DogFish Head - Milton Brewery Tour
Since we were on vacation from work, we figured we needed a day of rest. Wednesday we laid out on the beach and soaked up some rays. Anyway, we went back to Arena’s for lunch (when would we ever get the chance to go again?). After a little more wandering, it was off to DogFish Head’s main brewery a couple minutes away in Milton, DE.
We showed up about 45 minutes early as we misjudged the time to get to the brewery. Fred, one of the originals at DFH and the person who gives the tours, happened to walk by and we started chatting with him. He let us wait inside (again, it was about 100 degrees out) and we started talking about DrinkCraftBeer.com. He seemed genuinely interested and ran inside to his office to check it out for himself. After, he came back out and brought us into the new 100 barrel brew house they’re installing… It’ll double their capacity when complete. Check out the exclusive pictures only from DrinkCraftBeer.com!
He also gave us the inside scoop on Belle Proximus, the new collaboration between DogFish Head, Russian River, Allagash, Avery, and Pizza Port… Due out in late 2007, I know I can’t wait to see what goes on with this! It’s got a cool sign and logo as well, as we saw in the Rehoboth Beach Brewhouse. (On further researching this, I found out it’s going to be a sour ale with each brewer bringing their own yeast strain to Pizza Port, where it will be brewed. The inspiration was a trip that the 5 brewers took together to Belgium.)
The whole group finally amassed, Fred pointed out that DCB was in the house, and the tour began. We got the DFH history, tasted some DFH beer, saw the original tiny brew setup they used to use, saw Sir Hops a Lot (their continuous hopping apparatus), the brew house, the bottling setup, and their Quality Control Lab. It was then back to the tasting room for another drink, buy some merchandise, and the end of the tour… the end, that is, if you’re not staff for DrinkCraftBeer.com.
After networking with about half the crowd and getting the word out about our mission and the site, we bid adieu and Fred took us back into the facility. We saw the office, met some people, and finally ended up in the DFH warehouse… Where there was more beer than I have ever imagined in my life. Stacks of cases of beer 30 feet high! Kegs rising to the heavens!
Then, we saw what must have been Heaven… Sam Calagione’s private stash of vintage DFH beer! We’re talking cases and cases of World Wide Stout going back years, all the special releases. As Fred put it, “If ABC [broadcast television network] calls and wants to do a tasting, this is what they get.” After this special go-around in a beer lover’s paradise, it was time for our long-haul drive of the trip… An overnight jump to Atlanta…
You don't have to travel overnight, just click here to see our time at Sweetwater Brewing!
DogFish Head - Rehoboth Beach
Well, Tuesday found us at Rehoboth Beach, DE and our “vacation” part of the trip…kind of. We get to town and go straight for the DogFish Head Brewery, right on the main drag. This is where it all started kids! It’s also the home of their new distillery. We got lunch, and Devon ordered a Lawnmower Light and Afternoon Delight… the latter is only on tap of the brewpub and is a fairly light summer beer… it was about 100 degrees Fahrenheit out, so this was a good choice. Jeff, conversely, went with a 90 Minute Imperial IPA (hey it’s not going to get any fresher) I believe the next words out of Jeff’s mouth were straight from the movie Anchorman, “It’s so damn hot out! 90 Minute IPA was a bad choice!” Jeff moved on to a Shelter Pale Ale next… much better. Afterwards, we went to find a campground, set up camp, and then it was back to the strip.
We hit up an Irish pub next to DFH where we chatted up the bartender. After hearing of our journey, he directed us to Arena’s Deli down the street. I know, I know… “A deli?” you ask… This deli, though, had over 100 beers in the bottle and a good tap selection too… We had some great beer and dinner there at a low price, then went to have a last beer at DFH. Jeff snagged a Midas Touch while Devon had a 1 year old Burton Baton from the vintage fridge. Finally, it was back to the camp site where we built a fire and had the growler of Triumph Honey Wheat in our newly acquired Flying Fish glasses… Mmmm... Think the DFH brewpub was cool?
