Sam and Mariah Calagione, co-founders of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, share their inspiring journey from high school sweethearts to craft beer pioneers. They discuss innovative brewing techniques and the use of quirky ingredients like cherries and licorice. With humorous anecdotes from their early days, including writing a bill to legalize their brewpub, they reflect on community support and the unique identity of craft breweries. Their remarkable story also touches on the challenges and triumphs that led to their brewery's impressive growth and eventual acquisition.

Sam and Mariah Calagione started dating in high school, and have been on a wild ride ever since. Their biggest, craziest adventure? Founding Dogfish Head Brewery and forever changing the landscape of American craft beer. From the moment Sam started home-brewing in his NYC apartment, he infused his beer with unusual ingredients like cherries, maple syrup, roasted chicory, and licorice. When he and Mariah officially launched Dogfish Head in 1995, it was the smallest brewery in America’s smallest state. 24 years (and countless pints) later, it was acquired by the Boston Beer Company for $300 million. Along the way, Sam and Mariah had one random experience after another: writing a bill to legalize their own brew-pub, winning best recipe at the Delaware Punkin Chunkin, and inviting Ricki Lake to their first tasting at Sam's apartment (spoiler alert: she showed up).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.