Fermutations: Dogfish Head Brewery Tour

As I said earlier, we took a trip to Southern Delaware, where I grew up, lately and so we took a day and toured the Main Brewery for Dogfish Head located in Milton. It has expanded quite a lot since I last took the tour 3 years ago, so we decided to take the tour. The tour itself is first come first serve and leaves every hour and lasts about 90 minutes. Check their site for the exact schedule, I know they fill up fast during summer so if you plan on going, get there early.

The first part of the tour is a basic overview of the history of Dogfish Head, such as the fact that it began in 1995. This portion I found interesting because it explained several stories that I didn't know, such as the fact that Sam’s wife is from southern Delaware, and that he wrote the laws that allow for breweries in Delaware. This portion of the tour also included the basics of the brewing process. We then got to see the fermentation tanks and the largest wooden secondary fermenters I've ever seen. The brewery uses Oak as well as a Palo Santo cask, used for the Palo Santo Marron. We also got to view the yeast room, where they have a state-of-the-art bioreactor system to grow all the yeast including several proprietary yeasts. From there we went through to the kegging line. After that we braved the cold temperatures outside to walk over to a new portion of the brewery, the Off Centered Center. This building houses a top of the line bottling system as well as the warehouse for storage and truck loading/unloading. This building will also house the new kegging line that is in the planning stages now. Unfortunately the bottling line was temporarily offline for repairs when we got there but it was impressive none the less, being able to pump out 650-750 bottles a minute. After that it was another short walk (it seems the safety guy killed their idea for a zip line between the buildings) back to the main building for some tasting.

The tour itself had some really great information. I was told definitively that they force carbonate nearly all of the beer they bottle. With the tour, you get four free samples that you can choose at the tasting room. With the two of us there we were able to try 8 different beers. We decided to get he Palo Santo Marron, Sixty-one, Burton Baton, the 120 minute IPA, Hellhound, World Wide Stout, Noble Rot, and Chicory Stout. Aprihop was just tapped that morning and fed through the Randall (a fresh hopping system where they feed the beer through fresh hops and the beer picks up the oils and aromas from the hops). I had never gotten to see the Randall, filled with Simcoe hops, work in person and it was pretty interesting. The bartender (who also gave us the tour) was pretty cool. Dave and I stuck around for a while and discussed homebrewing techniques with the bartender. The brewery now has a small place, Bunyan's, where you can buy food for a reasonable price. Dave and I both had bratwurst after our beer tasting and the food was delicious.
If you are very lucky they may even be doing tours of the Steampunk Treehouse. It just so happened that we were that lucky and they were doing tours of the treehouse that day. I completely and totally admit it is one of the coolest things I have ever been in. It has some really neat details including a time traveler’s seat.

The Ratings

Tour:

It’s a good tour with good information but I wouldn't drop everything I was doing to go on it. If you go into the tasting room, you get 4 free samples even if you don’t take the tour. The backstory about Sam and writing the laws was interesting. The bottling line was also really neat since it is one of the most high tech in the nation. The yeast room is cool since the types of reactors are usually only found in giant macrobreweries. The large wooden oak and Palo Santo casks, largest built since prohibition, are pretty damn cool. Other than this it is pretty much the same as most other tours for any brewery. The interesting part of Dogfish Head is the fact that it became such a large craft brewery very quickly, which is why it earns a high rating. It has really high tech equipment for being a craft brewery. I suggest taking the tour at some point but it is not a must.

Steampunk Treehouse:

If you can get a tour do, it’s something that is very different and you will never see another treehouse quite like this one. It cost them $1 to buy and then $30,000 for shipping and set up. I think it was worth every penny of that because it is amazing. Their insurance doesn't like them giving tours so if they are giving a tour that day you are very lucky.

Overall:

I know what you are going to say, THIS MAKES NO SENSE, GARRR YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT BEER. You forget, I grew up in Southern Delaware with a father who brewed beer and commonly enjoyed going to brewpubs. I can confidently and most assuredly say this: unless you are Sam or someone very close to him, I knew about Dogfish Head before you did. I was 7 when Dogfish Head opened and my family ate there within the first month of it opening. To me Dogfish Head has always been the overly innovative novel craft brewery, because that is how I have always seen it since I was young. I remember the first time Blood Orange Heffeweizen was on tap. I remember when the inside was dark green and kind of scary and the bathroom was down a really creepy hallway below the stairs and had only one toilet. It is not to say that they don’t do any great beers, but I expect it of them. I will always expect it of them. When some idiot literally runs in front of my car so that they can have their picture taken in front of the brewpub, I sit there and go “are there no brewpubs where you are from.” When people tell me “I take a pilgrimage to DFH every year,” my response is always “are there no brewpubs from where you come.” When I say I’m from Southern Delaware, I immediately get “Have you ever heard of Dogfish Head, you should go there,” my response is “No, I've never heard of the most famous brewery from my hometown,” in the most sarcastic tone I can muster. After a while it gets annoying. When I can’t get into my local pub to grab lunch or dinner, I get pissed. There are other amazing breweries out there that do amazing work, that are probably closer to your home. This is not to discourage you from going to DFH, it’s one of my favorite breweries, though it wasn't my first, that title will always belong to The Weeping Radish, in NC. I just want you to understand, to me it is just my local pub, it always has been and it always will be. I've met Sam and he is down to earth and the guy who owns my local pub. I have every reason to be annoyed with people who invade my hometown and make it impossible for me to go anywhere. I expect the best from Dogfish Head and it has never let me down on new innovative beers. At this point it doesn't surprise me when they come out with something new and innovative. I heavily suggest visiting DFH at sometime in your life, they are fantastic, but please don’t forget the other amazing breweries out there that do just as amazing work.