“Goin’ to the Dogs”

I'm not sure what it says about me but an old buddy of mine called from out of the blue last week and invited my wife and I to join him and his spouse for a tour of the Dog Fish Brewery over in Milton, DE.
We enjoyed a calm trip across the bay on a two thirds empty ferry and started our adventure with a side trip to Rehobeth. No, I didn’t go to the outlets. That whole stretch reminded me of Rio Grande or is that Tilton Road, or Route 73 or any one of a hundred other conglomerations of shopping places we don’t need.
We went in to Rehobeth and were surprised by the amount of people out walking and doing stuff on the beach. “Downtown” Rehobeth is no downtown Wildwood, a definite tale of two cities there.
But I digress. Our ultimate destination, the Dogfish brewery is located in the country.
Yeah, there are still plenty of farms and open places in Delaware, although a development has popped up not far from the brewery.
Dare I predict some future entanglement between the good folks’ brewery and some newbie rural property owner, upset at having to live in the vicinity of a place that “makes beer”?
The tour is free.
I should have started with that sentence.
Actually, I should have started with the sentence that tells you about the four free “samples” of different brews that come with the tour. Tip: Hold on to the cardboard dogfish they give you at the start of the tour and look for a few that the unwitting may have dropped on the floor as you go along.
The tour guide is witty and informative and I later learn that he’s a teacher. So I attribute the out of character performance to his affection for the product.
Dogfish brews about as much beer in a year as Budweiser does in a day. They make “year round” and seasonal beers. And they’re not afraid to experiment with ingredients. Many of the beers we sampled included fruits and spices I wouldn’t usually associate with beer but those mad Dog fish chemists have come up with some tasty combinations.
For instance, Spring 2009’s entry is Aprihop and what’s that peculiar taste that makes it unique. Apricot. Naturally, what else would you expect to find in your brew.
My favorite is the 60 minute IPA. It’s a strong beer and you can taste the hops. If you’re one of those sophisticated types who like to match what you’re eating with the beer you’re drinking, they recommend spicy food. Or pizza.
Pizza goes good with any beer, of course. But then they throw in this bit that you can drink it with grilled salmon and stuff like that.
But find out for yourself. Milton’s only a few minutes away from the ferry down Route 1.
If you’re interested, better contact Dogfish first. The tours are very popular and are limited to 35 people each. Ours was filled and so was the one after. Better call ahead and make reservations at 1-888-8dogfish.