The Dogfish Inn & Brewery
Beach &
brewery tours
= grownup
fun ’
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BY GINNY LAWHORN
D ogfish Head has taken crisp, clev-
erly named beers, a truly unique
company ethos, three towns in
Delaware and in all has created
much more than a company: It
has created a culture. One sunny,
off-season morning, I set out to
spend two days immersed in this culture
while staying cozy in the Dogfish Inn in
Lewes, Delaware.

In 2014, Dogfish Head expanded its craft
brewing and spirits kingdom to include this
inn. This unassuming, two-building prop-
erty, formally known as Vesuvio Motel,
includes 14 rooms with a mix of double,
queen and king options. Adjacent to the
main building is a cottage that houses the
Cottage SWEET! featuring a king bedroom,
a separate living room and a kitchenette.

Nearby is the Suite SWEET!, a beach house
that provides expanded amenities for vis-
itors who may prefer a bit more room to
stretch out for their time at the beach.

Once settled, I decide to start with the
obvious fan favorite and head to nearby
Milton to check in for a Dogfish Head Brew-
ery tour. There, I meet Kim Koot, a veteran
guide. We don our safety glasses and dive
into all things Dogfish. Koot starts with an
32 WashingtonFAMILY MAY 2019
explanation of the Eureka moment when
founder Sam Calagoine added unwashed,
over-ripe cherries to a homebrew, adding
extra yeast and amplifying flavor. This happy
accident would pivot Calagoine’s life from
pursuing a writing career to blazing a trail in
the American craft beer industry.

As we walk the halls of the brewery
exploring classic beers and new expres-
sions, Calagoine’s literary background
shines through in all of the puns and
word play that have help define Dogfish’s
“Two days with Dogfish
was a dream trip for
a beverage writer
and business
owner like me.”
identity — and market share. The brand’s
flagship expressions, the 60 Minute, 90 Min-
ute and 120 Minute IPAs, found their names
in the continual hop process, Koot says.

Calagoine found inspiration for this process
while watching a cooking show that taught
viewers to flavor soup through a cycle of
continuous seasoning. He then purchased an
electric football game at a local thrift store
and rigged the board at an angle to shimmy
hops throughout the brewing process.

Inn guests have a few more tour options
available as part of their stay. The Grain
to Glass package opens normally off-limit
parts of the brewery to inn guests, and the
INNclusive package is available Thurs-
day through Saturday for long-weekend
visitors and includes roundtrip transpor-
tation from the inn to the brewery and
later the to brew pub in Rehoboth Beach
for $45 per person.

Other tips
Not a beer drinker? Dogfish Head has spent
the last 16 years cultivating a craft spirit
line as unique as its beer. The base for all
of its spirits is the same 100 percent brew-
er’s malt and its proprietary “doggie” yeast
base used in its beers. This base provides not