"Dog Head Fish"
"Fish Head Beer"
"Dog Head Brewery"
We've heard every variation in the book (and some of them are quite interesting!). It's not difficult, just different. It helps if you know the backstory ...
Dogfish Head is a place. Think Hilton Head... just like the famous jut of land off the Carolina coast, Dogfish Head is a (soon-to-be?) famous jut of land off the Maine coast. It's on Southport Island, near Boothbay Harbor. There's a small beach and right around the bend a great-looking lighthouse (check out the photo on the right).
Local legend has it that Dogfish Head, Maine is named Dogfish Head because when the lobstermen put out their traps near this particular point, they usually ended up with more dogfish (a small shark) than lobsters. Makes sense, right?
So why Dogfish in Delaware? Dogfish founder and die-hard New Englander Sam Calagione spent summers up at Dogfish Head. When his die-hard Delaware wife wooed him to The First State to open a brewpub in 1995, he wanted to bring a piece of New England with him - so he named his place Dogfish Head.
There you have it - the offical story... notice we say "story."
Links:
[1] http://www.benrussell.com/HH-home.htm
Comments
Thanks for the explanation. I conjectured it referred to the dogfish logo on the head of a keg of beer. Dogfish Head as a headland makes more sense.
Now I feel like I know everything. Most catfish are afraid of dofish, but I am not!
Does that mean the founder is a Pats fan?
DFH is my favorite brewery, I work for a brewery as a sales manager. We share a wholesaler in OH,KY and IND where DFH is huge. Im a DE native and Im very proud to call DFH our hometown brewery... But Im also a huge Iggles fan... hate the Pats.... say it aint so.
I assumed the DFH name came from the abundance of Dog Fish Sharks in the Delaware Bay. I shouldn't assume I guess
A friend handed me my first bottle of Dogfish Head recently, prompting me to remark that Dogfish Head was a familiar part of the Maine seacoast. The wind went out of my sails when he pointed out the label stating that Dogfish brew actually was made in New Jersey (why didn't it say Delaware?). Glad to read "the story," which I'll be passing on to my friend.
The photo accompanying the story actually depicts Hendricks Head Light [1] (West Southport, ME) where my parents and I spent part of the summer in 1946 as guests of the Browne family. The lighthouse then had no electricity! It is now owned and well cared for by Ben Russell of Alabama.