‘Sour’ beer and Caribbean bites: Here’s what we tried at Wynwood’s newest brewery
Squint your eyes and you’ll have a hard time distinguishing Dogfish Head Brewing’s newest craft beer brewery in Wynwood from its predecessor, Concrete Beach.
Walls have gone from tropical colors to Dogfish Head forest green. Furniture has been rearranged. A new mural of the Dogfish logo went up, along with Miami Vice style neon script at the entrance.
This is no surprise.
Dogfish Head brewing shook the foundations of classically brewed beers when founder Sam Calagione won a James Beard Foundation award for melding culinary flavors in his “off-centered ales.” In 2019, Calagione merged his Delaware company with one of the largest craft brewers in America, Boston Beer Company, which owned Concrete Beach.
So the new Miami Dogfish brewery is more of a rebranding than a revolution. Even the previous head brewer, Paul Frederickson, stayed on to bring the popular Dogfish beers to Miami.
But there are new things to eat and drink, tuned for a Miami palate that appreciates Caribbean flavors and crisp, light beers to battle our swelter.
Miami-centric beers
You will, of course, find Dogfish Head’s meat-and-potato beers, 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPAs and the refreshing SeaQuench, all of which you can also buy at the grocery store.
The more interesting choices are Dogfish Miami’s dedication to so-called sour ales — tart cider-like beers that pucker your lips and cool you down on a hot Miami evening.
Madam Roselle is an ultra-sour wheat ale with Florida-grown passionfruit, mango and lychee. Tropi-Lo-Cal Sour is milder, with a background savor of pineapple and ginger. And Fresa Menta combines Florida strawberries and mint.
Not sure which to order? Start with a flight of four 4-ounce pours to sample.
Slushies — with beer
Miami has been missing this. Take the refreshing SeaQuench, which has a Margarita-like quality, and add sugar and lime for a refreshing treat that should be served at every beach party.
Bites with your beer
Upscale bar bites are what to order.
Curry beef empanadas come three to an order with a tangy cilantro sauce. Conch and sweet crab fritters are bite-size balls packed with flavor and a tender crunch. They’re perfect with the honey-sambal chili paste dipping sauce. Shredded beef carne mechada comes tucked into bao buns.
The new Dogfish Miami née Concrete Beach faces stiff competition. Wynwood loves its original, quiet bar Boxelder, which hosts food pop-ups like Ted’s Burgers, which won one of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Burger Bash awards. And the lively new Cervecería La Tropical, a Heineken-backed brewery that helped revive the oldest name in Cuban beer.
But it’s a worthy upgrade and a better fit in busy Wynwood.
Dogfish Head Miami
Address: 325 NW 24th St., Wynwood
More info: Hours, 4-11 p.m., Monday-Friday. Noon-11 p.m., Saturday-Sunday. 305-796-2727. Dogfish.com/restaurants/dogfish-miami
This story was originally published June 10, 2021 at 12:32 PM.
