This is the typical response I received after inviting my friends on a four and a half hour trip to our nation’s first state. After their intrigue/astonishment/disgust would pass (most people I know have an innate distrust of states that are not New York) I would inform them that Rehoboth Delaware is home to the Dogfish Head Brewery, purveyor of the nation’s most unique and interesting beers. After months of trying to get anyone to join me on my beerventure, a good friend of mine agreed to make the trip.
Until recently I’ve been more curious about the exotic ingredients and obscure recipes used by head brewer Sam Calagione than actually drinking the stuff. I started to change my tune after I heard Sam speak during a beer and cheese pairing at last year’s American Craft Beer festival in Boston. More recently, a beer dinner at the Park Slope restaurant Palo Santo turned me on the amazing affinity Dogfish brews have for food. A trip to the source of all these unique flavors was unavoidable.
After sitting in three states worth of traffic, we arrived at Dogfish Head with twenty minutes to spare before the tour began. While my friend sought out the restrooms I settled down at the bar and was about to speak with a waitress when I saw Sam Calagione stomping around in a large barrel in a small back room.
“An Indian IPA,” the waitress told me. “Made with curry, cumin and all sorts of Indian spices.”
Whoa. Already my mind was blown. Dogfish really blurs the already indistinguishable line between food and beer. I made a mental note to keep track of this IPA and asked the waitress where the tour starts. She sadly informed me that I was seated at the Restaurant and Brewpub, not the brewery itself. Besides the distillery upstairs the only brews being made there were small batches of possible future styles. After scribbling down a few directions and waiting for my friend to finish relieving himself, we backtracked our way to the actual brewery located in Milton.
Following the shark signs into an industrial looking complex surrounded by townhouses, we found the entrance to the brewery. Dogfish is undergoing an extraordinary amount of renovation and expansion in order to better meet the demand for their beer. While they make it twenty-five of the fifty states, Dogfish is meeting only half of the demand for their brews. The renovations are intended to increase production and create a more welcoming environment for beer lovers that include an on-site restaurant and bocce courts.
Once the tour was finished and I stood in admiration of the 10,000 gallon palo santo tank, a loopy, bespectled fellow began pouring us beers and chatting. After a few samplings that included a delicious mix of 90-Minute IPA and Palo Santo, he poured me a Midus Touch (a mead/beer recreated from the remnants of a drinking vessel excavated from the tomb of Midus) and began describing his late night culinary creations and a skit he acts out with a buddy called “Whose Got the Munchies?” After listening in disbelief about a few of his “recipes” we finished up our samples and ventured back to the restaurant.
A seat at the bar of the Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats Pub is probably the best way to really understand what Dogfish Head is all about. I have gotten a sense of Sam’s personality from hearing him speak and seeing him personally pour beers on several occasions, but the atmosphere of camaraderie and fun that permeates the restaurant and his beers is unmatched by any other brewery I have visited. Over the course of a long, indulgent evening of eating and drinking, I was able to speak at length with current Dogfish brewers who rebuked my remarks about their homemade spirits looking “sketchy”, local homebrewers who helped Sam and company found the brewery and a couple of out-of-towners who just came to check out the beers. Every single person I met had nothing but good things to say about Dogfish and the sense of community the brewery has brought together. The first Thursday of the month brings together a Brew Club that has been meeting for over fifteen years and the individuals with whom I chatted gave me insight into the heart and soul of Dogfish Head: delicious and drinkable fun. It really is a motley crew of creative professional brewers, casual drinkers and locals who want to enjoy a fresh pint, mingle and joke around. After a bottle of beer based on an ancient Chinese recipe, a couple of free rounds and one too many pizzas, we closed down the bar and went to walk off the lasting effects of 120-Minutes IPA.
