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: