Dogfish Head tasting room reopens for curbside pickup

Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton reopened its tasting room for curbside pickup of beer and spirits June 9. 

The tasting room had been closed for nearly three months, leading to a big decrease in Dogfish’s overall business, but Dogfish founder Sam Calagione said the company is ready to get rolling again. 

“We are beyond excited to begin reopening our properties and start welcoming our friends and fans back into our spaces,” he said.

While the tasting room is ready to start serving customers, Calagione was more cautious in trying to determine whether Dogfish will start hosting events, such as fall’s popular Analog A-Go-Go, again.

“We are living in uncharted territory,” he said. “It’s hard to tell exactly when life will return to something that feels normal. At this point in time, no one can speculate intelligently what our events calendar will look like in the coming months.”

Calagione said the biggest challenge during the period Dogfish was shut down from serving customers was making sure employees were kept safe, as the brewery continued to operate. Dogfish continued to pay employees, with 100 still coming into the brewery for work. Each day, employees were given temperature checks before entering, and social distancing was observed. 

“We have to react quickly to opportunities and challenges, and we can’t do that as a cohesive group across locations and departments without clear and timely communication. I am proud of the ways our company and co-workers have shown up and come together during this intense moment, because together we are heavy,” he said.

One of the ways Dogfish adjusted its business during the pandemic was to contract with the state to use Dogfish’s distillery to make hand sanitizer for state employees, hospitals and first responders. Calagione said as long as there is a need, Dogfish will continue making hand sanitizer.