Special Events — Page 4

Cheers to Dog-Inspired Beers!

May 20, 2012 by admin

Intrepid Pup pint glass and bottle caps from dog-inspired brews

Why, yes that is an Intrepid Pup pint glass! And it’s surrounded by bottle caps representing some dog-inspired brews and breweries. How many do you recognize?

Did you realize that the average American lives within 10 miles of a brewery? So says the Brewers Association, and they’re in a position to know. This national association represents more than 70% of the American brewing industry, with its members making more than 99% of all beer brewed in the United States.

All fascinating facts, to be sure, but how does this relate to the Intrepid Pup? Well, it’s American Craft Beer Week®, an annual celebration since 2006 that showcases more than 1,900 small and independent craft brewers with thousands of community-based events across all 50 states.

While true beer purists this week have focused on things like hop content, organic sourcing, and original gravity calculators, the Intrepid Pup has taken a totally different tack: dog-inspired beers and breweries.

Beer is an elixir that’s the product of art, chemistry, and a lot of time and patience. Many a brewer over the centuries has stood watch over a mash tun with a faithful canine companion, so perhaps it’s no wonder that a few have taken that relationship a step further and made those dogs the very faces of their breweries. Let’s take a look at some modern examples in 11 different states:

Spanish Peaks Brewing Company’s Black Dog Ales hail from Polson, Montana. The original “black dog” gazing out of the logo is Chugwater Charlie Hill (a.k.a. “Chug”). Though Chug is no longer alive, he was a prolific stud with many surviving descendants, and Chug’s granddaughter Taylor is owned by the current brewer. Chug’s paw print appears on the brewery’s bottle caps.

Lagunitas Brewing Company – Petaluma, California: Petey, the spunky American Staffordshire Terrier of Little Rascals fame, is the basis for the fictional pup whose visage graces every Lagunitas bottle cap. It was hoped that the loyalty of man’s best friend would resonate with customers and translate to loyalty to the brand. Looks like the strategy is working pretty well!

Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewing Company uses a harbor seal in its marketing but calls a Weimaraner/Brittany Spaniel mix named Olive (1991-2007) the “iconic mascot and spirit guide of our brewery.” Olive was the inspiration both for Old Brown Dog Ale in the brewery’s first year of operation in 1994 and also for the Really Old Brown Dog Ale released 13 years later.

Big Dog’s Brewing Company out of Las Vegas, Nevada, features a head shot profile of a black Labrador Retriever and a beer line-up that includes Red Hydrant Ale, Watch Dog Wit, Alpha Dog Double Red, and Wonderdog Double IPA.

Halfway around the world, after climbing K2—the world’s second highest peak—in 1983, George Stranahan happened upon a painting of a dog with bat wings. The surreal image stuck with him, influencing the moniker of the Flying Dog Brewpub he founded in 1990 in Aspen, Colorado. By 1994 it had become the full-blown Flying Dog Brewery in Denver and is now based out of Frederick, Maryland. Since 1996 the edgy, ink-spattered dogs drawn by British artist Ralph Steadman (b. 1936) have been hallmarks of the brewery’s bottle caps and labels. The beers include Garde Dog, Dogtoberfest, K-9 Winter Ale, Kujo Imperial Coffee Stout, and four beers in a special “Canis Major” line.

Roswell Barker, an English bulldog, is the mascot for Portland, Oregon’s Hair of the Dog: “Loyal…Pure…Faithful…Wet Nose.”

Turns out there’s a real dog behind Laughing Dog Brewing of Ponderay, Idaho, and it’s the family yellow Labrador Retriever named Ben. There’s even a “laughing dog” apprentice in Ben’s son Ruger. The brewery’s self-proclaimed “fetchingly good beers” include Alpha Dog IPA, DogZilla Black IPA, Cold Nose Winter Ale, Devil Dog Imperial IPA, and Dogfather Imperial Stout.

Barney, an uncharacteristically water-loving Great Pyrenees, is the “sea dog” of Maine’s Sea Dog Brewing Company. Barney has since passed on but is immortalized with his paw print on the bottle caps and his cheerful countenance—wearing a Sou’wester Fisherman’s hat—appearing on all the labels.

A cartoonish, sleepy dalmatian is the logo for Sleepy Dog Brewery of Tempe, Arizona. The dog theme extends to the names of its brews, which include Wet Snout Milk Stout, Tail Chaser American IPA, Red Rover Irish Red Ale, and Dog Pound Pale Ale.

Thirsty Dog Brewing Company in Akron, Ohio, depicts a lovable, floppy-eared scamp holding a beer mug in its mouth. He’s even on the bottle caps!

