via Dogfish Head Brewing
Audio By Carbonatix
Let’s talk about Delaware.
Yeah, I know. You’re thinking of that one scene in Wayne’s World. “Hi… I’m in Delaware.” It’s a punchline state, the quiet kid in the corner of the loud, obnoxious Mid-Atlantic family. It’s the “First State,” which feels like a participation trophy for showing up to the party early.
But my Delaware cred runs deep. My great aunt had a trailer in Dewey Beach back in the ‘60s when it was only three-bar town (Bottle & Cork, Rusty Rudder, and Starboard, I believe?). As a west coaster now, Dewey is what I’ve always call “the most California beach town on the East Coast.” We joyfully schlepped down there twice a summer, every summer, for a big family hang by the ocean. It’s a special place for a getaway, and a special place to share with loved ones and special people in your life.
And that’s because Delaware, beneath the surface, is a land of proud, “off-centered” quirkiness. It’s got ancient, important coastal towns like Lewes, beach scenes that range from family-friendly to bar crawls, and a vibe that’s just… different.
It’s in this gloriously off-centered state that you’ll find the perfect off-centered brewery: Dogfish Head.
The Perfect Lab for “Off-Centered Beer for Off-Centered People”
Back in 1995, when “craft beer” meant choosing between maybe five breweries that weren’t churning out watery light lager, a pioneer named Sam Calagione needed a lab. A place to cook up his mad-scientist liquid art with Dogfish Head. He landed on Delaware.
Why? Because it was the perfect, overlooked incubator. We’ve talked to Sam a lot of years here at BroBible, about everything from the Dogfish Head x Grateful Dead beer and 30 Minute IPA, to this very topic.
Delaware is a stone’s throw from the thirsty megalopolis of D.C., Baltimore, and Philly. Hordes of city dwellers flocked to its beaches every summer, creating a built-in audience. It was here, in Rehoboth Beach, that the original Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats was born — the smallest commercial brewery in America at the time, an OG brewpub that became an icon.
This is the brewery whose IPA became so quintessentially East Coast it was served on Amtrak trains. Sipping a 90 Minute IPA while rocketing from Union Station to Penn Station was, and still is, a rite of passage. Dogfish Head and Delaware are practically synonymous with each other.
Welcome to Dogfish Head’s Off-Centered Mothership
Today, every town has a brewery. Every neighborhood taproom has a clever name and a hazy IPA, and probably a couple of sly jam band references for bearded dads. It’s great. But it also means that to truly stand out, you have to be more than just a place that makes beer. You have to be a destination. An experience.
And the Dogfish Head brewery in Milton, Delaware, is a full-blown Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for beer nerds.
Long before it was a TV trend, they built a massive, whimsical treehouse right out front. Why? Because they’re off-center. Because they like beer, and they could. Adults deserve treehouses to sip beer in, too, just to mix it up every once in a while.
via Dogfish Head
A visit here is a pilgrimage to the source. It’s a creative factory where you can feel the energy and genius that goes into bottling liquid art.
Down the road in nearby Lewes, they even have the Dogfish Inn, an off-center beer-themed motel that can serve as your Delaware basecamp, so you can fully commit to the lifestyle.
At the Dogfish Inn, you can start your day sipping on a hand-crafted coffee in the Cottage Lobby, rent one of the INN’s e-bikes to traverse the local trails (…which conveniently lead you to the brewery’s other locations!), and end your day sharing brews with other beer enthusiasts around the INN’s Cowboy Cauldron fire pit.
Doesn’t get much better than that for a Delaware getaway!
