Dogfish Head Brewery
| File:Dogfishhead.gif | |
| Industry | Alcoholic beverage |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| Founder | Sam Calagione |
| Headquarters | , USA |
| Products | Beer |
Production output | 75,000 US beer barrels (8,800,000 L; 2,300,000 US gal; 1,900,000 imp gal) |
| Website | http://www.dogfish.com/ |
| Footnotes / references "Off-centered stuff for off-centered people" | |
Dogfish Head Brewery is a brewing company based in Milton, Delaware founded by Sam Calagione.[1] It opened in 1995[2][3] and produces 75,000 barrels of beer annually.[4] The brewery was featured prominently in the documentary Beer Wars.
Products
Dogfish Head's output tends toward experimental or "extreme" beers, such as their tongue-in-cheek "Liquor de Malt," a bottle-conditioned malt liquor which typically comes in its own brown paper bag. Their products often use non-standard ingredients, such as green raisins in their "Raison D'Être". Some of their beers, including the WorldWide Stout, 120 Minute India Pale Ale, and the raspberry-flavored strong ale Fort, are highly alcoholic, reaching 18% to 20% alcohol by volume (typical beers have around 3% to 7% alcohol by volume). Most are not really beers, as they don't stand up to the German purity law ingredients for beer.
One of Dogfish Head's more notable odd beers was a green beer called Verdi Verdi Good, produced in 2005 and sold only on draft. The beer was not colored green artificially; rather, the green color was derived from brewing a Dortmunder style beer that contained spirulina, or blue-green algae.
Pangaea, first released in 2003, is a Belgian-style strong pale ale made with ingredients from every continent on Earth, including: crystallized ginger from Australia, water from Antarctica, Basmati rice from Asia, and more.[5] The name Pangaea refers to the super-continent of the same name which is theorized to have existed about 250 million years ago.
IPAs
Dogfish Head's signature product is its line of India Pale Ales (IPAs), which are offered in three varieties: 60 Minute, 90 Minute, and 120 Minute IPA. Their names refer to the length of the boil time of the wort in which the hops are continuously added. The longer hops are boiled, the more hop isomerization takes place, and the more bitterness is imparted to the beer. The 60 Minute is described by the company as "A session IPA brewed with Warrior, Amarillo and Mystery Hop X. Bottle-conditioned 6-packs and draft available. 60 IBUs." To further enhance their beers, Dogfish Head introduced a device in 2003 jokingly called Randall the Enamel Animal, an "organoleptic hop transducer module" which "Randallizes" a given beer by passing the beer through a large plastic tube filled with a flavor enhancer, often raw hops though adaptations with fruits and coffee beans, amongst others, have taken place. The alcohol in the beer lifts oils off the raw hops and imparts even more hop flavor to beers that were already hoppy to begin with.
A fourth IPA variety, the 75 Minute IPA, was developed in 2008, and is currently produced in very limited quantities, and typically distributed to vendors in firkins. The beer—nicknamed "Johnny Cask" and featuring a mascot resembling a young Johnny Cash tapping a firkin with a mallet—is made from a mixture of the 60 and 90 Minutes IPAs, and undergoes a separate cask conditioning which further includes the addition of maple syrup.[6]
Ancient Ales
In the late 90s, Dogfish Head started a unique "Ancient Ales" series, in which beer recipes were created based upon the chemical analysis of residue found on pottery and drinking vessels from various archaeological sites. As of 2009, only three such brews have been crafted, and only one (Midas Touch) is produced year round. The others are produced on a limited basis.
- Midas Touch Golden Elixir (first released in 1999). A strong ale based on residue found on drinking vessels from the tomb of King Midas, dating back to the 8th century BC. Defining ingredients include Muscat grapes, honey, and saffron. (See section below for more information.)
- Chateau Jiahu (first released in 2006). A spiced strong ale based on residue from pottery found in the Neolithic village of Jiahu, dating to the 7th millennium BC. Some defining ingredients include rice flakes, wildflower honey, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers. As of 2009, this is the oldest known beer recipe to be brewed in the modern age.[7]
- Theobroma (first released in 2008). A chocolate beer based on residue found on pottery discovered in Honduras dating to approximately 1200 BC. Some defining ingredients include Aztec cocoa powder, honey, and annatto.
Midas Touch
Midas Touch Golden Elixir, currently marketed as Midas Touch, was first marketed in June 2001. The recipe for this beverage is based on the chemical analysis of residues found in clay vessels believed to date back to the 8th century BC. Originally discovered in Gordium, Turkey during a 1957 dig by archaeologist Rodney Young, the content of these vessels was left unknown for 40 years. In 1997, molecular archeologist Dr. Patrick McGovern received a phone call from a former student of his informing him of a residue on clay jars from the tomb of King Midas. Dr. McGovern quickly did chemical analysis finding all aspects of the drink except for the spicing agent but made an assumption of saffron due to regional availability.[8]
In March 2000 the owner of Dogfish Head Brewery, Sam Calagione, attended a special dinner for beer writer Michael Jackson. At this time Dr. McGovern and Mr. Calagione met and discussed recreating the brew. In early 2001 the new beverage was served at a dinner recreating the funeral feast of King Midas. At $150 a plate the meal was a benefit to support the Chemical Archaeology program at University of Pennsylvania.[8]
Currently Dogfish Head brewery only dispenses approximately 1,700-1,800 cases per month to distributors. At the time of discovery Midas Touch Golden Elixir was the oldest fermented beverage recipe discovered. Dogfish Head brewery still today holds the record with a 9,000 yr old recipe used for Chateau Jiahu, which was released in July 2007.[9]
The ingredients for the original 7.5% abv recipe in 2001 included yellow muscat grapes, lightly toasted 2-row barley malt, thyme honey, and saffron.[10] The ingredients for the current 9% abv recipe include barley, white Muscat grapes, honey and saffron.[11]
Microdistillery
Dogfish Head also operates a microdistillery at the Rehoboth Beach brewpub.[12] Spirits are hand-distilled in a small pot still and often, like their beers, tend toward unique and non-traditional formulations. The distillery is very small; Dogfish Head spirits are distributed only in Delaware and a handful of other states. Select brews (including many of the brewery's seasonal and one-off selections) can be found in 27 states across the country. Dogfish Head also licenses "Dogfish Head Alehouse" with three locations in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Falls Church, Virginia, and Fairfax, Virginia. Beer-paired food and vintage bottles of Dogfish's seasonal beers are available at their alehouses, as well as kegged offerings of their staple beers.
