Barley Legal Roadtrip to Dogfish Head
I like beer. Well, actually, I love beer. I’m drinking right now, as a matter of fact. Sometimes I drink crap beer like Miller and Bud if I want to win a few rounds of Asshole before I black out, but most of the time I drink craft beer or micro brews. That means the beer has FLAVOR and can’t be bought at just any old bar. It means that some small town brewery brews it and delivers it locally, and a lot of the time, can’t be bought more than just a few states away. It means, often times, that it packs a hell of a punch in the alcohol department, and isn’t even necessarily available all of the time (seasonal) or all of the places (regional).
Dogfish Head Brewery is one such brewery. Located in Delaware, and makers of one of my favorite beers (really) for several years now, I’ve been dying to make a road trip down to the brewery and brewpub for a tour and, of course, a taste of their deliciously brewed libations. Since I brew my own home brew all the time, I was looking forward to having a better grasp on what exactly I was looking at than I did the last time I toured a brewery many years ago.
Luckily, the folks over at Barley Legal Homebrewers Club, of which I am a member, decided it was a good time and a great idea to arrange a trip and charter a bus for just such an adventure. A bus. Filled with people who brew their own beer. Driving to a brewery. Man…If I had only recorded the plea that the owner of the bus gave to us just before we departed on his luxury van. Even he knew this could be trouble.
The bus ride was 2 hours and change down a wholly unscenic highway, but we did indeed share a bunch of home brews on the way down with some new friends. I wasn’t a complete stranger to everyone, but me and Monika didn’t know 90% of the people on the bus. No worries, though, cause we already knew everyone loved to drink beer, and that’s all that matters.
Apparently the little town of Milton doesn't really like the fact that there is a brewery in their town, even though it's quite a small one and employs probably a third of them. Some guy actually tried to wave us down and tell us to go home as a busload of half drunk beerholics rumbled down the tiny main street.
this is the sculpture outside the brewery. the grounds really are pristine. green grass, artwork, the faint odor of beer in the air. unfortunately, and much to the demise of Monika who later, half drunk, attempted to scale the huge Burning Man sculpture from the outside, the stairs to the tree fort were locked.
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this is the shop and tasting room. though we were offered beers before hand, we basically all decided to go on the tour first, considering we had all just got off a two hour, beer filled bus ride.
safety first!!
we saw a lot of pipes. and some tanks. but, the tour was rather boring. Our guide was nice enough, and answered all of our questions. We just didn't get to see the whole operations. no bottling line, filling line, packaging, or even ingredients actually being brewed at all. just big tanks and lots and lots of pipes.
so, whatever, we got free beer at the end of the tour. we got to taste four different beers that could not be any fresher.
this is Gina and Scott, the owners of Keg and Barrel Homebrewe Store (where I work part time)
and this is Monika posing in front of the steampunk sculpture.
a good chunk of the group that made the bus trip. Most of them are members of Barley Legal.
and this is the luxury liner we used as our mobile bar for four hours that day.
DogFish Head Brewpub is about fifteen minutes away in the much more scenic Rehobeth Beach. Nice little town.
good food too. They reserved the whole second story for our party, and we needed all the room. The whole brewpub was pretty packed and we brought them plenty of business ourselves.
this is the only (legal) operating distillery in the state of Delaware. And that is the whole thing right there. Pretty amazing that they have such a small batch and still.
It was a beautiful day, if a bit windy, and this is the last beer we had at the brewpub.
As always, see the entire collection of photos over here, and some more here.
On The Verge of Tears 
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