October 30, 2019 – It’s safe to say that Croatia’s craft beer scene is thriving, so much so that it’s hard to keep up with the new breweries popping up around the country – that is, until now. Black Dog Bar is looking to bring together the Croatian beer community with a new monthly collaboration in Split – and tasting the craft from around Croatia has never been closer.
TCN met up with Luke Stewart of Black Dog Bar in Split to find out more.
“We noticed that there was a lot of separation in Croatia, and with this project, we wanted to bring everyone together rather than everyone doing their own thing, and build some kind of community.
It seems that everywhere else, everyone works together in the same industry because you all enjoy the same things. Say, you work in pubs, so you’re all into beer. Here, there is a lack of interaction around it, and we are trying to change that.
Especially since we are located in the center of Split, and most everything caters only to tourism, we are trying to do something that gives people a reason to come back into the center of Split as well. The whole project is basically for fun, we’re not getting anything out of it, but we want to get more people into craft beer.”
Black Dog will kick off the monthly collaboration on Friday with Dubrovnik Beer Company.
“The reason we chose DBC is that their head brewer opened the first-ever craft beer bar in Split (Dva Tona), so in my view, he was right at the beginning of Split’s craft beer scene, and their bar manager is also from Split. So, seeing as we are trying to build community, we’ll start with a different city, but with a connection to Split.
DBC makes great beer, and we doubt that many people in Split have tried it because they haven’t had an opportunity. Our first beer collaboration with DBC will be an Irish Red Ale.”
The project is ongoing and will feature a different Croatian brewery each month.
“The idea is that every month, we will feature a different part of Croatia. In December, it will be Split, and we will be working with Barba. We will make a new beer with the brewer every month, but we also want to showcase their products, so during that month, we’ll feature the beer that we brew together, and showcase what the brewer is doing while promoting beer culture and making people aware of what’s going on.
Every beer collaboration will be something that doesn’t really get made in Croatia. It’s not easy to find an Irish Red Ale in Croatia, especially one brewed in Split. In December, we’ll offer a Nitro Milk Stout by Barba, which I am pretty sure has never been made here. It’s fun for the brewers and its fun for all of us because we get to try new types of beer.”
Black Dog will launch its first collaboration on Friday with the head brewer and taproom manager of Dubrovnik Beer Company.
“People can come, meet, and learn about the beer and the people behind it. Like an interactive showcase. The DBC guys will open the event with a talk, not just about the beer they make but about who they are and what they do. We will film it as well and push that out online to showcase the different brewers. The beers will also be on offer for the entire month.
We’re trying to spark something different in Split. Tap takeovers are really common here, but they lack the why and the who behind the taps they’re pushing. Tap takeovers are usually only one night as well, where here they can get used to drinking the beers all month.
The community is one side of this project because everyone will come together, but it’s also giving each beer and brewery a story.”
Black Dog and DBC will also be giving away free merchandise on Friday, while the beer will be sold at promotional prices. You can find out more about the event here.
To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.
