Fired Up for Flavor: The Wood-Fired Heart of Brewings & Eats

Wood-fired food has been at the heart of Brewings & Eats for over 30 years. Since opening our original brewpub in Rehoboth Beach back in 1995, we’ve been cooking many of our menu items over real wood fires, infusing them with a distinct smoky character that’s hard to beat. 

When we moved into our current brewpub in 2017, we wanted to celebrate this tradition in our décor. That’s when the Wood Wall was born – a custom-built, 8½-foot diamond-shaped wood storage tower that’s both functional and artistic. Positioned right next to our open-flame pizza oven, it houses the wood planks that fuel our pizzas and wood-grilled dishes. 

Above the oven at our brewpub, you’ll spot a bold quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore it if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” This quote is more than decoration – it’s a daily reminder of Dogfish Head’s off-centered spirit. And that literary inspiration doesn’t stop at the walls – it’s baked right into the menu. 

For years, our pizzas have drawn inspiration from another great writer with many of them being named after Ernest Hemingway short stories – a nod to his bold, minimalist style and enduring legacy. One of our favorites is The Mother of a Queen – a pizza topped with garlic oil, mozzarella, sharp provolone, spinach, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, caramelized onions, sherry reduction, and oregano. But Hemingway only wrote so many short stories, and earlier this year, well ... we ran out of titles to use. 

So, we expanded our literary inspiration to include any author featured in the City Lights Library at the Dogfish INN – a library curated by the incredible folks of the San Francisco based City Lights Booksellers and Publishers. Now, our pizza names can come from a wider range of stories, poems, and books. A recent special was Annabel Lee, named after the haunting poem by Edgar Allan Poe. With an expansive list of literary classic and things that make you go 'hmmm,' our team has us more creative freedom to keep crafting new, delicious recipes. 

But the wood-fired goodness doesn’t stop there! As beer geeks with a music problem, music has always been central to Dogfish Head, from our collaborations with legendary bands like the Grateful Dead, to our biweekly live music acts, and even our burgers. Every wood-grilled burger on our menu is named after a favorite song, blending our love of flavor with our passion for sound. One standout is Lay Down Sally, inspired by the Eric Clapton classic. This lamb burger is topped with goat cheese, hempseed pesto aioli, spinach, cured red onions, and sun-dried tomatoes, all served on a brioche bun. It made its debut during our Record Store Day celebration in April – a perfect tribute to the music that fuels our creativity both in the kitchen and beyond. 

As the summer crowds fade, we turn up the heat with off-season specials. One of Sam’s earliest ideas was BYOL: Bring Your Own Log. Guests could bring a log to contribute to our wood stash and get a discount. It was a hit, until we realized our wood pile wasn’t growing. Turns out, some folks were “recycling” logs from our own outdoor stash. While BYOL didn’t last, our love for wood-fired food sure did. 

These days, we celebrate that love with Wood-Fired Days every Tuesday and Thursday. All burgers and pizzas are just $12, with a new wood-grilled burger special every Tuesday and a new wood-fired pizza special every Thursday. 

So, whether you're a longtime local or just passing through Rehoboth Beach, Brewings & Eats is the perfect place to cozy up with bold flavors and off-centered character. From our wood-fired pizzas and burgers to our ever-changing specials and live music, there’s always something sizzling … on the grill and in the atmosphere. Come taste the difference a real wood fire makes and see why we’ve been firing things up for over three decades!