When I started drinking beer, my intentions weren't much different then they are today. My friends and I would spend nights around our keg of flat, bland beer that reeked of hangover; we would talk and laugh the night away. We would fill our red Dixie cups with the yellow headache over and over again until we had our fill and fell asleep.

It wasn't until I graduated my higher education that I started to really explore my desire to drink this hopped beverage. My tastes started to change and I moved from drinking any beer I could get my hands on to finding something that I could enjoy for flavor while b.s.-ing with friends and family. Beer is brewed for enjoying while sitting around having a good time with good people.

While on my search for good, tasty beer I've come across some that have definitely caught my eye, or tongue: Guiness, Sam Adams, and Dogfish Head. The three filled a rotation, a batting line-up if you will, of beer that I would alternate between. So when I reached the coast of DelMarVa, I was thrilled that the brewery of one of my favorite beers was right around the corner.

As the people of the area continued to go on about the authenticity of Dogfish Head, it being a staple of the area, I started to take more interest in the brew. Slowly I was finding myself carrying out more four packs of 90 minute IPA rather than four packs of Guiness, or six packs of 60 minute IPA rather than six packs of Sam Adams; Dogfish was becoming the pinch hitter for every other beer. And this was all due to word of mouth from locals, nothing more.

Finally, after my old players were singing John Fogerty, Host Our Coast was sent to Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware for a chance to parade through where the magic is made.

I was a kid in a candy store; it was my first time in a brewery and for one of my favorite beers. Walking between the huge shiny casks (or wooden ones holding the Palo Santo Marron) standing as tall as giants, I must have appeared googly-eyed. I remained as calm as I could, even as I began to salivate for a taste of the deliciousness hiding behind barrels just feet away from me.

After we were guided through the cellar, up to where the brew masters reside, articulately adding quantities of this and that, down through the bottling train (where Sam very kindly donated a bottle of the new Theobroma to us), through the warehouse, we were finally ready for some tasting.

Sure, I can go through the complexities of the beer, or the different flavors and textures of each, but it isn't something that I so familiar with to explain. Each one we tried was delicious. Everyone from the Festina Peche, a tangy summer beer, to the Midas Touch, a wine lovers beer, was amazing and worth trying.

However, what really sold me completely on Dogfish Head was their accessibility, not only with the tours generally held for the public every Tuesday and Saturday, but also by their involvement in the community, sponsoring events like the Dogfish Dash and the having a presence at museum events in the area. Living and growing up in New Jersey, where many may say that Natural Ice or Milwaukee's Best (not local at all) is the local beer, this community concept is unique and interesting to me. For all this, Dogfish Head has taken over my line-up.

Beyond the flavor, which Dogfish Head has nailed, the also have the community thing going, complementing the second reason for beer; hanging out with good people having good times.

Pro Tip: For an interesting twist on a Dogfish Heard Brew Tour, try their Pints & Paddles tour, through Quest Kayaks. You paddle for a bit, then head to the brewery just up the road. Its a great time for beginner paddlers!