Dogfish Head- Method to the madness

Overall, I haven't been impressed with DFH beers, although I applaud them for attempting to resurrect extinct beer formulas/types. Most of their resurrected beers make me glad I live now, with our selections. I haven't run across Piercing Pils yet, but, not a pils fan, I will give it a try anyway.

 

I think given their stable of "regular" beers, they have little to prove, and I view their "weird" beers as a laboratory of innovation. I don't always like funding that research when I don't enjoy the end product, but then again, I knew I was taking a chance in the first place.

But as to my first point, it's so easy to lose sight of the quality of 60 minute, 90 minute Raison D'etre, etc. because they are so ubiquitous. I'll never turn them down, though, and if they're in my fridge, they won't last long.

 

My thoughts exactly.

Anyone who ignores the very very tasty core line put out by DFH simply because they didn't like the beers that are extreme or very odd has their head too far up their own ass for me to take very seriously.

 

I feel very similar to the OP regarding DFH. Their 61 took a lot of heat--not sure what people were expecting--it was exactly what they described. Other "off centered" offerings like Aprihop, and Punk are an annual 4 pack or two. I suspect they have been doing pumpkin longer than anyone-it was one their first beers in 1995. What was quirky has become something highly replicated (and seldom as well).

Sam has been quoted that he could build a brewery to brew 60 only but that is not his passion. Good for him--and us.

 

A friend accused me of not liking Dogfish Head, and I wasn't quite sure why he thought that, especially when I own more of their merch than any other brewery. My guess is that I'm often excited about newer breweries, new to my state breweries, and a wider selection of seasonals and limited brews. Sometimes I have to return to those classic craft beers such as Indian Brown that might get overlooked sometimes. The larger, more experimental beers are always interesting to try, but not necessarily worth a repeat purchase for me, personally.

Also, I wish they'd consider canning their beers. That might renew some interest for folks.

 

Im with qchic on the experimental beers. Many are so subjective, you either love one or hate the other and the guy next to you has the exact opposite opinion. I wish they'd bring back shelter pale ale, it was such a solid entry level craft beer that they did well but kind of dropped (its very hard to even find on tap anywhere!)

Also, they should stop making such crazy tap handles so as not to send me to the poor house...

 

I have respect for how much they experiment and push the envelope but I don't like their special releases too much. Their year round lineup however is fantastic. If Burton Baton was a special release or rare I think people would go crazy for it.

 

Nicely stated. Love 'em, hate 'em, or meh 'em (and I'm allergic to the term "meh") the beer world would NOT be the same without 'em.

DFH keeps everybody thinking, and talking about them...and beer. I love you Dogfish Head...and right now I want to come visit you...at the beach in DE.

Anyway, I've heard a lot of good things about Piercing Pils from the very reputable sources on BA.

 

I love trying their beers. I usually have no idea of what they are going to taste like. It's maddening that they aren't distributed in Missouri. I have to pick it up when I travel and luckily also have family grab some of it when they come to town. I'll be interested to see how they stack up in terms of my perception of them verses how I rate them. Wish I had been rating years ago.

Other breweries I support that out out experimental beers I can really think of off hand...
Obviously Stone and New Belgium (Lips of Faith). Founders to an extent. Perennial is in that vein (with some definite hits and some misses). Can anyone recommend some other breweries who do things out of the norm?

 

Yes, a wonderful idea!

 

+1 Agree with OP and the well stated logic.

 

I think "inspired by" is a better way of looking at it rather than "resurrected."

I believe Dogfish is taken for granted here. I started out very intrigued by them, then I eventually considered them too gimmicky, and now I'd say I respect them.

I met Sam a long time ago and he really left me with the impression that he's a great spokesman for the industry. Marketing can be seen as a dirty word, but Dogfish Head is blowing the doors off of other breweries in this department. I've met people that gave me the impression that they could probably only name three breweries: Budweiser, Miller, and Dogfish Head. Though some might be cynical about this, it is a remarkable achievement.

 

They're OK and make some good beers. 60 Minute is a solid super drinkable east coast IPA. They just don't make all the "big beers" everyone gets a hard on over.

And let's be clear: i dont understand the "gimmicky" label. DFH is not gimmicky relative to the other crazy shit out there. How come no one ever calls Founders gimmicky? Using a Canadian Mountie on a bottle of CBS, which is made with chocolate and coffee, and then aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels (seriously who has ever heard of these before Founders used them). Seems like it is not gimmicky as long as you age it in something like everyone else, right (or, wait, is that the definition of gimmicky--I can never keep things straight). Seems like hating on DFH and calling them gimmicky has about the same meaning as drinking a can of Pabst at the bar.


PS - CBS is my fave, so no hate here for Founders either. Mmmmm.

 

Their beer is overpriced IMO. Here is what I think about some of their beers:
60 minute IPA: My favorite of their regular lineup. Very good IPA. But at $11.99 per six pack, I currently have atleast 6 other IPA's that I prefer to it
90 minute: Pretty good, getting hard to find fresh around here, sits on the shelves, not my favorite.
Punkin: My favorite DFH beer, each year I pick up a few four packs and really enjoy this beer.
World Wide Stout: Great beer, terrible price. I really did like this stout but will never drink it again do to the price. It is the worst beer I have ever spent $8.99 on a single of. BCBCs was cheaper than this.
120: Kind of similar to WWS in that I had to try it and now that I have I would never consider paying $10 for a single again.
61: Worst "beer" I have ever tried hands down. Only beer I have ever been mad that I tried.

Other than that I have tried a bunch of experimental stuff that was mediocre at best. Overall I think they have decent beer but its overpriced, and for the price point you can get much better beer. I'm not a cheapskate who only buys cheap beer either. I'll willing pay these prices or higher but when I do it's usually for better beer.

 

If 61 is the worst beer you've ever tried it's probably time to try more beers...

 

I've tried 100's, 1000's? of beers over the past 5 years. The only other beer I have ever had to throw away was Shipyard Pumpkin. I'd vastly prefer any crap beer or wine over this, as this tastes like they mixed the two.

But you're right I do need to try a ton more beers, hopefully for the rest of my life. Finding a worse one than 61 is far from the reason though.

 

I agree with Providence, Piercing Pils is a wonderful brew in my opinion. Probably one of my favorites from DFH in some time! I think I am one of the few people who have found some middle ground with DFH. Definitely not a cheerleader, but I don't hate. I think they brew quite a bit of worthy beer, and love that they push the envelope, even if I don't fall in love with each brew.

 

I am somewhere in the middle on them actually. I like a few brews and don't like a few others. All in all, I think of them as a quality brewer though. I loved Bitches Brew, but with the price tag I have seen on that, looks like I'll be skipping it from now on. I will continue to buy 90min from time to time though, really love that beer!

 

I was way more enamored with DFH earlier in my craft-drinking experience, as they were producing unusual ales and that had a lot of allure for me.
But as time has passed, I find more misses than hits, and I'm finding that a fair number of their creations are too sweet for me. I'll still try 'em, 'cuz they really do make a lot of neat stuff, but I don't return to their products as often as I would've thought a couple of years ago.