The final bar we visited on our stay in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware was the Rehoboth Ale House. This place had just opened a week prior, so I do not feel right in giving this place an in-depth review. As with all new places, there are a few kinks to work out.

One kink seems to be the communication between the bar and the kitchen. Though my dinner order was fine, my wife’s order arrived with, what seemed to be, extra onions, even though she ordered it with no onions. This mistake was rectified with a free beer. The kitchen also made an extra quesadilla plate for some unknown group. No one knew who the quesadilla was for and since we were one of the remaining couples left (at 9PM), we were offered it free of charge.

The other kink we encountered, would have to be the beer list. At first look, the list seems mighty impressive in length. On closer inspection however, I noticed most of the beers were either macro or typical foreign import in nature. Though I was able to have some craft beer from Flying Fish and one other brewery (whose name completely escapes me at this point), the rest of the list felt rather run of the mill. Unfortunately the draft lines were not in place yet (though there is supposed to be 14 of them). If the bottle list is any indication however, I would not hold out much hope for anything special.

With a large bar, plenty of dinning seating, stage for live music, and dart boards, there is potential for this place. If they fix the bar to kitchen communication issues, and shore up their beer list with more craft beer, I would not mind checking the place out again.

Author: Dave
Categories: Bars, Delaware
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On my recent trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, I was able to check-out a couple of restaurants besides Dogfish Head’s Brew Pub. Fins is a block or two down the street from DFH, but it was certainly worth the walk.

What first attracted me to Fins was the ‘Raw Bar’ sign above the front door. Loving a ‘raw bar’, I went in for a closer inspection. When I noticed a Troeg’s Brewing sign in the window, I was all in for giving the place a shot.

In a restaurant I like to sit at the bar and the bar is what greets you upon first entering Fins. I did notice some dinning space divided from the bar and I believe there was seating upstairs, so if the bar is not your thing you have plenty of options. The bar was decent in size, seating roughly 15 people, and well lit. The raw bar section was located in the center of the bar, flanked by two sets of taps. The only macro-beer on tap was Coors (if I am remembering correctly), with the remaining seven taps dedicated to craft beers.

There was a chalkboard behind the bar which listed both the draft and bottled beers. The draft list was very legible, being written in large letters with colored chalk. The bottle list took up the other half of the chalkboard, and, due to the list’s length (I estimated 30 or so bottles), was a bit more cramped and harder to read. Not a major issue, since I was able to order two beers of the bottle list, but something I noticed.

The bar staff was both friendly and knowledgeable about the beer they were selling. I played “beer dumb” while ordering, asking questions about the beers, and received good, informative answers back. Though I failed to introduce myself, the beer ‘manager’ was at the bar both times we visited. He seemed knowledgeable and excited about all the beer on tap, expressing this enthusiasm to his bartenders when something new went on draft. The drafts seemed to change quite frequently, with three tap changes happening during or between our visits.

Good beer selection in both draft and bottle form, good raw bar selection with six oyster types to choose from, and great staff. Overall a very pleasurable experience, and a place I would definitely recommend.

My First Beer Oyster Shooter.

Note: It is a shame Fin’s website is so out of date.

Author: Dave
Categories: Bars, Delaware
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I do not travel as much as Ben, but recently I have been on a couple trips. One trip was up to NH, which I will get to later, the other trip was down to Delaware. The purpose of the Delaware trip, to visit Dogfish Head Brewery and Brew Pub. The whole extended weekend was a blast and I would definitely recommend a visit to Rehoboth Beach. Being a beer blog however, I thought I would post some of my thoughts on the bars I visited. Lets start off with the reason I went to Delaware, Dogfish Head Brew Pub.

I can summarize this review thusly: just go. This is where DFH began, so if you enjoy DFH you will not be disappointed. Even if you are not a fan of their beers I would still recommend a visit.

Though not the ideal place to a watch a game (I visited during the Final Four), with only two TVs behind the bar, it is the ideal place for drinking good beer or spirits, eating good food, and having a good conversation/time. The brew pub has a rustic, beach bar character to it with well worn wood floors, and exposed ceiling braces and wiring. All the tap lines serve DFH beers, of course, with one tap line serving up a brew pub exclusive, Daily Wry on my trip, and a beer engine, pumping up 75 Minute IPA on my stay. The “Randal” also made an appearance during one of my visits and I was glad to have finally experienced it (90 Minute IPA was coursing through its hoppy veins when I was there). Though I am not a spirit connoisseur, I had to try the spirit sampler. I was impressed by the offering (Blue Hen Vodka, Brown Honey Rum, Jin and Mango infused Blue Hen Vodka).

I was fortunate enough to get a steak dinner during one of my visits. The steak comes from Sam’s family farm up in Massachusetts, and is not a frequent occurrence on the menu (or so I was told). This is too bad because the steak was delectable, with its sides of mashed potatoes and green beans. Washing the meal down with an India Brown Ale, I thought I was in heaven. During other visits my wife and I ordered the Indulgence burger and the rock fish wrap for lunch and the gumbo and the fish and chips for dinner. All were generous in proportion, cooked well and very flavorful. Though we did not need desert after dinner, we decided to indulge ourselves with a brownie sundae.

A blue-grass band played through Saturday’s dinner. Though lively, the music was at an appropriate volume, as to not interfere with conversations with people around us.

Did I mention the pool tables, pinball and classic arcade cabinet on the second floor? Those were really just icing on the proverbial cake. Pinball and DFH beer, can it get any better?

Fine job by the whole DFH crew for putting together such a great place. Truly enjoyed myself, to say the least.

The brew kit that started it all for DFH. Location DFH Brewery

*Dogfish Head’s latest beer Sah’tea has been slightly delayed, and they have just brewed it for full production*

Author: Dave
Categories: Bars, Delaware, Dogfish Head
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