Dogfish Head

[cbsdizzo]

Why is this beer so expensive and good? Which of them are hte best. I am thinking about picking some up.

 

[Walker]

The beer is good, but it's not worth the price they charge. People in America love hops, and DFH has a gimmick with the amount and way that they add hops to their brews, so it makes their beer sell.

There are many MANY better IPAs than those produced by Dogfish Head.

-walker

 

[drengel]

they don't just make IPAs. while the 60-90-120 series is gimmicky (although still good even though there are better), they make many other beers that are just as expensive that you simnply will not find other places like india brown etc.

I'm reading a book by Sam C the owner of DFH and he saysd the price is mostly because all thier beers are pretty big, using as much as 2-3x the ingredients, and in often cases a rare ingredient. i respect his logic, although i rarely buy dfh because of the price and the fact that althouhg they are unique i tend to prefer others from closer to home.

 

[Glibbidy]

I agree with walker it is a good beer, but WAY overpriced for the product. I think the Stone brewing products that I have tried which are similar in price are far superior than DFH. This is just one example.

 

[Walker]

True, they make more than the IPAs. I had the (disappointing) opportunity to sample several of their other brews at the World Beer Fest here in Raleigh a couple of weeks ago. The others were also gimmicky; a green beer brewed with algae and "Midas Touch" which supposedly uses an ancient beer recipe from the court of King Midas himself.

 

[Ivan Lendl]

they make many other beers that are just as expensive that you simnply will not find other places like india brown etc.

Try Arrogant Bastard thats an awesome iBa...

 

[freyguy]

It's pretty close to me, so I might be biased, but I love their beers. It's my favorite brewery from all of the ones I've sampled beers from. Sure, they are slightly more expensive, but well worth it. They only use quality ingredients,and like others have said, they use some rare ingredients in some brews. There's an "advertisement", if you will, in this month's Mid-Atlantic Brewing News. It has an empty bottle of DFH 90min IPA next to a letter from Yakima Cheif, Inc. Basically the letter says thanks to DFH for using them exclusively for hops, but it also asks why they purchase enough hops for at least 280,000 barrels of beer a year, but they only put out 42,000 barrels. Says there must be a leak somewhere or something. Pretty neat add.

Their 90 min IPA is at the top of my list. My local paint store sells it for $43 a case!! Can't beat that considering a 4-pack is $10. India Brown is my go-to beer. It's my session beer. Deep and complex. Besides that, I really like the Olde School Barleywine, *************, World Wide Stout, 120 min, 60 min, and some others. And their food at their restaurant is pretty awesome too. My fav is the wood grilled rockfish with sun dried tomatoes. Mmmmmmmmm!

 

[JRGSPE73]

Just a quick noob question...I'm assuming the 60, 90, and 120 min refer to the boil times, and therefore the amount of hop bitterness?

 

[sonvolt]

Just a quick noob question...I'm assuming the 60, 90, and 120 min refer to the boil times, and therefore the amount of hop bitterness?

In the case of dogfish head, this is true. It is especially true with this series of ales because they use continuous wort hopping. They literally shoot a steady stream of hops into these beers for 60, 90, and 120 minutes respectively. That is a lot of hops!

BYO did a feature last month about creating a gadjet for doing continuous wort hopping in the style of dogfish head.

Most homebrewers do their first hop addition at 60 minutes, even with a 90 minute boil.

 

[jeffg]

I tried DFH 90 this past weekend and I thought it was a very good beer. At 9% abv, I understand why it is a little pricey, but it's a nice option to have now and then.

I can't seem to find Stone out here in bottles , although I recently tried their cask conditioned IPA at a beer festival and it was simply outstanding.

 

[ErikN]

I am lucky, I work around the corner from the DFH Alehouse in Gaithersburg. Happy Hour prices and all of their beers on tap to boot.

As far as expensive, there are plenty of eight and nine dollar per six packs in my local beer store. They all are better then the eight and nine dollar cases

 

[the_bird]

I'm bumping this because I'm trying DFH for the first time tonight (60 Minute IPA), and I'm really, really enjoying it. I can feel myself become more and more of a hophead by the minute. Great aroma, and just the right level of bitterness - not overpowering, like the Hop Rod Rye was to me. $8 a sixer is pricey but not astronomical, I pay a lot more than that when I buy some good bombers (got a Dead Guy Ale bomber for tomorrow night - frickin' $5.49).

Anyway, I'm bumping this because I think I have a new favorite beer, and I just wanted to share.

 

[Dude]

I'm bumping this because I'm trying DFH for the first time tonight (60 Minute IPA), and I'm really, really enjoying it. I can feel myself become more and more of a hophead by the minute. Great aroma, and just the right level of bitterness - not overpowering, like the Hop Rod Rye was to me. $8 a sixer is pricey but not astronomical, I pay a lot more than that when I buy some good bombers (got a Dead Guy Ale bomber for tomorrow night - frickin' $5.49).

Anyway, I'm bumping this because I think I have a new favorite beer, and I just wanted to share.

You are well on your way.

Hops are addictive (watch it, its great). Soon the 60 minute won't be enough. Then the 90 minute won't be enough. Then AB and Hop Rod Rye will be just about perfect. Then you'll be doing a Pliny the Bastid.

 

[Exo]

Hmm, I picked up a 4-pack of DFH Barley Wine and have it in the basement aging a little. I've resisted the temptation to crack one...just one open. My guess is that if I do the other 3 will slide right down.

 

[Brewno]

I was recently down to Rehoboth DE. and visited the DFH brewpub. I tried the 60 and 90 minute ales as well as their pale ale and Chickory Stout (I think?)

I really like the 60 and 90 and didn't find them overly expensive. As a matter of fact here in PA I have paid $12.50 for sixes of Smuttynose or Stoudts and $10 for Sierra Nevada or Sam Adams. As a matter of fact all the microbrews I've had or seen were $9.50 and above for a six. Weyerbacher breweries latest anniversary brew "Eleven" is $60 per case. I paid $36 for a case of their "Double Simcoe IPA"

A six of DFH down there cost me about $6-7. What I found expensive was the Imperial (120 min). It was $7 a 4 pack. But then again that comes to $1.75 per bottle for a "good" beer. A micro brew. That would make it about $10.50 per six. Expensive? For a good beer? Not when it costs $7.50 around here for a six pack of Bud ( swill).

Tommy

 

[Orpheus]

I live very close to the DFH in Gaithersburg and am very happy they opened up. They have great happy hour specials on their draft beer and, like Erikn, they have great food!

They also give discounts to AHA members!

A word of warning, I made the mistake of picking up some of their Midas touch and drank it like I would have any session beer. Oh what a mistake!

 

[Musthavbeer]

I like hops. I like malt. I was at the Rehoboth Pub 2 weeks ago. I thought their beers were unbalanced with little or no malt background. Maybe my tastes are not fully developed but my favorite beers have layers of flavors. I will say it was worth it when my brother in-law kept pounding down the 90 min IPA and developed a severe time lag. Average response times to external stimuli went to the 3-5 min range. The food was excelllent.