LIFE

A new, supersized Dogfish Head brewpub

Patricia Talorico
The News Journal

REHOBOTH BEACH - Sam Calagione says he feels absolutely no performance pressure now that he has won a James Beard Award, one of the nation's most prestigious, well-respected culinary and beverage honors.

Sitting in a wooden barrel-shaped booth at his brand-new, multimillion-dollar Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats restaurant on Rehoboth Avenue set to open May 19, Calagione says he doesn't think receiving the most Outstanding Wine, Beer, or Spirits Professional award earlier this month is a game changer.

"I don't feel any different," he says, sipping his brewery's tart, slightly salty SeaQuench Ale, and adds he was glad he could thank his wife, Mariah, and more than 200 co-workers for the recognition he felt they should all share. "I don't feel more pressure."

No disrespect to the boss, but Zach Dick, the brewpub's executive chef, disagrees. Sitting next to Calagione, Dick silently nods yes, yes, yes when Calagione is asked if the Beard Award has changed anything.

Calagione seems surprised. "Really?" he says, as the chef continues to nod.

Sam Calagione talks about their new, $4 million Dogfish head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

Dick says he believes customers, especially foodies, coming to the new location are going to expect more now than ever before from the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery founder and president and his staff and are interested in what's coming next.

"Just look at the fingerprints on the window," he jokes, pointing to the glass in the booth, purposely shaped like beer bubble, where for months the curious have been peering inside from the sidewalk of the town's main thoroughfare.

Indeed, it could be a whole new playing field for Dogfish Head as it gets ready to unveil a 6,300-square-foot, modern, hard-to-miss two-story building erected in a former parking lot next to the old brewpub that's been several years in the making. Calagione this week gave The News Journal an exclusive look at the new, 180-seat brewpub.

Calagione, a beer drinker with champagne tastes, confirms the price tag for the project is a cool – and pricey – $4 million.

"If I worked for a corporation, I'd get fired for spending that much on a brewpub," Calagione says, standing in the spacious, gleaming kitchen, which includes a pasta machine imported from Italy, a custom open-flame pizza oven and a wood grill that will be fed a continuous diet of oak and hickory logs that are stacked in the main dining room.

Live, original music is so important to Calagione, especially when eating and drinking, "we built our whole facility around it." The main focus in the new building is its elevated, 220-square-foot stage, equipped with a premium sound and lighting system and professional soundboard that was created for showcasing local and national bands. Acts already booked include Richard Lloyd, formerly of the punk band Television, and Marshall Crenshaw.

View of the interior of the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

"It cost more than our entire original brewing system," says Calagione, proudly pointing to the soundboard on the second floor that will have another, smaller bar. Those who desire a quieter, more intimate spot can request one of the barrel-shaped booths. But, take note, it's first-come, first-serve, and Dogfish Head plans to continue its no-reservations policy.

Dogfish Head's signature style for 22 years has been always been go big and bold or go home. Calagione, a pioneer of beers with take-no-prisoners flavors and culinary ingredients, has dared to put scrapple in beer as well as other offbeat ingredients like chocolate, lobster and raisins. His "off-centered" efforts have been highly praised and rewarded.

View of the second floor seating at the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

Dogfish Brewings & Eats is already a popular destination restaurant. Dick says they can serve close to 1,000 customers a day. Yet, while the Dogfish beer selections there have often been labeled as excellent, the satisfying but not-so-memorable food served at the old brewpub hasn't always seemed to match the quality of the beverages.

That is changing, Calagione says.

"We never had such an intentional culinary program," he says, adding there is now a full-time person in charge of sourcing the best – and most regional – ingredients for chefs at both Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats and Chesapeake & Maine, its next-door seafood eatery that also was recognized this year by the James Beard Foundation as having one of the best bar programs in the country.

