Oak Blended Barrel Release

Oak - Blended Barrel Release No.1. Brewed by Spotty Dog Brewers in Hobart, Tasmania.

Oak is the first of our Blended Barrel Releases. So what’s it all about? We have a great relationship with Overeem and since we started the brewery we’ve taken some of (almost) every dark beer we’ve ever brewed and chucked it in some Overeem barrels. After it’s sat a while and taken on the character we like, we keg it from the barrel. Those kegs have been building up, and there’s a lot of them now, enough to start playing with and blending from! This is the first of what will become that series of beers. Brewed, barrelled, aged, blended. The beer and the barrel are important, no doubt, but the key is time… and patience.

Oak was blended from SEVEN of our previous limited releases:

• Non-aged Doppelschwarz

• Barrel aged Doppelschwarz 

• Non-aged Firelight

• Barrel aged Firelight

• Barrel aged Last Dog

• Two Barrel aged Family vintages

All the barrels were ex-Overeem, but before that they were sherry, bourbon, port… they’ve had many lives, and each one contributed something to the overall flavour and vibe of the beer.  

It’s dark but clear, pouring deep chestnut brown, but black in the glass. On the nose it’s all age character - leather and vanilla, toast and chocolate. On the palate, some freshness sneaks in. Lighter than you expect. Is that apple? Raisin? Plum? Bourbon is a big component and the chesterfield-sofa-in-a-room-lined-with-leatherbound-books is never too far away. Treat this one with respect, and give it the time we did. It’ll make it worth your while.

Need a reminder about our previous beers:

Last Dog was our collab with Last Word Brewing for Carwyn’s 2022 Canvent - a 12.4% ABV Southern Imperial Stout. This best of a stout is layered with a complex range of darker malts and finished with over 300kgs of Tasmanian raspberries from Westerway Farm. We took inspiration from the things we love about overseas craft beer but used local Tasmanian and Australian ingredients to put our own spin on it. Dark and chocolate malts, some rye, lighter on the roast barley, and a huge amount of Tasmanian raspberries. 

Firelight was our 7% ABV stout brewed in 2023 in honour of Tassie winter. In Tassie winter, Tassie Tuxedos are out in full force, and hordes of ‘Mainlanders’ descend on Tasmania, and we kept hearing “it’s officially stout season.” What visitors don’t realise is that down south, where our flannies are thicker and our bears are fuller, it’s always stout season baby. It poured deep brown with a thick rolling head. Caramel on the nose with a rich toffee and malt palate rolling into milk chocolate and light roasted, earthy bitterness lingering on the palate, finishing with the slightest note of oaked whiskey.  

Doppelschwarz was brewed for Carwyn’s 2023 Canvent - a 8.0% ABV double schwarzbier with no sinamar in sight with notes of espresso, roasted malts, caramel and biscuit. Have you been good? Because he will know. When Krampusnacht comes, you best be ready. The bells will ring, the flame will be lit and if you last the night, open this can of darkness and witness the doppelschwarz.

Family Vintages - have never been canned before! Our celebration of friends, family and investors who help make the dream of Spotty Dog come true!