Drink With The Wench » dogfish head beer

Leafy Green Info Review: Dogfish Head

Wenchie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:38:20 +0000

Fellow beer blogger and my new friend, Mike Kivowitz of Bergenation and Leafy Green Info, recently went on a tour of Dogfish Head Brewery as well as attended the DogFish Head New Years Eve’s 15 Beers for 15 Years Beer Dinner. Earlier this week he released an article about his experience.

In order to support both Dogfish Head and Mike get more exposure for this article, I am reposting it on Drink With The Wench. The following editorial content and pictures are property of Leafy Green Info — a green product review blog.

– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — Milton, DE. Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales: Most companies don’t let you get to know them and relate to them. Dogfish Head is not one of these companies. Dogfish Head is a craft brewery from Delaware and their beer is amazing but that is not the only reason I love them.

Many breweries practice in an eco-friendly way, but what Dogfish Head does is unique. They recycle the spent grains used in the brewing process to a local farm in Delaware. These grains are fed to the cows to eat and play in and once those cows are slaughtered, they actually buy back the beef for their brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, De. They also provide a local baker with some of the grains to use in creating dog treats. That’s pretty freaking cool. But DFH does a lot more than that.

They recycle their water that cools the wort also. That doesn’t seem that impressive, but ask a homebrewer. That water is usually wasted unless you have a ton of space to store water.

Dogfish Head is known for off-centered beers and wacky and surprisingly amazing flavors. Below are some of my favorites and what they do that makes them so different.

60/90/120 Minute IPA – Hops, More Hops, MORE HOPS!

Punkin – Organic brown sugar and spices and pumpkins. It tastes like pumpkin pie, but better.

Ancient Ales – They have a series of ancient recipes reconstructed. These beers are unreal you need to try them all. Some of the ingredients include chai tea, wildflower honey, grapes, organic juniper berries, cacao nibs (antioxidant-rich energy) and even quinoa (gluten-free grains).

Black Thai Brewpub exclusive – Thai basil, soybeans (locally sourced from the Delmarva Region) and real blackberry puree.

DFH is not just a brewery. It’s an experience. You must go down to Delmarva and take a tour of the ever expanding brewery, play some bocce ball, buy an organic cotton or bamboo shirt and then travel the 20 minutes to Rehoboth Beach to eat lunch or dinner.

The brewpub is loaded with fun and great beer. Sam put his heart and soul into the pub. They have a distillery upstairs that you maybe able to tour if they let you. The menu is well thought out with that local beef in the form of hamburgers, sandwiches and they even have Leafy Greens.

We headed over there for New Years Eve’s 15 Beers for 15 Years Beer Dinner. It was amazing!

This is the menu below.

The best part was the dessert. A World Wide Stout and Chocolate Milk Shake paired up with World Wide Stout and a Fort Crème Brule paired with a Fort. Oh my!

We were fortunate enough to sit upstairs in the larger private room with a small amount of people including Sam Calagione, the founder and president of DFH. I spoke to Sam and tried to get some info out of him about what else is coming down the pipe but he wouldn’t reveal any secrets.

The people at Dogfish Head really know how to have a great time. The dinner, the drinks and the entertainment were all great. Overall, it was an amazing party and I wish I could book my trip for next year already.

If you’re looking for an alternative to that boring beer, pick up a 6 pack of 60 Minute IPA or if you’re a stout guy, go for the Chicory Stout and know that you’re enjoying a beer that not only is eco-friendly, but has heart and soul.

Most Compelling BEER Personalities on TWITTER

Wenchie — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:52:30 +0000

Several bloggers and other internet sources have written posts about the “most influential” or “top” people to follow on Twitter — in specific topics of interest (such as food, wine, social media, etc…)

However, everyone seems to be over looking the beer community. Pssshhhaw. How rude. Us beer geeks can be influential and important too, ya know!