Dogfish Fish now is so laser-focused on its own products, it no longer does food collaborations, such as a line of sausages, hop-infused pickles and canned clam chowder that were offered for sale at its Milton brewery, online, in some stores and at the Rehoboth brewpub.

Executive chef, Zach Dick, grills the bread for the Man's Man Grilled Cheese sandwich which will be available at the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

Brewpub Chef Zach Dick, a veteran of restaurants in New York and Florida, is more than ready to produce award-winning caliber food at the new location. He has pored over the new menu, tweaking some items, such as crab corn chowder and the Indulgence burger, a crowd favorite, and is completely overhauling dishes like the Dogpile. Previously an artichoke-spinach dip and melted mozzarella, it now will be a Dogfish Head take on nachos.

Dick says the homemade pizza dough has changed. While attending culinary school at Johnson & Wales University, Dick studied with baking expert/cookbook author Peter Reinhart, also a James Beard winner, and has picked up many tips for creating a thin, crisp "neo-Neapolitan" crust. The pizza, baked in an oven heated to 720 degrees for just over 2 minutes, will be served browned, blistered and topped with house-made ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.

The Man's Man Grilled Cheese sandwich which will be available at the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

Dick has also previously worked with New York chef/restaurateur and James Beard winner David Bouley, known for his high standards, and at The Breakers, a highly rated hotel in Palm Beach, Florida. He plans on baking pretzels in-house and is excited about a giant "Man's Man" Wood-Grilled Cheese Sandwich that's stuffed with gooey cheddar, gouda and provolone cheeses and served with dark, rich Palo Santo Marron infused onion jam.

"We're going to push the envelope on the food," Dick says.

Carrie Leishman, president and chief executive officer of the Delaware Restaurant Association, says she thinks customers are looking forward to seeing the same "Maverick-style" that Calagione has brought to his beer, now be reflected in his food. She says Calagione has already shown his forward-thinking approach at Chesapeake & Maine.

"People want to see what made him a rock star and his unique style and funkiness," Leishman says. "This is the perfect opportunity for him to show people his personality and show that his dedication to beer will be consistent with his dedication to food. I know I can't wait to see it."

At the new Dogfish, Calagione has created his own personal "man cave," so to speak, celebrating some of his favorite things – beer, punk rock and hip-hop music, along with casual, wood-grilled food.

The building actually is anything but a cave. The bright, airy and contemporary design from DIGSAU Architects, a Philadelphia-based firm that also designed Dogfish Head's brewery in Milton, features a soaring, exposed ceiling; full-length windows; and warm wooden walls. Two metal staircases lead to a mezzanine dining area that overlooks the main room and stage. Pendant lighting hangs over some of the booths. Photos of punk rock stars such as The Ramones and Patti Smith share wall space with artwork of Sonic Youth and Run-D.M.C.

View of the interior of the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

The main dining room has special "off-centered" quirks, such as the barrel-shaped booths and a nook by the bar. It is pretty much everything that the cramped and dark former crabhouse was not.

The old building will remain open all summer for visitors to purchase Dogfish Head merchandise and to fill crowlers and growlers to-go. It will then be razed, and an open courtyard will be created in its place, connecting Dogfish Head and Chesapeake & Maine.

Calagione feels no real sense of nostalgia, no sadness in letting go of the old brewpub.

"It was not bittersweet; it was sweet," he says of the May 7 closing. He was more than ready to say goodbye to the aging building with its sometimes faulty HVAC system and a kitchen that could reach 125 degrees in the summer.

"The old Brewings & Eats was not world-class. Not one person has said, 'I'm really bummed to see that new space,'" he says.

View of the exterior of the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

However, at the May 7 closing, some patrons, perhaps wanting a piece of history, did try to take home bar stool "souvenirs." One even pulled out a screwdriver to score Dogfish memorabilia from the walls. Calagione says staffers had to politely remind the customer that taking something that didn't belong to him is, ahem, stealing, and to please put the tool away.

