LYC honors Sam and Mariah Calagione

The first time Dogfish Head Craft Brewery founder Sam Calagione was nominated for the prestigious James Beard Award, he thought the word beer had been misspelled. “I really didn’t know what it was,” he said during a June 2 reception hosted by Lewes Yacht Club. He soon found out that the annual award is considered the Oscars of the culinary world.

Sam and his wife, Mariah, were honored during a sold-out reception at the yacht club that featured tastings of Dogfish Head beer and spirits.

After six more nominations, this year he was presented with the award for Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional during a gala in Chicago. “It’s been a 22-year journey,” he said as he thanked his 250 co-workers. “The reason we are growing is the passionate people who are on our journey. We’ve also incorporated the community in our journey.”

He said no one could have predicted that Dogfish Head – with its first brewery started in 1995 in Rehoboth Beach – would attain the national attention it has today. “We were the smallest brewery of 600 in the nation at the time,” he said. “Now there are 10 times as many and we are in the top 20. We are much bigger than we ever dreamed.”

Calagione said receiving the James Beard Award is an honor, but the fact that local residents recognize what it stands for is just as meaningful to him.