Dogfish Head Craft Brewery for Josh's 30th Birthday!

Both of us have worked at the DFH Alehouse in Fairfax, VA. Josh was a bartender for about 3 years, and I currently work there. And can you believe that neither of us have been to the brewery before?? Crazy, I know. How can we sell a product to our guests if we've never been to the mecca of East Coast breweries. So I thought what better time to take a roadtrip to Delaware than for Josh's 30th birthday.

We drove over to Ocean City, MD Tuesday evening and stayed there for the night. We've both been to Ocean City numerous times and Josh used to live there when he was 16. So it was a nice trip down memory lane. We went to the Ocean City Brewing Company (shoutout to the Hog Rider Imperial IPA! Hop forward with slight malt undertones...just what we were looking for!) and we also went to Seacrets, apparently a must when in Ocean City. I've never been there before but it looks like it could be a crazy place in the summer. After staying in a questionable "inn" and having a HORRIBLE nights sleep, we were up super early to tackle the day. And it was freezing outside! We walked on the boardwalk for maybe 20 minutes, but my nose was frozen and I just wanted to get back in the car and blast the heat. We drove around and Josh showed me where his grandmothers old condo was. However, even in April, it was still the off-season, so nothing was open and no one was around. I would hate to live here! Sure in the summer it seems like a poppin place to be, but how do you make any money in the winter? Anyway, we decided to head on over to Milton so we could get to Dogfish right when they opened. Here's what we thought!

Josh Reviews Dogfish Head Craft Brewery:

Having worked at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Fairfax for a few years opened my eyes to craft beer and I must say, I'm super honored to have worked for the best. I know it may seem at times that Steff and I are Dogfish groupies and always seem to reference them. The truth is, we kind of are! Prior to DFH, craft beer to me was Shiner Bock, Yuengling, and New Castle. Boy am I glad my eyes opened up to a whole new world! Sadly I had never made it up to Delaware to the brewery or the brewpub. Close to 5 years working at the alehouse and I never made it to the birthplace of one of the greatest craft breweries in the world!

For my 30th birthday, Steff surprised me with a trip to the eastern shore. We drove up the night before, and stayed at a very questionable hotel in my teenage home town of Ocean City. That night we were able to swing by Ocean City Brewing Co. before they closed for the evening. The bartender there was super chill and was like "guys we're about to shut down shop, but I got you on a round or two." We were able to try the "Joshua's Red" and the "Hog Rider". How special that my hometown brewery had a beer with my name in it, and I got to drink it on my birthday. Go me! Shout out to "Red" the bartender who was one of nicest gents I've ever had the pleasure of serving me brews!

The next morning we arose quite early and headed over to Milton to spend the day at Dogfish. If you haven't been to the brewery before, let me say you're missing out! Visually it's pretty awesome. When you pull up the huge metal treehouse greets you right off the bat. That thing is cool! The parking lot is off to the right hand side and is also pretty cool, simply for the fact that Sam's old Dodge truck is parked there as well as some other antique trucks and cars which are all adorned with the fish logo. Like a kid in a candy store I bolted from the drivers seat to take some primo selfies with these gems! As we walked to the front door, it's clear to see how much time was spent on building this massive brewery and how dedicated they are to remaining "off centered". Even the side walks are crooked and winding to show it. Once inside we were greeted by a big bearded fellow who treated us like an old friend he hadn't seen in a while. We signed up for the tour, got our hands stamped and started walking around looking at all the memorabilia from past seasonal artwork to newer concepts. The off centered cork board with little random labels, maps, and notes alone could have taken an hour to inspect. As I was running around like a child suffering from ADHD, Steff tried to reel me in and pointed out the ceiling. It was lined with framed photographs of everything off centered and random you could imagine! It felt like just a few moments had passed when our tour guide signaled for our tour to begin. We had to put on these big goggles to protect our eyes and headed up the stairs to the brew room!

Once in the brew room, the tour guide showed us Sir Hops-a-lot which was the original brew system that was used, and many other original artifacts. As we moved on we got to see the tanks that Palo, Burton and some of the other beers are aged in. I really wanted to jump in the tanks and bathe in the woody goodness! We continued on and saw how the beer is filtered through to the fermenters. It was a lot to take in. Then we exited the building and headed up the hill to the new bottling plant. Ohhh emm gee! I've never seen so many beers in one place! I wanted to drive up with a U-Haul and stock up! Once the tour was over we went back to the tasting room and got to sample four different beers. Mine consisted of Squall, Squall Cask, Palo Santo Marron and their newest beer not yet released to the public, Alternate Takes. Squall on cask is pretty much the greatest thing ever and I cannot wait for Alternate Takes to be released and bottled for the mass public. I will be stocking up on that stuff for sure. After all this, we still were not done. Steff had one more surprise up her sleeve. We left the brewery, full of beer and an absolutely amazing experience that I will never forget, and made a mad dash over to the brewpub in Rehoboth! I've taken up enough of your time though and will let Steff get a word in! In closing, what a great birthday! Bringing in the Dirty Thirty's right!!

Steff Reviews Dogfish Head Craft Brewery:

It was a little weird pulling up into the brewery and seeing.....a residential neighborhood?!? I didn't expect that at all! I was a little jealous of the people that owned those houses though. I kinda wish I could live there, however I would probably get drunk everyday at the brewery and stumble home and realize I have no money to pay my bills because I just spent it all on beer...so maybe it's a good thing that we don't live so close.