For several years, the Calagiones have wanted to create a better atmosphere for customers and improve the aging restaurant's look with a new structure. It turned out to be a much more rocky road than the owners imagined.

During an April 2015 city Board of Adjustment meeting, the Calagiones asked for permission to expand and create a modern building, but they were turned down. What was even more startling was when one board member suggested they move the business out of downtown Rehoboth.

The comment sparked anger among the business community. Dogfish Head has been credited with helping with tourism in Delaware's busiest resort, especially during slower winter months. In 2015, nearly 8 million visitors came to the Coastal Highway, downtown Rehoboth and the Dewey Beach area, according to the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce.

View of the new alternate takes burger that will be on the menu at the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

The Calagiones eventually received city approval to tear down the brewpub. The new eatery will likely be the last restaurant of its scale in Rehoboth. In November, Rehoboth Beach commissioners voted on restaurant size limits. Eateries that serve alcohol within the city will now be allowed 2,500 square feet of seated dining area and 500 square feet of bar area.

Calagione has long been ready to move on from the initial reluctance for the new brewpub and is looking toward the future. His focus is on collaboration and not competition. The new brewpub, open daily, year-round, will include in-house experimental brews that can't be found anywhere but Rehoboth.

Joe Short, left, with Short's Brewery in Michigan and Sam Calagione talk about a Bloody Mary beer that will be brewed with 600 pounds of tomatoes which will be available at the new Dogfish Head brewpub on Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach.

When beer lovers rest elbows on the horseshoe-style, walnut-top bar, they can enjoy 24 taps pouring fan-favorite Dogfish Head beers, but they'll also get beverages made in collaboration with other breweries.

The first brewpub exclusive collaboration at the new site is expected to make a splash – Bloody Beer. Earlier this week, Calagione and Joe Short, owner of Short's Brewing Co., a 13-year-old facility created out of a former hardware store in Bellaire, Michigan, spent the day making Short's Bloody Mary-inspired beer. They filmed their adventures – an homage to the 2001 movie "Wet Hot American Summer" – for the Dogfish Head website and social media sites.

To make Bloody Beer, the brewers used about 128 pounds of blanched, pureed Roma tomatoes, along with a blend of horseradish, dill, celery seed and black pepper, to create the imperial style brew.

Calagione joked that because of all the crushed tomatoes, the brewhouse looked "like a horror movie scene."

The recipe, which takes about three weeks to complete, produces a golden-hued, slightly spicy, low-hopped beer with about 7 percent alcohol. Eight kegs of Short's Brewing Bloody Beer should be available at the new brewpub in early June, and about 100 limited-edition canned 32-ounce crowlers will be on sale.

"It's Joe's recipe and we like bringing recognition to him," says Calagione, who can't wait to try the beer that won a 2009 Great American Beer Festival silver medal.  But he says it won't become part of Dogfish's catalog.

"You won't see Dogfish do a Bloody Beer," Calagione says. "So, you better come and get it when it's here. If not, you'll need to go to Michigan."

 Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico

IF YOU GO

WHAT: The new Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats restaurant. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery owners Sam and Mariah Calagione have built a new $4 million brewpub next to the old restaurant, which eventually will be torn down and replaced with a patio. The eatery has a new, much-larger stage for live bands playing original music. 

WHERE: 320 Rehoboth Ave., Rehoboth Beach

WHEN: Opening to the public on May 19. Hours: Daily 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Brunch is served Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The restaurant does not take reservations.   

MORE INFORMATION: On Friday, June 2 at 10 p.m, Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats welcomes Richard Lloyd, a founding member of Television, an American punk rock band. Lloyd, a guitarist and session musician with Delaware roots, is spotlighted in a mural at the new restaurant. Other notable acts confirmed for the new stage include: Guided By Voices, Ron Gallo, Michaela Anne, BJ Barham of American Aquarium, Los Straightjackets, Marshall Crenshaw and Steve Gunn.