So I thought I’d take the liberty to make my own (COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE) list of the “Top 20 Most Compelling Beer Personalities on Twitter”. What exactly is my credential for creating the lists? Well let us start by defining the word compelling:

com⋅pel⋅ling [kuhm-pel-ing]
–adjective
1. tending to compel; overpowering: compelling reasons.
2. having a powerful and irresistible effect; requiring acute admiration, attention, or respect: (a man of compelling integrity; a compelling drama)

THE BEER WENCH’S CRITERIA FOR THE TOP 20 MOST COMPELLING BEER PERSONALTIES ON TWITTER:

COMPELLING ENOUGH TO FOLLOW: I must follow this person. Unfortunately, this rules out the people I do not follow — which means this list has potential to change in the future.
COMPELLING CONTENT: Tweets contain information of value in relation to the craft beer industry. (i.e.: news updates, events, announcements, beer reviews, links to beer related information, etc…)
COMPELLING PERSONALITY: Twitter personality is interesting and captivating. There is a person behind the twitter handle — they are more than just a “brand” or a “blog”.
COMPELLING CONVERSATION: Community engagers — people who are constantly engaging in conversations with the twitter community (whether it be through retweeting or replies). People who constantly have one way conversations, in my opinion, are not compelling. Talk to me. And I will follow you.
COMPELLING FOLLOWER RATIO: Good follower to following ratio. This does not mean they necessarily need to have a huge followership — number of followers is NOT criteria for this particular list. But they need to have at least an equal amount of followers as they are following.

At first, I was going to rank the top twenty followers — based on how well they execute the basic 5 criteria listed above. But, the metrics on that is too complicated for me to deal with at this time — and besides, it would be entirely way to subjective and open for debate. Instead, I’m going to list my TOP TWENTY MOST COMPELLING BEER PERSONALITIES ON TWITTER in a random order. There is no method in my madness (although, it be but madness). The numbers have no relevance to rankings. IGNORE THE NUMBERS.

THE BEER WENCH’S TOP TWENTY MOST COMPELLING BEER PERSONALITIES ON TWITTER

@dogfishbeer – Dogfish Head has (hands down) the best brewery brand presence on Twitter. Why? 1. She has a personality. AND a name. In fact, the Dogfish Head Twitter account is Mariah Calagione — aka Sam’s wife. She is constantly retweeting her followers and engaging in conversations. If you send her a question or mention her brand, she responds. Mariah kicks ass.
@TheArtofBeer — Tay Shaw is one of the biggest craft beer evangelists on Twitter. She has been known to send (coveted) craft beer all around the country to her followers. She is extremely active in the twitter community and also very entertaining.
@Cicerone_Org — Ray Daniels is one of the foremost educators on the subject of beer. He is one of the most brilliant men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in real life. If you need to know something about beer — he is the man to talk to.
#gents – AKA @kenoftheyear @DrStarkWeather @SlovakBrewer @hopcast @beerad – These dudes are hiliariously entertaining, but also a wealth of information. They get together on a frequent basis to homebrew and taste beers … and then share all of their experiences on Twitter. They also create entertaining video blogs at Hop-Cast.com Following the hashtag #gents can get addicting …
@beerbabe — Besides having a super cool name and really hot avatar, Carla defies the common misperception that women hate beer. She is a huge advocate of females in the beer industry and uses both Twitter and her blog as a platform for expressing her passion.
@hookedonwinter – PJ is one of my favorite people to banter with back and forth about beer. He is an awesome homebrewer (I know this for a fact) who is aspiring to turn his passion into a career. Through both Twitter and his blog, PJ encourages others to join his adventure in starting a brewery.
@bruisinales – This woman must be a robot, because I swear she never sleeps. Julie can be found on Twitter just about every minute of every day. No really. Her tweets are very entertaining and she provides a lot of great content regarding beer releases, beer events and beer news.
@beerandnosh — Even though I only just started following Jesse, he has provided me with a wealth of beer knowledge via Twitter. Jesse is by far one of the best beer photographers out there and I love living vicariously through his photos and tasting notes.
@TimWeber & @StephWeber – Rockstar homebrewing couple in the process of getting certified through the American Brewers Guild. They have aspirations to start their own brewpub in the next 5 years. They are very engaging and informative on Twitter. And well, ADORABLE.
@ChipperDave — I’ve been following Dave’s blog for some time now. He is well-connected in the beer world and extremely knowledgeable about all things beer. I was lucky enough to meet him in person at GABF.
@beerinator – This dude is super talented. Jonathan is a key member of the Beer Mapping Project as well as DRAFT magazine’s Web Director. He is located in Chicago — beer hub — and is extremely engaging and fun to follower.
@olllllo – Very talented homebrewer (LOVED his Pro-AM beer at GABF). Works for a brewery in Arizona. Like me, he travels in the name of beer. Great beer knowledge resource.
@StoneGreg — Another “brand” that utilizes social media very well. Greg is the owner of Stone Brewing Co. (you know … that small unknown craft brewery …) Although he travels a lot, Greg does a great job of responding to tweets as well as retweeting others.
@beersage — Currently runs one of THE best beer news sites out there — beernews.org. He is always tweeting out the most cutting edge beer news … whether it be new releases or beer events, this guy is definitely one of the best beer sources on the web!
@newbrewthursday — A collaborative team of (4) funny & cute beer geeks. All dudes. They are hilarious, supportive and very engaging on Twitter. Excited to meet them at San Diego Beer Week.
@HomeBrewChef — Chef, brewer, writer, photographer. Sean knows his beer. And on top of that, he makes amazing food — with beer as an ingredient. I’ve had his cookies — trust me, he’s good.
@SudsyMaggie — Another femme fatale in the beer industry. Beer blogger, homebrewer & huge beer evangelist, Maggie is freaking ADORABLE. Regardless of whether or not you’ve met her (I have), she is too cute not to love.
@BlatzLiquor — Joe runs Blatz Liquor, a super awesome liquor store that has a kickass beer selection. Joe constantly tweets about new releases and specials that his store is featuring … unfortunately for me, I do not live near Milwaukee … otherwise I’d be there everyday.
@TeeCycleTim — Contributing author to DRAFT magazine (online). Tim is THE Beer Runner. He writes about staying physically fit while living the life of a beer enthusiast. He is also a big environmentalist and entrepreneur.
@brewed4thought — EXTREMELY well-connected beer “geek”… always ahead of the trend. Great blogger, beer event planner and resource for all things beer. Also, THE editorof the “soon-to-be-released” online beer publication on RATEBEER.COM site (where I will be a featured publisher)… stay tuned.

