Sabco BrewMagic to 200,000+ barrels
A brewery tour is a brewery tour is a brewery tour except when it’s not. Staying at the Dogfish Inn gives you the option of taking the All INN-clusive tour of the brewery, which I cannot recommend highly enough. Dogfish is great because it is not only an extremely impressive brewery in scale, but also because the history of Dogfish is so well documented. The first stop on the tour includes the Sabco BrewMagic system— 10 gallon system to 200,000+ barrels per year. Wow. As a fellow BrewMagic user, I spent most of the tour with my jaw on the ground.
Tastings at the brewery
As with any visit to the source, there’s a number of special releases that can only be tasted at the brewery. Between the curated tasting by our tour guide and the additional tasting card we were given afterwards, I sampled as many of the rare gems and otherwise unavailable brews as I possibly could.
Aramis
Aramis was actually a special treat served to us out of a kegerator in the R&D department of the brewery during the tour. This hoppy pilsner is a great expression of the style and it is a wonderful gateway beer for those folks coming to craft beer for the first time. The hopped kolsch “Ball Peen Hamster” was also on the tasting room menu, and I have a sneaking suspicion Dogfish Head is gearing up to launch a lighter, lower ABV offering nationwide.
Dogfish 120 (on draft)
The grail of Dogfish Head. 120 minute is very difficult to find in Texas as many retailers sell out the first day that they receive it from their distributors. I found 120 minute to be in plentiful supply at the Dogfish Head retail store in Rehoboth and was giddy to have the chance to try this monster on draft at the brewery. Hoppy, malty, boozy, beauty. 120 minute is a feat of fermentation capabilities, but I only enjoy it in small portions.
Wood-aged Bitches Brew
Fun fact: my humanities elective in college was the History of Jazz and it is probably the best class I have ever taken. So a beer named after Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew is right up my alley. If you’ve treated yourself to the short-lived Discovery Channel series about Dogfish Head, you’ll recognize this beer from the episode Bitches Brew. If you haven’t seen the series yet. Go watch it— it’s great. There’s so much going on in this beer, an imperial stout blended with an African Tej (honey beer) aged in the Palo Santo tank. This brew strikes me the same way Miles’ music does: you can listen to the same song 1,000 times and hear different things every time. I think I’ll only experience the full character of Wood-aged Bitches Brew after I’ve tried a thousand of them. I’d better get to work.
Smothered in Hugs
Did you guys ever have that dream where you were in Willy Wonka’s factory? You know, in the conservatory where everything is edible and full of pure imagination? In my dream I’ve replaced the chocolate river with this imperial stout. Chocolate, raspberries, vanilla, unbridled joy all make an appearance on the nose and palette while tasting this beer. It is super decadent and it was a fitting and excellent end to the tasting session at the brewery.
Fireside chat with Sam and Todd
This is an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life and it is an experience regularly afforded to Dogfish Inn guests. Sam Calagione has always been a proponent of direct engagement with his customers. If you’ve read his book, you know that this has been important to him since he first launched the brewpub in Rehoboth. The tradition continues today and every Saturday night that he can, Sam sits down with guests from the Inn to chat.
My biggest takeaway from the conversation? Sam is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. When I think of inspirational CEOs or public figures they always have a certain unique quality or charisma that is palpable when you see or hear them. Sam also remembered the guy sitting next to me from a tasting event 5 years ago and made a point to introduce himself to every individual around the fire. I feel that Sam’s genuineness and passion have been infused into the company culture at Dogfish Head. Based on my interactions with the team members at the Inn, the brewpub, the tasting room and the brewery, everyone feels connected to the greater whole of the organization and is invested in the success of the company.
He has made something wonderful for himself, his family, his co-workers and the world— oh and the beer is pretty good too.
Santé
John