 2014
He has quite the little enterprise going up in Glenrowan does James Booth. Not only is he running the family's long-established wine business, Taminick Cellars, and brewing beers as Black Dog on his flash Italian brewery but he's growing ingredients for some of his beers too. For his occasional release, the Estate Hopped Saison, he adds homegrown Aussie Cascade and some local Topaz to the mix, giving this traditional beer style a New World twist. They're not added to the same level as in, say, near… Read more
Style
Hoppy Saison
ABV
6.8%

Black Dog Aussie Terrier IPA

Published November 5, 2014
In between making all of the wine at Taminick Cellars, James Booth has spent the past few years creating beers under the Black Dog banner. Having launched on a 70-litre home brew setup, he's now the proud owner of a shiny, Italian made 18 hectolitre brewery and has established a loyal band of followers who believe the quality of his beers deserve a bigger following. One suspects that beers like this Aussie Terrier, one of the finest of his brews we've tasted to date, should help. There's already… Read more
Style
Australian IPA
ABV
5.7%
Bitterness
45 IBU
Stockists

Alehouse Project

Spotted Mallard

Gertrude Hotel

Royal Hotel Clifton Hill

Park Hotel Werribee

Bottles coming end of November at:

Slowbeer

Purvis Beer Richmond

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Black Dog Junk Yard Dog Double IPA

Published September 17, 2014
Black Dog has never been afraid to play around with high ABV beers, whether in the form of barrel-aged barley wines, collaborative imperial red ales or imperial stouts. The Junk Yard Dog Double IPA, which belongs in that family too, was debuted at Good Beer Week in 2014 and has returned to see out the year. Brewer James Booth hasn't held back on the hops – even by double IPA standards – packing so many American, Aussie and Kiwi hops into the brew it's registering somewhere around the 140 IBU… Read more
Style
Double IPA
ABV
9.0%
Bitterness
140 IBU
Stockists

Alehouse Project

Spotted Mallard

Gertrude Hotel

Royal Hotel Clifton Hill

Park Hotel Werribee

Bottles:

Slowbeer

Purvis Beer Richmond

More stockists...