MOON DOG BREWERY THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
It might not be time for a victory ale just yet, but this cold craft is perfect for sharing over a conversation with mate, as you recall the many times you’ve been punched in the face during these overwhelmingly difficult times.
Origin – Abbotsford. Victoria
ABV – 6.6%
Size – 440mL can
Style – Indian Pale Ale
Perhaps a more fitting name might have been ‘The Future Is Blight’! Given the timing at which the Moon Dog's latest limited edition is being released, The Future Is Bright doesn't appear to be more inappropriately named. Maybe it's in the same camp as the 1986 one-hit-wonder 'The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades' – a hit that's been played at every school prom, formal and graduation ever since. Clearly misinterpreted by hundreds of millions of bright-eyed, optimistic students ready to take on the world, the song is all about the world's grim outlook. Drawing on the tensions at the height of the Cold War, the bright future that Timbuk 3 refers to was in fact due to impending nuclear holocaust!
Maybe, on the other hand, Josh and Jake, and their mate Karl named it after channelling some of that glass is half full positivity that we all need right now to get us through this COVID-19 pandemic in one piece. It was the sort of rose-coloured outlook they had in 2008 when they founded Moon Dog. Taking up residence in an Abbotsford warehouse in the shadow of CUB's main production facility, the hopeful trio produced beer on a brewery put together from parts that included those used for seaweed-based cosmetics and an open fermentation tank from the former Wagga Wagga brewery that hadn't been operational in around 80 years!
Truth be told, the title is a nod to the impressive collection of solar panels on the roof of their new brewery, Moon Dog World, and the role they played in powering the brewing of this beer. And what a fully powered 6.6% abv, fruit-driven, mouth-watering beer it is. Pouring almost crystal clear, with just the slightest hop haze, it’s a beer that hooks you in on visual appeal alone. Packed with Warrior, Mosaic, Cashmere, Idaho 7 and Azacca hops, the nose is bold and fruity. The aroma of blueberry, mango, pineapple and stonefruit flows through to the mouth, with a slight hop bitterness adding some yin to the fruity yang. All up, it’s light without being thin, the bitterness is assertive without being aggressive, and the hop and malt combination is, well, bright.
While it's hard to imagine that our immediate future is bright, if a couple of homebrewing teenagers can become twin brewery owners, with their sights now set on becoming one of the biggest in Australia, we can do it too. Conceivably, these 440mLs of positivity might just help you hang in there in the meantime.