SlyFox (Royersford) Brewery Tour
Our final stop for Monday was SlyFox in Royersford, on recommendation from a friend. We got there in time for happy hour and half-price pints… mmmm… We ordered and started chatting up the bartender. After telling her about our journey and how we had been unable to contact people at SlyFox but were there on specific recommendation, she got her manager, Jimmy, who gave us a great tour. 
We saw the brewery in back, their huge warehouse, and enough Phoenix Pale Ale to make a grown man cry… This may be the greatest pale ale I have ever tasted! We also met Brian O’Reilly, the head brewer, who was a great guy. We also found out they have plans to soon distribute to Massachusetts… Folks, if you see any of their beer BUY IT! I kid you not, it’s that good. After you buy it, call me up and we can drink it together.
Anyway, after the tour we continued to speak with Jimmy and he bought us a pint at the bar… This is when I discovered the 113 IPA, a most delicious IPA! We then had a sampler of all the beers they had on tap. If I had to pick one place to go back to from this entire trip, SlyFox would be it. Everything was utterly stupendous! After leaving, we walked around for a while (to repeat NEVER drink craft beer and drive!). Then headed off to Devon’s cousin’s house for a good nights rest before our drive to Delaware the next day.
Click here to move onto DogFish Head Brewpub!
Flying Fish Brewery Tour
When we got to Flying Fish Brewing in Cherry Hill, NJ, we knocked on the door, to which somebody answered “Are you Jeff Wharton?” Luckily, I was! We got a tour from John Berardino, the Director of Brewery Operations, and got to talk to Casey Hughes, the Head Brewer.
John showed us the warehouse (where we saw more cases of beer and kegs than Devon and I saw in college combined) and the brewing facility, where we saw the end of the mash beer they were brewing that day. We ended up tasting a few of their choice drafts, and picked up a good variety of their beer, as you can’t get it up here in Boston.
We’ve known for a while that people in the beer scene are nice, but it was right around now that it was starting to hit me just how cool this crowd really is! Jay did a favor and made a phone call to get us into another brewery, where John and Casey took time out of their busy days to give us a private tour. And that’s not the end of it for the tour… I love this stuff!
Triumph (New Hope) Brewery Tour
Monday, we arrived at Triumph brewing in New Hope, PA… And I mean “arrived” in the loosest of manners, as River Horse and Triumph are, oh, about half of a mile apart. It’s not like we had far to go. Jeff had contacted Jay Misson, the head of brewing operations for Triumph, ahead of time and we were lucky enough that he was able to give us a private tour of the facilities.
We saw the whole shebang, including their walk-in storage refrigerator where Jay gave us a few choice gifts to remember the visit by. We can’t wait for a cool autumn night to crack those open! (UPDATE: We recieved a bottle of the Imperial Russian Stout and the Winter Bock, 750's each... We opened the IRS when I moved into a new apartment and threw a party for my friends. WOW! Triumph produces one of the best IRS's I have ever had. When we travelled to Sly Fox IPA Fest in December, we actually made sure to stop at Triumph to try the IRS on tap and were NOT disappointed. Devon and I were accompanied by our friend, Brian. The IRS was on Nitro tap, and it was as phenomenal as we remembered. If you're ever in town for the winter months, definitely stop in and try this beer!)
Anyway, after the tour we went to grab seats, some lunch, and a sampler of their beers which included: honey wheat, Irish red ale, German pilsner, Irish dry stout, IPA, saison, mild ale, and Irish red ale on cask. I know this is getting repetitive, but we were lucky as once again everything was great, and we even got a growler of the wheat and saison, our personal favorites! Also, while talking with Jay, he asked if we were planning to hit up Flying Fish Brewery. We said we would, but they weren’t doing tours that day. It turns out he knows the owner, and put in a phone call for us.
We headed straight over to Flying Fish and here's what we saw…
