Dogfish Head Alehouse

therica

Maryland

4.43/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Wow I love the opportunity to get here, occasionally, an hour's drive.

Decent food, for starters. You could have a child's birthday dinner here if you wanted. I love the calimari appetizers and the veggie pizza and ... the list goes on. My daughter wasn't impressed on one occasion with her dinner but overall the meals are above-average.

Service-- fantastic. Plus, servers are beer-savvy. In fact, as part of their training they have an entire day of hands-on education on DFH beers. What a pity they get paid for it ;-)

Beers-- DFH on tap, need I say more? The only downside is not the place's fault, it's the N*zi-esque Montg Co law which forbids dispensing growlers. In fact, this establishment has to buy its kegs from Montg Co which in turn buys it from DFH in Delaware! What a political SCAM! This is called the traditional "Three-Tier Distribution" system. Rep John Boehner (R-OH) is all for it, especially since he gets nice contributions from the folks at AnhBushInBev et al. Watch the dvd "Beer Wars" the next time you wish you coulda gotten a growler of Palo Santo or Bitches Brew, or even an 8oz rather than a 5oz serving restricted by Montg Co Law.

I even got an android app for my cellphone that shows the hourly update photos of this place's current on-tap beer board! Search for "Ale Boards" if you're interested.

03-08-2011 21:42:19 | More by therica

dexterk1

Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

My fiancee and I stopped after moving to the area. The overall atmosphere is pretty good. More of a restaurant layout and felt comfortable. Food was good as well. They seem to have pretty good specials for different days of the week.
The main event for us was the beer. They have a good selection of beers that vary depending on the day. They also have a few that are brewery/alehouse only. Server seems knowledgeable. Quality of beer was great! Seasonal beers were very good and you can taste any beer you wanted to see if you wanted a pint.

07-21-2012 13:55:12 | More by dexterk1

chodinheaven

Maryland

4.28/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in there with my girlfriend on a Saturday night. They had college football going and it seemed like a fun environment to drink great beer and watch some football. It seemed a little small, but I didn't get a chance to check out the upstairs. They had a small outside section for seating and decent amount of tables in the dining room and a few high tops in the bar area. We started with cajun egg rolls that were absolutely delicious and paired it with a black and tan, made with their chicory stout and 90 minute. They had plenty of beers on tap, several of which rotate. I had the Palo Santo with a tasty steak sandwich, both of which were of very good quality. Hard to think that anything DFH does would be bad quality, so you really can't go too wrong here. Beers were a little pricey, but that's to be expected. Selection is never an issue here, as they have everything from normal (but quality) barfood like burgers and sandwiches to full entrees of various seafoods and dishes. Basically something for every one. Same with the beer and cocktail menu of course. Overall, this is not as cool as the brewpub in Rehobeth, but its an acceptable second. Especially because it is closer to me, so I'll be there more for sure. Dissapointed that they don't sell bottles of the spirits and beers, so if that's what your looking for, you'll have to go to Rehoboth. Really enjoyed the experience though.

09-27-2011 03:40:03 | More by chodinheaven

Lantern

North Carolina

4.83/5  rDev +14.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

Stopped here TWICE on my way to and from Gettysburg this past week. EXTREMELY luckily, my first stop came just as 120 had arrived!!!! Obviously, I had a couple.

Anyway, the bartender was a pretty cool guy. He seemed knowledgeable about the brews and knew the job. The place got busy, but he stayed right on it.

I had a salad with Ahi Tuna, cooked medium rare. OUTSTANDING! Really great selection of food, making the decision a tough one.

The second visit, I had more 120, 'cause you can't always get it. Actually, hardly ever. Sipped on those a while, had the Alehouse Chili, (which was awesome), and just enjoyed myself. Same bartender + one that looked like Jason Bateman. He was cool too. Great experience again.

The atmosphere here is cool, the place is super easy to find (even for an out-of-towner), and my GOD... THE BEER!

08-01-2011 03:55:24 | More by Lantern

Bismarkumd

Maryland

4.18/5  rDev -1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 5 | $$

I really want to give this place a perfect score but can't bring myself to do it. I love this place. My family goes once a week. We have our own waitress. It's become one of the primer restaurants in Gaithersburg. I remember when the place used to be Pat and Mikes, and have seen the location change into a half dozen other restaurants since. Dogfish has shown that it will stay around. It's always crowded on weekends. I recommend going mid week. They do not do call a head seating or reserve tables.

The beer is always amazing. They don't brew on site but usually have a very good selection. This is the focus of my review. unfortunately Montgomery County controls all the distribution of alcohol in the county. When The restaurant needs more beer, they have to order it through the county. This means that on busy weekends, they will run out of beers. I was in on fathers day and they ran out of 60 minute, 90 minute, and a number of others. It's very disappointing when you head in and can't get one of their traditional beers. They also tend to get small shipments of their seasonal stuff. I only got Hellhound once, and have never had a 120 Minute from there.

Other than that the food is awesome. I've had nearly half the dishes on the menu and loved almost every one of them. One word of advice, don't get the chicken shrimp club. just not worth it. The Jambalaya is one of my favorite dishes but it is very expensive. $17 is very steep for poor mans food. Burgers are well priced.