I love that the first thing you see when you pull up is the steampunk treehouse out front. I've seen pictures of it before, but it looks so much cooler in person! Definitely selfie-worthy for sure. The minute we walked through the doors, we were greeted and asked if we would like to go on a tour. It's free so why not? And if you drive all the way over to bum-fuck Delaware and don't take a tour you are a complete idiot. What is the point of going to one of the biggest breweries on the East Coast just to hang out in the tasting room for a little while? IT'S FREE PEOPLE! Take the tour and learn something! Katie was our tour guide and she was amazing! It seems like everyone who works there knows their shit. They probably go through weeks and weeks of training to make sure they are completely knowledgeable of everything Dogfish. She took us to the all the various rooms (Josh did well at explaining most of them so I won't go into too much detail here). I loved seeing the Palo Santo oak barrels. If you know anything about Dogfish beer, Palo Santo is an unfiltered brown ale with notes of caramel and vanilla. The wood is from Paraguayan Palo Santo trees (which translates to "Holy Tree"). It is the most densest wood in the world and the Palo Santo barrel is the largest wooden brewing vessel built in America since before Prohibition. Katie told us that it took over 6 months just to get the wood through Customs! That's dedication! Clocking in at 12% ABV, it's slightly sweet and to me it's a great dessert beer. It's also one of my favorite Dogfish beers and highly underrated. While serving at the alehouse, I don't want to get my guests completely annihilated drunk. But if a guest asks my opinion on a beer, I always suggest Palo Santo or Burton Baton. I think they are two of Dogfish's best beers. However, we don't sell much Palo Santo and I wonder why...It has a great story behind it and it is such a complex and bold beer. Maybe the 12% ABV scares people away? I'm not entirely sure.

Now that I realize I've completely gone off on a Palo tangent, let me reel it in! Katie took us into the warehouse where they are about to add a few more fermentation tanks. This is also the best stop on the tour. Why? Because it's where they keep Sam's secret stash of vintage beers. I'm talking pallets upon pallets stacked high as it can go of beer...120 minute, World Wide Stout, Olde School Barleywine...anything that ages well, they've got it locked away behind a huge fence. I might've tried to pick the lock while she wasn't looking....just kidding. But I did want to get in there! You know those money machines that you get into and they turn the air on and the money blows everywhere? And you only have a certain amount of time to grab as much money as you can? Give me two minutes in Sam's secret beer stash, and I will find a way to grab as many beers as I can carry! I will stuff those bottles down my bra if I have to!

As we continued on with the tour, we went to the bottling facility. That warehouse alone cost about $25 million dollars! It just goes to show how much beer they actually put out to the public. It amazes me what Sam has done. He took an idea, a hunch, and turned it into something great. Just think if he hadn't started brewing beer...there would be no Dogfish. I don't know about you, but that would not be okay with me. I need Dogfish beer in my life! When our tour was over, we went back to the tasting room and got our FREE samples (take the tour people!). Of course I got Palo Santo and I also got Squall, 120 minute, and the new Alternate Takes. I tried some of Josh's Squall on cask and I must say I am not a fan of cask beers. First of all, cask beers are a warmer temperature (around 55 degrees). And second, cask beers are unfiltered and unpasteurized. They still contain live yeast which gives them a gentle and natural CO2 carbonation. Maybe it's because I'm so used to tap beers or cold bottles, but I need my beer cold. The cask beer temperature throws me off. I also need bubbles! I like my beers carbonated (not just naturally carbonated) so the cask beers are not my thing. At least I haven't found one that I have truly liked.

On a side note, because I work at the alehouse in Fairfax, VA, I got to come back to the brewery the following week with my coworkers for a tour. We all took a charter bus over and got a VIP tour of the brewery. The one thing I was excited about was actually getting to go into the room where the Palo Santo tanks and the other three oak barrels are (instead of just looking at them through a window). And yeah, that's a picture of me hugging the barrels. What can I say...I just love beer that much. We also got to sit with Sam for an hour and pick his brain. Such a great opportunity to meet him and hear where Dogfish is headed over the next couple of years. Sam is such a laid back person, the kind that you would want to hang out with at a bar and enjoy a few pints (of Dogfish beer of course!).

Once we had done everything possible at the brewery, we headed on over to the Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach. It's located on a street with lots of other shops and bars and is within walking distance of the boardwalk. Honestly when we walked through the front doors, I was kind of expecting to be amazed. And I think the Brewpub needs a makeover! It just looks dingy and bland on the inside. It's also a lot smaller than I thought it would be (apparently there's an upstairs seating area as well). I'm sure this place gets packed in the summertime! If you get a chance to visit the Dogfish Brewery, the Brewpub is worth checking out for the simple fact that they do Brewpub Exclusive beers. For the most part, these brews just stay at the Brewpub, however, Midas Touch, Aprihop, and Fort all started out as Brewpub Exclusives so there's a chance that one of these brews might make it to production (RIP Aprihop.....this kills me.....). I had the Lavender ESB which was super floral and earthy. I don't usually like earthy beers because sometimes they taste like you are chewing on a flower or eating dirt, but this was actually pretty good. Josh had the Five Bloods which was overpowering with citrus flavors. We wanted to go to Chesapeake & Maine which is the new restaurant that opened up literally right next door to the Brewpub, but we had a long drive ahead of us. We will definitely come back to the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Brewpub in the future. If you are ever in the area, or even if you aren't in the area, make the trip here! It's worth it!

DFH4LIFE

Is there a brewery that you think we should visit next?? Send us a message! Until next time....

J+S