Dogfish Head Alehouse

Photography by Fitz

Dogfish Head is without doubt one of the top five craft breweries in the United States. And since the foundation of any brew pub is great beer, I had high hopes for the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Tami and I stopped there for lunch today after a shopping excursion to The Container Store in Rockville. We started studying the menu last night while eating at Cracker Barrel, and right away I was salivating over the chili and bratwurst. Leave it to me to be thinking about my next meal while I'm still eating my current meal. I am my father's son.

Tami and I have been to a ton of brew pubs, so we have certain expectations when we try a new one. Obviously, the beer has to be top-notch. That's a given at Dogfish Head. I had a 90 Minute I.P.A., which with good reason is considered to be one of the best I.P.A.s in America. I also had an Indian Brown Ale - a sublime blend of I.P.A., Scotch ale, and American brown. They had a lot of specialty beers on tap in addition to their year-round offerings, but I decided to stay conservative in my choices today. I have no regrets. We're two hours away from the nearest Dogfish Head location, so it's not like I get to drink a 90 Minute I.P.A. on draught every day.

Another must in our book is high quality appetizers. We ordered two of our go-to restaurant apps today: chicken wings and spinach & artichoke dip. The wings were pretty darn great. They had a really nice flavor and were cooked perfectly. They weren't as "meaty" as some wings we've had elsewhere, but that's a minor complaint. I enjoyed the spin dip, but Tami did think there was a little too much spinach in it and not enough, as she likes to put it, "gooey goodness". Tami had a burger and felt it had a very good texture and flavor. She thought it was a little too greasy - as were the fries. I had the alehouse bratwurst, and boy was that a thing of beauty! It was two wood-grilled brats served on pretzel rolls with beer seasoned banana pepper sauerkraut. It came with a side of chili and tortilla chips. I go crazy for a good chili, and this chili was everything I hoped it would be. I believe it makes my personal top ten. As for the brats, they were insane. What could be better than a grilled sausage on a soft pretzel? I really cannot imagine myself ordering anything different the next time we go down to DFA, although I am intrigued by the alehouse mac and cheese and steak bomb sandwich.

All in all, I'd rate this as one of the best brew pub experiences I've had in a while. Let's see how it does according to our FABS scale:

Food- Really good on the whole, but some of the prices seemed a little excessive. $9.50 for spin dip? $11 for a burger? But I could eat a tub of that chili. 22/25
Beer- Come on - it's Dogfish Head! 25/25
Atmosphere- A fun, casual place. Nice-looking tables, outdoor seating for those who enjoy that (not us!), big screen TVs to watch sports. Bar is separate from main dining area. 23/25
Service- All our servers were friendly and attentive, but we did have to wait a little while for our check because our main server got busy. 21/25
Total score - 91 (out of 100)
 
-Josh