Embrace the Experience: old dogfishes learn new tricks

Wocaaw!

Last weekend, hundreds of beer enthusiasts assembled in Milton, Delaware for Dogfish Head’s Weekend of Compelling Ales and Whatnot.

I attended my first, such event last year (click here to read the synopsis).  The brewery first began hosting them in 2010.  Since then, it has grown to encompass an entire weekend’s worth of activities.

Examples of such festivities ranged from the whimsically-sublime (“beermosa” and bagel brunch at the Rehoboth location) to the cutting-edge informative (a homebrewing class taught by Dogfish Head Brewmaster, Mark Safarik).

Beer was of course the main event.  Tasting stations were set up beneath a giant, white tent, which helped take the fangs off the brisk air and stifling breeze.  Even outside the tent, spirits remained high (not to mention flowing).  A DJ spun indie-rock records in one corner, blending with the clink of glassware and the soft thud of Bocce balls.

Dogfish Head uses WOCAAW to showcase items off the year’s upcoming catalog, as well as roll out some experimental brews, which may see light in future releases.

There were some traditional-styled ales (Trans-Neptunian Object, a dry-hopped Brett Saison), but those were few and far between.  It wouldn’t be a Dogfish Head festival without a smorgasbord of zany ales designed for the adventurous drinker (In Your Mace, a coffee milk stout brewed with components of, you guessed it, pepper spray).

Food items were provided with each beer, designed to compliment the flavors you were sipping on. Dogfish Head’s mission statement is “explore goodness,” which means they not only want to make quality beer, they want to create a unique and amazing celebration of the drinking experience itself.

“If someone ventures all the way out here, we want to make sure they get the complete, Dogfish experience they deserve,” said Bryan Selders, DFH Brewing Ambassador.  I was able to catch up with him at the beermosa brunch, where he talked about everything from favorite country to visit (Belgium) to movies (excited for Incredibles 2).

But, as far as the so-called, Dogfish experience goes, how do they plan on doing that?  Answer: by upping their game at the existing facilities:

The Great Outdoors

Barring setback, Memorial Day Weekend will coincide with the grand opening of their new, Rehoboth beer garden. The space is still under heavy construction, but you can imagine how popular it will be, once warm weather returns.

Pizza

The Milton factory is bidding adieu to the Bunyan’s Lunchbox food truck and replacing it with a state-of-the-art pizza kitchen. They weren’t clear on the timetable for that addition, but hope to have it up and running this year.

More Beer!

Oh yes, all the bells and whistles are fine and dandy, but beer is what will keep pilgrimages rolling down Route One – and, not just random experiments. According to Selders, once the brand new tank system is up and running in Rehoboth, the plan is to occasionally bring back legacy beers such as Chicory Stout and Raison D’etre.

Adapting To The Times

Don’t expect those beers to see daylight outside of Delaware, however. During a Q&A with founder Sam Calagione, he explained how the average consumer learning curve proved too steep to maintain viability on the retail market.

For example, how does one sum up the concept and story of a beer like Theobroma (inspired by an alcoholic chocolate beverage drank by ancient civilizations) in a way that fits the mini-confines of a beer bottle label?  In other words, not enough people knew what these beers were, or cared to learn.  So, more often times than not, they sat on shelves for years before ending up in the thankful hands of a beer collector.

Such instances worked out great for that collector.  Unfortunately, they represent a minute fraction of the population.  And, it’s not an ideal situation for distributors, when un-ordered inventory collects dust in their warehouses.

With competition from start-up breweries increasing everyday, breweries can ill-afford to let their precious product rot away on shelves.  Dogfish Head may have landed #12 on the Brewers Association’s 2017 ranking of craft beer sales by volume, but no company is immune to the effects of a market that is both fickle and saturated.

Located in Berlin, Maryland, Burley Oak is one of the growing number of breweries that have opened on Dogfish Head’s doorstep.n

Thus, the move away from some heritage  brews is more of a strategic re-shuffling than an overall philosophy shift.  Sam Calagione isn’t There is a higher percentage chance that Calagione sells the company to Budweiser than there is of Dogfish abandoning its quirky principles and chasing more conventional or trendy flavors.

In particular, the New England-style (or “haze”) IPA continues to gain national prominence. Even west-coast giants like Sierra Nevada have caved into pressure to cash in on the craze.

Milton might as well be on the other end of the world from Chico. That doesn’t mean that they’re completely isolated from the industry’s prevailing winds. In fact, Calagione himself just helped brew a New England-style IPA in a collaboration with the Veil Brewing Company in Richmond, Virginia.

Don’t expect an encore, however. At least, not from the Dogfish Head catalog.

“Dogfish has always written its own story,” said Selders. “To jump in now, would be disingenuous. And, while (the NE-style IPA) is an amazing business model, three years from now some of those breweries will have switched onto whatever fad is trending then.”

“Dogfish has never followed trends,” echoed Calagione.

Out of context, these words may sound like the grumblings of an old curmudgeon. And, yes, Dogfish Head is practically-prehistoric compared to some of its contemporaries. They’re the weird and kooky uncle at the family gathering.

However, take into consideration the Dogfish Head philosophy, day in and day out: the organic and collaborative thought processes that go into creating a product and the painstaking care in the crafting and delivery of said product.

When viewed through that context, the statements seem less about arrogant defiance than a confirmation of the belief and confidence they have in what they do.

The uncle analogy would likely suit Calagione just fine. He embraced the proverbial, tinfoil hat a long time ago. Nor does he seem perturbed or stressed over Dogfish Head’s status in the craft beer world.

Dogfish Head isn’t fighting the tide, but you won’t find them drifting quietly downstream either.  They’re doing what they’ve always done, charting their own course to Point B.

And, they’ve set plans in motion that will ensure they will be doing so for years to come.

*Full disclosure, author is an employee of one of Dogfish Head’s Alehouses.  However, attendance to the festival was paid in full, and the opinions written here are of the author’s sole opinion alone.