Our Trip to Dogfish Head Brewery
by Frank & Theresa Petrarca
December 9, 2008
My wife Theresa & I have known Greg & Mary Ann Christmas for over 20 years and they are like family to us. Greg taught me just about everything I know about brewing (and enjoying) beer. Not only is he an award-winning brewer but he also had a lot of plant engineering/managerial experience with various companies over the years. So when Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware was looking for a Head Plant Engineer I knew he was perfect for the job and apparently our friends at DFH did too because they hired him. We miss our friends but they scored a Head Plant Engineer with the knowledge & passion for good beer like very few I brewers I have ever met. I really hope they thanked the Beer Gods after he walked in for that interview. Talk about a perfect match!
On our 27th wedding anniversary we took our first trip to Milton, Delaware. We arrived at 3:50 and Greg had us already scheduled for the 4pm tour. When you walk in the door at DFH the first thing that assaults your senses is the smell of hops- LOTS of hops. (Did I mention I LOVE Hops??) The tour is interesting and the quantities they use compared to home brewing is impressive. After touring the plant there were free tastings. They had the 60 & 90 minute IPA along with the India Brown Ale and 2 others which I believe were Burton Baton & Theobrama. The barrels we are standing in front of at the entrance were supposed to age some kind of beer but for reasons unknown never made it into the brewery.
The brewery itself was very clean and there is stainless as far as the eye can see. The wooden barrels they use to age the specialty beers in were quite impressive. There are 2 oaken barrels and 1 Palo Santo barrel used to exclusively age the Palo Santo Marron. Some interesting facts about this barrel (as explained by Greg): It is the densest wood in the world. It will sink like a rock when put in water and it feels like you’re holding very wet treated lumber. It took specialized equipment just to cut the tree down as the first crew broke many saw blades trying to cut it down. From South America it was shipped to upstate New York to a specialty barrel maker. Keep in mind that (unlike Oak) the tree itself is not very tall and it took many short pieces to construct this barrel. Once it arrived at DFH it was Greg’s task to get it sealed and prepare it to be filled with Palo Santo Marron. Oaken barrels are usually filled with water where they swell and eventually quit leaking. This barrel had to be fitted with a steam fitting for several days in order to swell the wood enough to stop leaking. It was quite the undertaking but the folks at DFH have very unique and creative ideas for new beers. It is these types of extreme components/ingredients that make DFH beers so unique.
Installation of these new tanks was one of Greg’s first projects. A hole had to be cut in the ceiling and they were lifted in with a crane.
The grain mill where they weigh & then crack the grain:
After the tour was over Greg took me into the brewery for an up-close & personal tour. I got to see the new kegging & bottling lines and tasted beer right from the monster conditioning tank. Sweet! The next day we went back and I saw the yeast propagation system and the main brewhouse control room. Looking down into the mash/lauder tun damn near gave me vertigo! Greg is on the left in back of me and I’m on the right.
Here is the view from above:
And the control room, quite impressive!
And the continuous hopping device that makes their 60, 90 & 120 minute IPA so special- the device affectionately known as “Sofa King Hoppy” (say that 3 times real fast!)
From the control room with just the click of a mouse they add a “secret ingredient”…
(Just kidding, it’s only water and goes into the sink, but it’s hilarious!!)
I also got to see their yeast propogation lab- this Yeast propagator grows a 100 BBL pitch. As a bread baker for many years and home brewer for 5 years the thought of growing all this yeast was awesome.
They just installed a new kegging line which is quite impressive. It cleans, sanitizes and fills all on the same conveyer. Up until now every keg was filled one at a time manually moving it around. It has greatly improved their kegging capacity.
We also went to the Dogfish Head Brewpub which is on Rehoboth Beach about 25 minutes away from the brewery. We had a good lunch and of course some of their great beers. The original “home brewing” system is still there. They distill and sell specialty Vodka & Rum at this location only. We brought our daughter back a bottle of Chocolate Vodka and she loved it. We tasted the cherry, pomegranate, chocolate vodka along with some spiced rums.
Greg also broke out some of his personal stashes that night and we proceeded to taste some great beers. Like most DFH beers they were strong & unique but quite tasty. And I think he hurt me. Oh yeah. They’re strong alright but so very unique. You never know what the next beer is going to have in it…
Our stay was short but it was really good to see Greg & Mary Ann. We miss having them around but know that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Greg to work the job of his dreams. Just remember that when you drink Dogfish Head Beers you’re drinking a product that an Indiana brewer and a very good friend of mine has helped to bring to your glass. We made it home safe & sound with a few DFH beers and some tourist swag in the back.
So if you are ever out on the East coast I would highly recommend a stop in Milton, Delaware to tour the Dogfish Head Brewery. Be sure to call ahead for reservations as the tours are getting full well in advance. The people are friendly and the beer is definitely off-centered by choice. “Off-centered ales for off-centered people” is their motto. Great stuff!
Cheers!
Frank & Theresa Petrarca
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