Wild Blue, the specialty fruit lager infused with blueberries first released by mega-brewery Anheuser-Busch in 2005, can hardly qualify as a true “craft beer,” but we’re including it here for two reasons: 1. A comical, stylized bright blue bulldog fronts the brand. 2. The St. Louis-based brewing giant gets kudos for its Bud Light “Here, Weego!” spot that aired during Super Bowl XLIV. Featuring a mixed breed rescue dog (real name: Nugget), the commercial was tied to a Facebook™ fan campaign resulting in the brewery making a $250,000 donation to Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation in California.

Another shout-out goes to Baying Hound Aleworks of Rockville, Maryland. Smaller than most microbreweries, this brewery fashions itself as a small-scale “nano-brewery,” but its founding namesake was a great big bloodhound named Marmalade. The Aleworks started as a home brewer’s operation, and apparently Marmalade could always be counted upon to lick up the malt barley.

And here’s where our final parallel to the Tavish, the Intrepid Pup comes in. He, too, has been known to hanker after certain malty brews. But with hops’ potential for toxicity in dogs and carbonation/alcohol just being a bad combo for them in general, what’s a malt barley-loving pup to do? Believe it or not, the answer is Bowser Beer™. The company, 3 Busy Dogs Inc. (recently relocated to Seattle, Washington), “brews” batches of a broth-based novelty beverage especially for dogs. The recipe retains that malt barley (it’s good for its vitamin B and joint-friendly glucosamine) but is neither fizzy nor alcoholic. And yep, in a stroke of marketing genius, you can even customize a “six-pack” of Bowser Beer with your dog’s picture on the label!

While the company’s “3 busy dogs” have changed over the years, the original mascot was Maggie, an English mastiff. The current team of official taste testers are Dax the Rottweiler, Quigley a Golden Irish, and a terrier mix named Muggsy.

So pour a Bowser Beer for your dog and raise a glass of your own* to these dog-inspired beers and breweries. Cheers from the Intrepid Pup!

* Requisite fine print: please drink responsibly.

Filed Under: Cultural Heritage, Special Events, Wag-A-Meter=1 Tagged With: American Craft Beer Week, beer, brewery, dog brands, intrepid pup, Tavish, vizsla

Play Ball!

April 5, 2012 by admin

It’s Opening Day for Major League Baseball 2012! For many, it signals a prelude to summer with baseball being the quintessential pastime, as American as Mom and apple pie. But did you know your dog can get a piece of the action, too? For the 2012 season, a record 16 MLB franchises are welcoming dogs to their ballparks as part of regular season, individual game promotions. Kudos to the Astros, Athletics, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Giants, Indians, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Padres, Pirates, Rangers, Reds, Royals, and White Sox for embracing dogs and dog lovers among their fan bases!

Depending upon the stadium, the concept of ballparks going to the dogs gets billed under various monikers (Bark in the Park, Dog Days, Puppypalooza…you get the idea), but since Tavish the Intrepid Pup‘s home team is the Washington Nationals, we’re featuring Pups in the Park.

This is the Nationals’ fourth year catering to dogs, and the club has increased its number of Pups in the Park games to four for the 2012 season. Although all of Outfield Reserved sections 140-143 are designated for dogs and their human companions, don’t delay in securing your seats as they do tend to sell out quickly. It’s no wonder. It’s a great event in a classy stadium—the first major pro stadium LEED Silver Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council—where cherry trees line the concourse, President mascots race, and the left field backdrop is the U.S. Capitol dome.

For everyone’s safety and enjoyment, a few basic rules apply for Pups in the Park. Dogs must be on leash and can’t outnumber the people in your party, and you’ll be asked to sign a waiver with proof of your dog’s current vaccinations in order to enter the ballpark. Stadium staff and event volunteers really do seem to have anticipated the dogs’ needs. What is usually set up as the Family Picnic Area near Section 143 is converted to a water station and “relief” area for the dogs. Yes indeed, there’s really a giant patch of artificial turf on which your dog can do its business. Sharing an Xtreme Loaded hot dog with your pup is your call, but since your dog can’t accompany you to any of the concessions beyond the Pups sections, you can either leave your dog to enjoy the game in the stands with another member of your group or enlist temporary help from the legions of official Pet Sitters stationed at the landings. You’ll absolutely kick yourself for leaving your camera at home, but if you do happen to forget, FanPhoto photographers roam the stands throughout the game. When they snap your photo for free, they’ll hand you a card with a link to where you can review the photos afterward in an online gallery. Like what you see? With just a few clicks, you can order and pay for prints and other products imprinted with your game day images.