06-25-2011 19:15:06 | More by Bismarkumd

bum732

Maryland

4.15/5  rDev -1.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I've been here a number of times, really a great place. Coming off hours is the best time to arrive as you'll avoid the usual happy hour crowds. The bar area is fairly small and crowded, but the bar is pretty large and the bartenders are pretty good about getting your order. List of beers on the chaulkboard on tap, all DFH of course. They always have exclusive draft beers like their 75 min. on tap, which is great. I've noticed that the other alehouses (Falls Church and the other) get the more exclusive beers first (Black and Red, Hellhound). Atmosphere is solid, very diverse crowd, but perhaps a more older slant, probably due to rich locals or people working in that area.

Food is very good, i've had a burger there a couple times and some other entree, been fantastic every time. Fairly diverse menu, but focusing mostly on upscale pub food. Fairly cheap too, if i remember correctly. I've been there on a Fri. night and there was a band playing in the front part of the place, not bad if you're sitting in the bar, but the tables up front (where we were at) get blasted by the sound.

They also have an outdoor patio area which is great in the summer. Parking usually not a problem, but if there is an event, it can be. All in all, a great place to go, great food and great beer.

05-03-2011 18:06:43 | More by bum732

greenmonstah

New Hampshire

4.13/5  rDev -2.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Visited in October after spending time in the capitol. Great selection of beers, of course. Variety is one of DFH's strongest characteristics, and it was definitely on display. Food was fine, had a burger that was average. Bit of a wait for our table, but the party was large so I can't blame them. We waited at the bar and had a beer, which was wonderful. The biggest beers I had that night were the Palo Santo Marron ( not a big fan.) and the Pangaea (yum!). In addition, I had a full flight of samplers of the more "run-of-the-mill" DFH beers, including the Indian Brown and the Chicory Stout (both great!)

04-24-2011 00:12:57 | More by greenmonstah

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3.95/5  rDev -6.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

This is a bit further from the Falls Church location. This place has a younger and hipper crowd though which I really like. But this place is much smaller. That being said, the menu is really nice. They have something for everyone - tons of appetizers, probably 8-10 salad options, pizzas, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, etc. Everything was delicious and VERY generously sized. It's basically all standard American fare. I usually order the Alehouse BBQ burger with grilled asparagus instead of fries (though they are good!). I've had BBQ wings (very good), pizza (very good too), and chicken sandwich (not too shabby). The DFH classics are always available such as 60 minute, 75 minute, 90 minute, midas touch, lawnmower man, etc. I'd recommend going during happy hour for $1 or $2 off beers plus appetizer specials. Monday I think is the burger special and Weds/Thurs is the pizza special. Check on their website before trekking over. I personally like eating at the bar area to people watch and watch tv off their flat screens. I particularly enjoy their DFH ale on draft which arent available in bottles anywhere. Can't go wrong with Immort, Burton Baton, 90 minute, 120 minute, and WWW! However go easy since they price their beers way above what they retail for at Whole Foods or Total Wine.

02-17-2011 17:54:34 | More by CuriousMonk

mountsnow1010

Vermont

4.25/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Great place - I go all the time. Relatively quiet atmosphere upstairs, a bit louder downstairs and usually pretty hectic in the bar. The separation makes it nice however. TVs downstairs (none upstairs that I have noticed). Pretty high "quality" establishment. Service is great - everyone is very nice and I've never had an order messed up. Service is not oppressively attentive, either.
Great beer selection - of course. All of the common DFH brews with several of the harder to get beers on tap, and several others in bottles. Food is good, not excellent, but relatively cheap and pretty good value. Beers are not obscenely expensive either; cheap, given the area. Especially during happy hour. If you're in Gaithersburg, this is a great place to go.

01-20-2011 20:34:13 | More by mountsnow1010

krisandajt

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev +5.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

I stopped in here for a bite to eat and a good brew while visiting the area for work. Despite the 1 1/2 hour drive for 14 miles (yea...traffic), it was well worth the trip!

For a Wednesday, this place was absolutely packed! I dropped my friend off at the door to put our names in for a table while I found a parking spot (there were plenty in the back). I make the short walk back and find out we're looking at a 45 minute wait. Not a big deal to me, more time to enjoy a beer at the bar. We make our way through the crowd of people and manage to find a corner at the bar to lean against. We order up some brews, we both went with a 75-minute IPA (great choice, btw). The selection of DFH brews was pretty good, they had most of the brews I'm familiar with on tap and a few others in bottles. I'd like to give them a 5.0 for selection, but I didn't see either WWS or the 120 minute on tap. We're standing around, chewing the fat for maybe 20 minutes when our pager goes off. Nice, time to eat.

The hostess walks us back to our seats and my friend orders up another beer. I, unfortunately, am driving so I'm nursing my 75-minute. Despite the crowd, our waitress makes her way back a few minutes later with the beer and we place our order. I decided on the Reuben and a glass of water. We got our food a short time later (at this point we are very impressed with the speed of the service), and man did I get me a sandwich! It had to be damn close to three inches thick and it came with a big mess o' fries. It was filling, but it was so good I had no problem taking it down.

Price for our meals and my friends beer was very reasonable, only came to $25. The beer itself was a bit pricier than I expected, while we were at the bar our two pints of 75-minute cost $15. As a big fan of DFH brew, I can easily justify the cost.

This is a great place to stop and eat, especially for those who are fans of DFH. I've got family about 30 miles from this location, and they may be closer to the other locations...not sure, I'd have to look. Still, I can guarantee that I will be stopping here again in the future. Cheers!

11-18-2010 03:04:16 | More by krisandajt