GAGE ROADS' LITTLE DOVE FLIES WIDE

The label looks familiar but the taste is significantly different.

Gage Road’s Little Dove has landed in packaging but the occasion marks a new flight pattern for the WA brewer.

Little Dove, a 6.2 per cent very American Pale Ale, has become a new guide for the business since it picked up Champion Beer at the Australian International Beer Awards in May.

It took a couple of months for the bottling of the brew to hit peak flow but from today Little Dove will hit the stores.

The launch closely follows Gage Road’s announcement that it would buy back Woolworths’ near-25 per cent stake in the brewery.

According to managing director John Hoedemaker the company will take of a “Returning To Craft” ethos. Little Dove was produced with this plan firmly in mind.

“I have no doubt that Little Dove will be a successful addition to the Gage Roads range. It’s success in draught to date is further proof that the Company’s new direction to focus on its proprietary craft beer brands is the right strategy at the right time,” said Hoedemaker.

Gage Roads, by its name, has a strong maritime affiliation. The moniker refers to the shipping channel off Fremantle and Mercury’s trident is part of the company logo.

Little Dove is the English name for the Dutch ship Duyfken, a small vessel that set out on an expedition to discover new lands in 1605, stumbling across Australia a year later.

The new beer will join Gage Roads’ existing range of craft ales which includes Atomic Pale Ale, Single Fin Summer Ale, Sleeping Giant India Pale Ale, Breakwater Australian Pale Ale and Narrow Neck Session Ale.

An emerging style, New World Pale Ales as Gage Roads calls Little Dove, are characterised by flavour profiles of non- traditional hop varietals, often sourced from Australia and New Zealand.

Befitting the lupulin in the beer, Little Dove has a tropical fruit bowl taste.