Melbourne craft beer doyen Moon Dog is celebrating a year at its Wild West brew-pub, throwing a dog-style birthday bash.
Founded in 2010 by brothers Josh and Jake Uljans and school mate Karl van Buuren, the tenacious craft beer brand has grown to count a brewery in Preston and several showcase venues, including Moon Dog World at Preston, Moon Dog Beach Club at Frankston, the Jungle Room at Doglands (Docklands) and the Moon Dog OG at Abbotsford.
A year ago the brewer threw open the saloon doors in Footscray, welcoming patrons of the pack to Moon Dog Wild West.
In 12 months the new Dog has racked up some serious stats, serving the equivalent of 581K ice-cold beers and 18,459 cowboy shots, to the tune of 250 hours of live country music from behind the wire on the Honky Tonk stage.
Centre stage in the saloon is the mechanical bull, which has been ridden 35,687 times, averaging 102 times each day.
Reaching the first anniversary milestone the team is celebrating the way things are done in Dog houses, with “a rootin’ tootin’ good time”.
The party will see 365 cowboy shots given away – one for each day the Wild West has been open – fired hourly to the first people to say “yee-haw” to the bar staff.
There will also be $30 buckets of beer or Fizzer – the brand’s Seltzer post-mix – and food and drink specials, such as $1 chicken ribs.
Musical entertainment will accompany the revelry, beginning at 3pm as DJs take over the rooftop until Elly McK & The Unbelievers take centre stage from 7-9.30pm, rocking their mix of country covers and originals. The disc jockeys will then resume, until 1am.
Cowboy hats and boots are highly encouraged.
Moon Dog Wild West’s Rootin’ Tootin’ First Birthday Party will go down Saturday, 26 April.
“It’s guaranteed to be a bucking good time!”
