HOPS n DOGS

BrewDog is widely known for its "Punk IPA" and other IPA varieties. Thus, BrewDog is an IPA-heavy brewery, so it might be something for those IPA haters to beware. But they do offer a handful of alternatives. During this particular visit, they had an ample supply of lagers and pilsners as well as a nice collection of ciders. Sadly, there were no sour beers to speak of.

The real show stopper for Courtney's visit was a newer hard soda release known as "Bomb Pop", and the "Dead and Berried" fruited cider. For Jeff, it was hard to pick a particular IPA, but "Hop Fiction" was one of the best. It is a great refreshing beer for those hotter summer months. But it's hard not to point out just how good their Black Heart stout is. As a person who is not a fan of most stouts or porters, Black Heart is a very smooth and easy-to-drink beer that doesn't leave you feeling like you have eaten an entire loaf of bread afterward.

The aptly named Bewdog "Doghouse" is the on-site hotel. It features 32 beer-themed rooms spaced across three floors. That actually shares the same space with the brewery's fermentation room. This is where they make all of the sour and barrel-aged beers and serves as a secondary event space for special occasions and bar.

There are three different types of rooms: a standard two-bed or king-bed room, a slightly larger suite that overlooks the restaurant and patio, and the exceptional brewmaster suite, the largest of the three, that overlooks the fermentation room. The standard-sized rooms are dog-friendly, and they are larger compared to many other hotel standard rooms we have stayed in. Each room comes with your standard amenities, TV, desk area, and small fridge. The difference here is that Brewdog pre-stocks your fridge with some in-house and guest beers. They also have a spare mini fridge in every room's bathroom, dubbed the shower beer fridge, which also comes pre-packed with beer for those looking for a quick "hair of the dog" moment in the morning. For those looking to upgrade their beer journey, there are quite a few additional room packages you can include. Many of which add a small keg of your choice of draft beer. There are also additional restaurant packages available.

BrewDog offers a fairly decent assortment of hot and cold breakfast items every morning. Since we stayed for a solid week, we saw everything from French toast sticks, gravy and biscuits, scrambled eggs, home fries, and various types of meats. There is also a nice assortment of pastries, cereals, bagels, and instant oatmeal.

The hotel lobby offers a decent hangout space for those looking to relax indoors. There is a wide selection of bar-appropriate tabletop games and various decks of cards. The hotel bar has a much smaller beer selection compared to the main restaurant, but hotel staff were more than happy to run over if someone asked for something specific. They also serve beers from other local breweries only in the hotel. At night, the hotel lobby was quiet and picked up on the weekends as most would expect.

For our four-legged friends, it is really up to the owners to make sure they have all the amenities their pup might need during their stay. The hotel and restaurant will give you a bowl of water for your pup if you ask, but it's better to plan. The hotel has dog treats on every floor if you like, but regular meals are your responsibility. There are a few basic rules to keep your dog on a leash at all times when in a public area, and obviously, try to keep your dog quiet.

Throughout our stay, quite a few other dogs were coming and going. Surprisingly, the hotel itself was tranquil, and we hardly heard any dogs barking in the early morning or late at night. One of our biggest fears on visiting a hotel so geared toward allowing dogs is to see the dogs ruining the experience for everyone else. Thankfully, we were dead wrong. In fact, most of the time, any dog barking was when a new one arrived, but after a few minutes, everyone tends to calm down. It was not unusual to see a dog or two with their owners as they ate breakfast. During the evening, most of the different hotel guest would bring their dogs down to the hotel patio or sit with them at the bar. Because Ein was so small, with permission, we placed Ein in a bar chair, just in case.

BrewDog is an experience like no other. When we first heard about the concept of spending a night at a dog-friendly brewery, we had to try. It was a pleasant surprise just how well BrewDog was able to pull it off. The overall accommodation is fantastic, the staff were all welcoming, and it was a pleasure to get to know so many interesting people. Many great nights were had meeting other craft brewery enthusiasts and their dogs.

As with any vacation, there are always some ups and downs. For us, the long travel back to New York is always a disappointment, but the visit to BrewDog is worth the whole day's journey. For Ein, it's incredibly stressful to go such a long distance. But it's worth it because she spends most of the day smiling and brings joy to the different people she meets.