Runners Up and the “Up and Coming” Beer Tweeters):

@BeerinBaltimore – Don’t let his avatar fool you. Brad does not limit himself to just tweeting about beer in Baltimore. However, he is THE best resource in Baltimore for beer events & beer news.
@odiedog52 — Brian is absolutely ADORABLE! Super beer geek … just getting into the whole swing of things with Twitter. Currently imprisoned by the Army, but soon to be released. Brian is also the beer editor for Mutineer Magazine.
@tattoodbrew — Jon is a talented graphic designer by trade, which explains why he has one of the coolest avatars on Twitter. He offsets his beer “geek” image with his badass tattoo obsession and passion for all things music.
@jchristie — Josh definitely puts the geek in “beer geek.” Where as most people are pairing their beers with food, Josh pairs his with books. He is probably the most adorable book nerd-beer geek on Twitter.
@bisonbrew — Emerging brewery brand on Twitter. Daniel is dedicated to all things organic and sustainble. Produces awesome beer … and has a down to earth personality.
@misohungry — Jenni bakes with beer. Her treats are F*ing phenomenal … and I would know. She has baked with me. Great recipes for beer geeks who want to bake with beer!
@ruinationpress – Tattoo obsessed beer geek and fellow beer blogger. Really engaging on Twitter. Good friend. Knows his shit.
@beertodd — Brewer of some awesome and unique beers at Copper Canyon in Southfield, Michigan. Super beer activist … and recently released a great viral video in support of the Rock Art Brewery movement.
@Beervangelist — Owner of New Holland Brewing Co. in Michigan. Only just started following Fred, but already … he is providing me with lots of compelling and valuable content. Fred is on my list of “brands to watch.”
@sarahhuska — Voted (in a secret ballot) as one of THE hottest beer lovers on Twitter. Many of my guy beer geek friends have a crush on her … and for good reason. She is hot. And she knows her shit about beer.

NOW … before all you Twitter beer connoisseurs out there start crying about not making this list — just remember, this is a subjective list. My list is based on the people I follow, how often I interact with them and the value of their tweets. As far as I know … this list can change over night.

The two best tips I can give to beer personalities on Twitter is 1. BE HUMAN (don’t talk AT my … talk WITH me) … and 2. BE COMPELLING.

CHEERS!