A Visit to Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg
Is it wrong to expect an innovative brewery to have equally forward thinking alehouses? Because heading to the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg, MD, I was trying to think what kind of otherworldly experience it would be, coming from folks who turn out great beer like the 60-Minute IPA as well as interesting mixes like the Midas Touch. Would the menu continue fusions where the beer left off? Would the atmosphere push together styles that have never met?
If you’ve had Dogfish Head beer, you know that they don’t mess around. As the slogan says “Off-centered ales, for off-centered people.” Even their standard line of beers (60 Minute IPA, 90 Minute IPA, Indian Brown, et al) are all known for having bold flavors and just about lead the pack for east coast “big” beers. At the same time, their more experimental flavors like the Midas Touch (with Muscat grapes, saffron and honey) or the Palo Santo Marron (aged in a specific Paraguayan wood) push the limits of what Americans will call beer. But it seems like Dogfish Head used all of their originality in the brewing.
The eating at their alehouse is not bad per se, as we noted in our visit to the Falls Church location in 2007. But how many more restaurants do we need with the same bacon cheeseburger, blackened chicken sandwich and wings? It’ll soak up the high ABV beer that you’re enjoying, but not much more than that. It’s like they consulted with the same chefs that designed Friday’s or Tuesday’s or Hooters. And the décor of old black and whites with random knick-knacks on the walls makes that suggestion all the more plausible. Having the beer at home is much more appealing.
Now I realize that criticizing a great brewer for bad food is like criticizing Michael Jackson for being such a public weirdo (“But he made ‘Off the Wall’ and ‘Thriller,’ who cares what he does off the mic!”), so let’s get to the beer:
60 Minute IPA - A classic in the world of IPAs. The continual feeding of hops stopped at 60 minutes (unlike its 90 and 120 minute brethren) brings out the citrus and sweetness in the blend of three hops without crossing the line into bitterness or extreme ABV. Nice gold color, easy to drink and possibly the best East Coast IPA.
SAH’ TEA - Christmas in July! Dogfish Head again digs up a beer recipe from centuries back and twists it into something new. The aroma was similar to chai (thus the name) and the coloring like a karmeliet. To taste, the sugars matched the karmaliet coloring, but with some cloves, cinnamon and ginger mixed in. Beautifully complex, almost tasting of bitters (the digestif, not the taste of dry hopping), this new release is sure to make waves.
Festina Peche - some Dogfish Head beers are more interesting or clever than great, and this one walks the line. We only had a sample (at the waitress' suggestion) and it’s hard to say how a whole pint would go down. A mix of tart and sour peach flavors, as if they mainly used peach skin and not nectar in the process. Sparkling wine lovers could really fall for this as a summer alternative as its crispness and carbonation come off like a flavored Prosecco. Best of all, it’s around 4 percent ABV, which means all of the implied sugar should not necessarily mean a headache in the morning. Good enough that I’m going to buy some for the porch and give it a second go.
Indian Brown Ale - a mash up of different styles and a great choice for when you can’t decide on what to drink. A hop flavor dialed back a bit from the 60 Minute, with the nuttiness of a brown and a strong malt character. Better in a pint glass where it has a chance to breathe.
Some of these were part of the “Sampler,” which I got to see how the beer differed on tap from my usual bottle experience. For the record, it’s just as great. This also included the 90 Minute IPA, Shelter Pale Ale, and Raison d’Etre. So if you haven’t had much Dogfish Head, this is a good start.
If you love the typical chain-food fare with baseball on big-screen TVs, you could do much worse than the Dogfish Head Alehouse. At least you know the beer will be fantastic.