Today is Crafting Day on my calendar, and since we don’t have an article from Matt, Brian or Adrian, I thought I’d talk a little bit about one of my favorite craft brewers, Sam Calagione.
Now, many of you may know Sam because of his new show, “Brew Masters”, which follows the day to day happenings of Calagione’s brewery, Dogfish Head. It’s a fun show, and it’s endeared me to Sam even more than I already was. For the record, I was familiar with Calagione prior to the show, and have been a big fan of Dogfish Head not only because of their beer, but because of Calagione’s attitude toward his business and life in general.
I am a big supporter of work hard, play hard, and the staff of Dogfish Head seems to have that down to a science. It’s impressive to see a group of people who clearly care about the product going out and clearly love going to work everyday. And from what I’ve seen, I believe it has everything to do with the excellent work environment offered at Dogfish Head. Calagione seems to have high expectations that the people that work for him care about what they’re doing, but he also allows a high amount of creativity, silliness, and fun throughout the day. Despite the fact that good beer is serious business, how serious can you be when you work for a brewery that’s catch phrase is “Off-Centered Ales for Off-Centered People”? That kind of open atmosphere has got to make working for Dogfish Head one of the best jobs out there.
I’ve heard a few reviews from people who dislike “Brew Masters” because they find Calagione a bit, well, off-centered. Well, to them I say, lighten up. You’d be that excited about life too if you were living your dream – or even if you just had that freaking tree house!