Ta Henket Ancient Ale Brewed by Dogfish Head
Ta Henket, the latest addition to Dogfish Head's line of Ancient Ales, rolls
out this month. Inspired by a trip to the Great Pyramids, Dogfish Head
Founder & President Sam Calagione created Ta Henket with ingredients and
traditions outlined in Egyptian hieroglyphics. "It was like a Rosetta Stone
visit," he says. "That's the first depiction of the brewing process, the
birthplace of our vocation."
This earthy liquid time capsule is brewed with an ancient form of wheat and
loaves of hearth-baked bread, and it's flavored with chamomile and dom-palm
fruit. The spiciness comes from zatar, a mixture of herbs found at a Cairo
street market.
To ferment Ta Henket, Sam and friends traveled to a date grove near the
pyramids, set out baited petri dishes and captured a native Egyptian yeast
strain.
"It was the strangest picnic I've ever been on," he said.
This 4.5% ABV Ancient Ale goes well with grilled fish, pork chops, roasted
vegetables and feta cheese.
Ta Henket is available in 750ml bottles and on draft and will be distributed
throughout Dogfish Head's national network.
The Company Story
The story of Dogfish Head began in June of 1995 when
we opened Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats, the first
state's first brewpub opened in the resort beach
community of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The plan was
to bring original beer, original food, and original
music to the area.
Not only was Dogfish
Head Delaware’s first brewpub, it was the smallest
commercial brewery in America. Our very first batch,
Shelter Pale Ale, was brewed on a system which
essentially was three little kegs with propane
burners underneath. Brewing 12–gallon batches of
beer for a whole restaurant proved to be more than a
full time job. When the doors to the pub first
opened, we brewed three times a day, five days a
week! The one benefit to brewing on such a small
system was the ability to try out a myriad of
different recipes. We quickly got bored brewing the
same things over and over – that’s when we started
adding all sorts of weird ingredients and getting
kind of crazy with the beers!
The beer wasn't the
brewpub’s only draw. The pub's menu centered on a
wood-burning grill. We soon became known as the
place to enjoy fresh grilled seafood, burgers,
pizzas and sandwiches. The wood–burning grill
imparts a unique flavor to everything on the menu,
whether it's a hearty sandwich, a delicate piece of
fish or our signature pizza dough.
With the popularity
of the pub growing, it was quickly apparent that the
12–gallon brewery would not keep up with demand. We
built a new brewery and underwent a thirty-fold
expansion of the brew house!
The reputation of
Dogfish Head ales quickly grew beyond Delaware's
borders. Calls from Philadelphia, Washington D.C.
and beyond poured in, as thirsty restaurant patrons
demanded their favorite beach beer at home. We began
bottling our Shelter Pale Ale in 1996 and just 1
year later we expanded again – this time we
separated the packaging operation from the
restaurant, and kept on brewing! By 1999, we were up
to five year–round bottled brands in about a dozen
states.
We outgrew our
distributing brewery in a couple years and in the
summer of 2002; we moved our entire production
brewery up the road to Milton, Delaware into a
100,000 square foot converted cannery. Around the
same time (just to keep thing interesting), we built
a distillery on the second floor of our Rehoboth
Beach brewpub, so we could make vodka, rum and gin.
Thanks to all our
employees and every one of our customers, Dogfish
Head continues to grow today! We’re now up to nearly
20 styles of beer that are sold in more than 25
states, and a half–dozen kinds of hand–crafted
spirits... and we still have some ideas in the back
of our collective heads.
If you haven’t had
the chance to taste Dogfish Head... find a beer,
track down one of our spirits – or visit one of our
restaurants! You will see why international beer
writer Michael Jackson calls Dogfish Head "America's
most interesting and adventurous small brewery."