List of Beers Brewed by the Dogfish Head Brewery
| Name | Original Release Date | Availability | Style | ABV% | IBU | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Minute IPA | Feb 2003 | Year Round | IPA | 6.0 | 60 | |
| 90 Minute IPA | Apr 2001 | Year Round | IPA | 9.0 | 90 | |
| Indian Brown Ale | Dec 1999 | Year Round | Brown Ale | 7.2 | 50 | |
| Lawnmower | Jul 2007 | Limited, Draft Only | 4.0 | 9 | ||
| Midas Touch | Mar 1999 | Year Round | 9.0 | 12 | ||
| Palo Santo Marron | Dec 2007 | Year Round | Brown Ale | 12.0 | 50 | |
| Raison D'Etre | Mar 1998 | Year Round | Brown Ale | 8.0 | 25 | |
| Shelter Pale Ale | Jun 1995 | Year Round | Pale Ale | 5.0 | 30 | |
| 120 Minute IPA | Apr 2003 | Limited | IPA | 18.0 | 120 | |
| Bitches Brew | Jun 2010 | Limited | 9.0 | 38 | ||
| Black & Blue | Feb 2007 | Limited | 10.0 | 25 | ||
| Burton Baton | Nov 2004 | Limited | 10.0 | 70 | ||
| Chateau Jiahu | Jul 2006 | Limited | 8.0 | 10 | ||
| Fort | Oct 2005 | Limited | 18.0 | 49 | ||
| Immort Ale | Jul 1997 | Limited | 11.0 | 50 | ||
| Liquor De Malt | Feb 2009 | Not Avaialable | ||||
| My Antonia | Oct 2008 | Limited | 7.5 | |||
| Namaste | Jun 2009 | Limited, Draft Only | Witbier | 5.0 | 20 | |
| Olde School Barleywine | Oct 2002 | Limited | Barley wine | 15.0 | 85 | |
| Pangaea | Nov 2003 | Limited | 7.0 | 28 | ||
| Red & White | Jan 2007 | Limited | Witbier | 10.0 | 35 | |
| Sah'tea | May 2009 | Limited | 9.0 | 6 | ||
| Squall IPA | May 2009 | Limited | Imperial IPA | 9.0 | ||
| Theobroma | May 2008 | Limited | 9.0 | |||
| World Wide Stout | Dec 1999 | Limited | 18.0 | 70 | ||
| Aprihop | Mar 2004 | Seasonal | American IPA | 7.0 | 50 | |
| Chicory Stout | Jul 1995 | Seasonal | 5.2 | 21 | ||
| Festina Pecha | Jun 2007 | Seasonal | Berliner_Weisse | 4.5 | 8 | |
| Punkin Ale | Nov 1994 | Seasonal | Brown Ale | 7.0 | 28 |
Source: Dogfish Head Brewery - The Brews [13]
References
- ^ Bilger, Burkhard (November 24, 2008). "A Better Brew: The rise of extreme beer". The New Yorker.
- ^ Perman, Stacy (November 19, 2007). "Dogfish Head: Brewing Up Relationships". BusinessWeek.
In 1995, Calagione opened...Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, in Rehoboth Beach.
- ^ Delaware Governor's Office (February 3, 2005). "Dogfish Head Brewery Receives ... Loan to Update its Manufacturing Facility". Archived from the original on 2007-05-21.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery opened in 1995...
- ^ Spence, Kevin (December 21, 2008). "Dogfish Head beer: Luxury meets affordability: Sales continue to soar in Milton". Cape Gazette.
- ^ Dogfish Head. "Pangaea". The Brews: Occasional Rarities.
- ^ Dogfish Announces 75 Minute IPA Simul-cask.
- ^ Dogfish Head (August 2006). "Chateau Jiahu". The Brews: Occasional Rarities.
- ^ a b Modern Brewery Age (July 22, 2002). "Recreating King Midas' Golden Elixir: in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania, an American brewer makes a beer for the ages".
- ^ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/07/0718_050718_ancientbeer.html
- ^ [1]
- ^ Dogfish Head. "Midas Touch". The Brews: Year Round Beers.
- ^ Erace, Adam (September 10, 2007). "Fresh, Local Beer". AroundPhilly.com.
- ^ "The Brews". Retrieved 2010-08-09.