Uploaded February 2019 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
The invention of continual hopping started thanks to an ‘aha!’ moment and an old school vibrating football game. Follow our story on Instagram: instagram.com/dogfishhead
Back in the mid-90s we started messing around with extreme versions of super hoppy IPAs. We would use foolhardy amounts of hops, creating a really pronounced bitterness that seemed out of place.
After an ‘aha!’ moment while watching a cooking show on TV, Dogfish Head founder & CEO Sam Calagione tracked down one of those old school vibrating football games, originally invented by Norman Sas, to help feed the beer a continual stream of hop pellets.
You see, traditionally brewers make two hop additions - one big dose early in the boil for flavor, and another bunch at the end for aroma. But thanks to a rigged up football-machine-turned-continual-hopper and our addition of equal increments throughout the entire boil, Sam was able to create an outrageously hoppy IPA, without being crushingly bitter.
Now all these years later, and after much more sophisticated second, third and fourth generation contraptions have taken over our continual hopping process, the theory and execution are essentially unchanged.
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Dogfish Head’s YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/dogfishhead
To Learn More, Hop On Over To: dogfish.com
Find Dogfish Head Near You: dogfish.com/fishfinder
Follow Along With Us:
Facebook – facebook.com/pg/dogfishheadbeer
Instagram – instagram.com/dogfishhead
Twitter – twitter.com/dogfishbeer
The invention of continual hopping started thanks to an ‘aha!’ moment and an old school vibrating football game. Follow our story on Instagram: instagram.com/dogfishhead
Back in the mid-90s we started messing around with extreme versions of super hoppy IPAs. We would use foolhardy amounts of hops, creating a really pronounced bitterness that seemed out of place.
After an ‘aha!’ moment while watching a cooking show on TV, Dogfish Head founder & CEO Sam Calagione tracked down one of those old school vibrating football games, originally invented by Norman Sas, to help feed the beer a continual stream of hop pellets.
You see, traditionally brewers make two hop additions - one big dose early in the boil for flavor, and another bunch at the end for aroma. But thanks to a rigged up football-machine-turned-continual-hopper and our addition of equal increments throughout the entire boil, Sam was able to create an outrageously hoppy IPA, without being crushingly bitter.
Now all these years later, and after much more sophisticated second, third and fourth generation contraptions have taken over our continual hopping process, the theory and execution are essentially unchanged.
-----
Dogfish Head’s YouTube Channel: youtube.com/c/dogfishhead
To Learn More, Hop On Over To: dogfish.com
Find Dogfish Head Near You: dogfish.com/fishfinder
Follow Along With Us:
Facebook – facebook.com/pg/dogfishheadbeer
Instagram – instagram.com/dogfishhead
Twitter – twitter.com/dogfishbeer
