The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [150]
Out of the ashes of a nationwide slowdown in the craft beer sector around 1996, Dogfish emerged as a creative juggernaut as the industry regained its composure and the sector returned to double-digit growth, which makes it sound more business-like than it really was. To list the various attention-grabbing (and occasionally award-winning) semi-stunts released since then—sometimes referred to as “extreme brewing,” using such ingredients as African honey, muscat grapes, chrysanthemums, even algae—would be a long and thirst-provoking task involving footnotes. But amid the wacky, sometimes deliberately provocative libations (“Golden Shower” was one ill-advised label) have emerged a few slightly more sober-minded experiments reinterpreting ancient recipes, a track that Calagione and company have spent a great deal of time pursuing around the world. Along the way Sam has written a few books, raised a family, and high-fived his way into an ever-brighter spotlight with each new release, making it all look easy. Of course, it’s not. Madness, meet method.
Beyond the experiments, Sam’s Dogfish crew crafted recipes appealing to wider audiences, too, and it was perhaps inevitable that Calagione and his Dogfish would be ready for a close-up. In 2010, the Discovery Channel created a new show, Brew Masters, centered around his globe-trotting recipe hunts and daily business challenges played as life-or-death countdowns to disaster or critical acclaim.
Dogfish offers free tours of the nearby main brewery (reserve ahead by calling 302-684-1000, ext. 0); make sure to look out for the bocce courts and treehouse boardroom. A combination brewery tour and trip to the original two-story pub location in the center of Rehoboth makes for an excellent long afternoon and evening. There are always more than twenty Dogfish brews and a cask (including pub-only drafts). There’s also a micro-distillery project gathering steam on-site, solid pub grub, and live music on occasion. If Sam’s there (and he often is), he’ll be rapping with the young guy washing dishes. Despite all his fame and acclaim, he knows everyone who works with him at the company by name.
PHILOSOPHY
Dogfish Head is a seamless meld of restless beer-geek thinking plus market savvy and a hearty dose of punk rock attitude, a winning and incredibly unique combo. Its official M.O. has long been “Off-Centered Ales for Off-Centered People,” but “controlled chaos” might be a more succinct description. The beers are designed to make you think, but not at the expense of actually drinking them again and again and again.
KEY BEER
The best experimental beer? Take your pick, but the recent Miles Davis–inspired Bitches Brew, made with brown sugar from the island of Mauritius, raw unfiltered Ethiopian honey, and “an a—load of dark, roasty grains to balance the sweetness of the honey,” as Calagione explained it to me (with typical gusto), is a great example. The company’s top-seller is 60 Minute IPA, first brewed in 2003 and a graham-cracker-like feast Calagione has described as being “super pungent, citrusy, and grassy, without being crushingly bitter.”
BEST of the REST: DELAWARE
IRON HILL
147 E. Main St. • Newark, DE 19711 • (302) 266-9000 • ironhillbrewery.com
OTHER LOCATIONS:
Wilmington, DE (710 S. Madison St., 302-472-2739)
Media, PA (30 E. State St., 610-627-9000)
West Chester, PA (3 W. Gay St., 610-738-9600)
North Wales, PA (1460 Bethlehem Pike, 267-708-2000)
Phoenixville, PA (130 E. Bridge St., 610-983-9333)
Lancaster, PA (781 Harrisburg Pike, 717-291-9800)
Maple Shade, NJ (124 E. Kings Hwy., 856-273-0300)
Now the flagship of a minichain with eight locations in the area and brewing medals with surprising speed (nine major categories in two prestigious competitions during 2010), the original Iron Hill location is near the University of Delaware. There are five