Just being in the stadium with hundreds of dogs is a blast. Given the sheer numbers, they’re surprisingly quiet and well-behaved. They come in all shapes, sizes and breeds. Many sport their “Natitude” with Nats bandannas, jerseys, and other team-inspired red and white gear. As you might expect, there’s “pup”-ular dog-centric scoreboard entertainment and no shortage of “Who Let the Dogs Out?” snatches played over the PA system. And you can’t help but smile when you look out and see the backs (okay, and often the fronts) of dog heads intermingled among the rows of fans.

Tavish meets Steve Garvey!

The extent of the Nats’ Pups in the Parks promotions varies by game and sponsor, so check the listings to see what might be happening during your game. Our first Pups outing was a Nats-Marlins match-up last May. We were treated to the pre-game antics of Tillman the skateboarding bulldog and Norman the scooter-riding dog. Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Pet Foods® was a sponsor (yes, the same Dick from Eight is Enough fame), so all the dogs received reusable totes filled with Natural Balance treats and swag. While we were waiting in line to enter, Natural Balance’s spokesman, ten-time All Star and National League MVP Steve Garvey, put in an appearance and made an impromptu call for dogs from the crowd to show off their tricks. Tavish ended up being one of four dogs to perform for the future Hall of Famer (see photo)! Adding to the fun was that this was the one Pups game of the season to include a Pup Parade. There was no additional fee beyond the ticket price to participate; it simply meant getting to the stadium earlier than we would have otherwise. But it was well worth it to be ushered en masse through the tunnel onto the outfield warning track to circle the field before the game. With officials making sure we literally stayed on track (no rogue dogs tearing up the infield, please!), this was a view that relatively few outside baseball ever get to see or experience.

Look for the Intrepid Pup in the stands at one of this season’s games. He’ll be there. Go, Nats!

Dogging the Details

38°52’21.57″ N, 77° 0’26.09″ W
Nationals Park, Washington, DC

Pups in the Park maxes out the Intrepid Pup’s Wag-A-Meter at a rare “3” for being uniquely fun for canines and humans alike. This is a real treat!

When purchasing tickets online, don’t just navigate to an advertised Pups in the Parks game date, select any seat, and assume you can bring your dog. Nope, it doesn’t work that way. Though it might seem a bit less intuitive for first-time users, Pups tickets are actually sold under the web banner of GROUP tickets/Group Theme Games. In 2012 you’ll be purchasing a $22 ticket for yourself and a reduced-price $8 ticket for your dog, the latter of which benefits the Washington Humane Society. Once you’ve purchased tickets online for one Pups game, chances are you’ll be on the Nats’ email list to receive updates about future ones.

Some extra tips:

Parking is ample, but fees directly correlate to proximity to the ballpark and can get pricey. The clear message here is to walk, bike (yes, there are numerous bike racks outside the stadium!), take Metro to the Navy Yard stop, board a bus, or hop a DC water taxi or one of the special Baseball Boats running a 35-minute cruise from Alexandria, Virginia. But if you’re bringing your dog, you’ll find that many of these either don’t allow pets or require that they be crated, so you pretty much have to find a place to park and then walk. The Nationals website highlights the options, the least expensive of which (for an individual game, i.e. not part of a package deal of games/parking) are $10 and $15 parking lots about a mile away. Note that pre-paying for parking via the website does allow for the convenience of printing out your voucher at home but does carry an additional service fee.
Remember that DC summers are hot and, above all, humid. If your dog doesn’t tolerate the heat well, select from the available Pups dates accordingly.
If you happen to be attending one of the Pups games that is preceded by a Pup Parade, note that you’ll be lining up outside the stadium well beforehand. Be sure to have poly bags and plenty of water on hand. It can get warm standing in line with tons of other people and dogs.
Dogs of all sizes are welcome, but Team Tavish did observe a few of the larger breeds finding it a bit harder to get comfortable in their seats.

Filed Under: Special Events, Sporting Events, Wag-A-Meter=3 Tagged With: ballfield, ballpark, baseball, bulldog, Dick Van Patten, dog, intrepid pup, major league baseball, MLB, Nationals, Nats, Natural Balance, Norman scooter-dog, Pups in the Park, stadium, Steve Garvey, Tavish, Tillman, vizsla, Wag-a-meter=3, Washington DC, Washington Nationals

A Blossoming Tradition

March 20, 2012 by admin

Think spring in Washington, DC and it’s synonymous with cherry blossoms. For a fleeting few days the frothy, confectionery splendor of more than 3,700 blooming cherry trees transforms the already-stunning National Mall and Memorial Parks. What makes 2012’s vernal display all the more special is that it marks the centennial of the gift of 3,020 trees from Japan. With this 100th anniversary comes an unprecedented five weeks (March 20 – April 27, 2012) of celebratory events throughout the city, ranging from concerts, special exhibitions, and performances highlighting Japanese culture, to fireworks, a kite festival, and the annual parade. The Cherry Blossom Festival, which has been an annual event in some form since 1935, today partners with the National Park Service, which in turn is offering its own activities and special ranger talks from March 24 – April 15, 2012.