What to Expect When You’re Expecting… Beer (and Food, and Cocktails)
The Milton brewery is the mothership, featuring a 30, 60, or 90-minute tour of the brewery (wear close-toed shoes, please!), plus a tasting room that offers 40+ beer and cocktail taps. It’s where you’ll find the freshest off-centered ales ever brewed, and you can even sample some works-in-progress by the Dogfish Head R&D team. You can book your tours ahead of time on the Dogfish Head website, as well as check out some of their limited-time pairings, like a beer, wings and hot sauce pairing experience that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
via Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats
Crab Pizza Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats
The soul of the operation is still beating strong at the Brewings & Eats pub in Rehoboth. It’s here you can taste the entire off-centered universe.
The Grub: This is not your standard pretzel-and-mustard pub fare. Think: House-made pretzel bites with beer-infused cheese sauce. And since any trip to Delmarva demands blue crab, you might as well get it on the wood-fired “The Old Man and the Sea” pizza, topped with crab dip and pancetta (pictured above). Or how about the “McLaine Mac & Cheese,” a glorious monstrosity made with 90 Minute IPA cheddar sauce and topped with five crispy buffalo wings (pictured below).
It’s inventive, delicious, and pairs damn well with a beer… obviously.
via Dogfish Head Brewings And Eats
The Libations: Obviously, the beer is legendary. You don’t need me to sell you that. The tap list is a mix of the classics that put them on the map and experimental stuff you won’t find anywhere else. But Dogfish Head’s off-centeredness is more than beer these days. They also distill their own spirits, and the Dogfish Cocktails Tropical Cocktail Mix Pack of ready-to-drink cocktails now includes Peach Mango Rum Punch, along with Blood Orange Mango Vodka Crush, Pineapple Orange Rum Mai Tai, and Strawberry Lime Tequila Margarita.
At the Brewings & Eats pub in Rehoboth, get a “Nutty Caucasian” made with their Roasted Peanut Vodka or a “Tropical Pain Chiller,” which is, yes, a beer slushy…. because of course it is.
The Vibe: There’s almost always something happening. Live music is a staple, with bands hitting the stage on weekends. You might stumble upon a special beer dinner (Oktoberfest, anyone?) or just a perfect beach afternoon with a cold one.
And For the Seafood Snobs… Dogfish Head’s latest venture in Rehoboth, Chesapeake & Maine
And For the Seafood Snobs… Chesapeake & Maine: When I’m by the ocean — feeling that salt breeze, smelling those smells — I want seafood. It’s a primal craving to stuff my face with little neck clams or pick crabs. And the Delmarva peninsula has so much good seafood.
This is where Dogfish Head’s latest venture in Rehoboth, Chesapeake & Maine, comes in. The namesake is the eatery’s mission statement: They source the best stuff from the waters between, you guessed it, the Chesapeake Bay and Maine. Think a rotating raw bar, Soft-Shell Crab, and a Maine lobster mac and cheese that’ll make you want to write a thank-you note.
The bar program is a James Beard Award semi-finalist, slinging everything from classic cocktails made with their own house-made spirits to off-centered, tiki-inspired concoctions with rum, eucalyptus, and smoked coconut cream.
It’s the kind of off-centered creativity you expect, applied to the ocean’s bounty. As founder Sam Calagione puts it, “Inspired by my summers in Maine and our roots in the Chesapeake, we’ve crafted a menu that’s bold, fresh, and uniquely Dogfish.”
Join the Secret Society (That’s Not a Secret)
If you find yourself fully converted, you can join Dogfish Head’s Off-Centered Society. It’s their loyalty program, and it’s less of a secret cabal and more of a “we see you, fellow weirdo” club. You earn points for your patronage across all their spots, including the Milton Brewery, Brewings & Eats, Chesapeake & Maine, and the Dogfish Inn. Loyalty points for food and beer? Where do I sign?!?!
So, go to Delaware.
Yes, you know the meme. But a trip to Dogfish Head is more than a brewery tour. It’s a journey into the heart of the craft beer revolution, a visit to a landmark of American ingenuity, and just a damn good “off-centered” time.
It’s a vacation destination you can build around beer, beaches, and the beautiful weirdness of the First State.
You won’t forget it.