The trees themselves are likely among the most scrutinized and closely monitored in the country. Tracking green buds, florets, and peduncle elongation, the National Park Service keeps meticulous data on the five stages of blossom development. While there are multiple types of cherry trees in the park, the most prevalent is the Yoshino, so the Park Service defines peak bloom as specifically being “when 70% of the blossoms of the Yoshino Cherry trees are open.” The historical average predicts the peak bloom date to be April 4th, but Mother Nature is notoriously fickle. A cold snap or a warm spell can move that date significantly in either direction, and once the blossoms are out, all it takes is one good gusty thunderstorm to toss all the pink petals from the trees.

Seeing the blossoms with the Intrepid Pup has become an annual tradition, but getting to the trees can be an adventure unto itself. The Metrorail system or biking are by far the best bets, but if you’re bringing your dog along, you’ll have to find an alternate means of transportation. Parking anywhere close to the Tidal Basin during the peak of the blossoms is a fantasy, so consider parking further away and walking back. Pedicabs seem to be a viable option, as we saw a lady and her pug zip by in one on our own most recent walk en route to the blossoms.

Bear in mind that while the outdoor venues of the National Mall and Memorial Parks are dog-friendly, you must keep your dog leashed at all times and prevent your dog from entering the Tidal Basin waters or any of the pools or fountains. As a general rule, dogs are not allowed in the inner sanctum (i.e. where the statue is) of any memorial, but Team Tavish has found that simply asking a park ranger for clarification on the boundaries is both appreciated and avoids any unnecessary confusion. And, as it turns out, many of the rangers really like dogs. The ranger we met at the Jefferson Memorial last week has been with the National Park Service for more than 20 years and was genuinely pleased to see us out exploring the monuments and blossoms with Tavish. Though the ranger regretted that she couldn’t permit him past the exterior columns on the façade, she went out of her way to give the Intrepid Pup a commemorative 100th anniversary cherry blossom pin bearing Paddles the beaver, a Park Service cartoony “mascot” that otherwise cautions visitors not to pick the blossoms. Opportunistic beavers have long tried to gnaw on the cherry tree trunks, but the ranger confided that the mesh barriers one sees around the cherry trees are good deterrents and that she had seen more raccoons and foxes than beavers so far this spring.

Dogging the Details

38°53′06.39″ N, 77°02′11.27″ W
National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC

As mentioned above, if you don’t already live in the DC area, timing your visit to see the blossoms at their peak can be an inexact science. And be prepared to do miles of walking to fully appreciate them. For these reasons, the festival gets a “2” on the Wag-a-meter.

The Yoshino cherry trees concentrated around the Tidal Basin seem to attract the greatest flocks of blossom-gazers, and the narrow 2.1-mile walkway encircling the water’s edge can become quite congested. If you or your dog aren’t fond of pedestrian traffic jams, you have a couple of choices. Either plan your walk for the early to mid morning or late afternoon hours on a weekday (the lunch hour and nice weekends bring out tourists and locals) or stray off the well-beaten path. The Washington Monument grounds are much more open, absorb a lot of people, and boast numerous cherry trees representing yet another gift from Japan, this one to Lady Bird Johnson in 1965. Or, just a short distance east of the Jefferson Memorial you’ll find access to Ohio Drive, SW. This road and adjacent sidewalk loop 4.1 miles around East Potomac Park and Hains Point, and the whole way is lined with cherry trees! While your vistas from here won’t be of the monuments, you will have lovely views of the Washington Channel and the Virginia banks of the Potomac River. It’s on this route that you’ll discover completely different species of cherry trees: Kwanzan, Japanese weeping cherries, Takesimensis, Yama-zakura, and a single Okame cherry tree. There’s also an interesting grove of cherry trees on the golf course—land once a research area for the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—that likely represent the oldest anywhere in the park. Although 1912 is commonly cited as the year of the gift of the celebrated trees, Japan actually first sent 2,000 trees to Washington two years earlier in 1910. Sadly, those trees arrived with infestations, and after unsuccessful treatments, President Taft—at the recommendation of the USDA—ordered that they all be burned. It appears, however, that the precious few in this outcropping miraculously survived.

Finally, be sure to bring a camera. Pale pink cherry blossoms against granite memorials and a clear blue sky ought to be on your “bucket list” of backdrops for great family photographs.