Old Dog Alehouse and Brewing – Spiciest Dish in Columbus Series

It’s been a long time.

We know this is the “Spiciest Dish in Columbus” series, but Delaware is Columbus-adjacent enough that it still counts in our opinion. Our list, our rules.

After a Fartley Farms inventory snafu, we found ourselves making a special delivery deep in the heart of Delaware as customer service is extremely important to us. Since we were in the area, we wondered what spicy dishes we might be able to find.

Enter Old Dog Alehouse & Brewing on West William Street in the downtown Delaware area. With 12 house-brewed beers on tap, Old Dog Alehouse has a large patio area that allows patrons to feast and drink in the crisp summer air.

Above is their take on a charcuterie board with one meat, one cheese (hadn’t had a lemon-y cheese before), olives, candied pecans, pickled onion, and mustard all inside a big ol’ soft pretzel. Definitely a more unique take on boards, but I’m a sucker for soft pretzels.

Enough with the starters though and on to the spiciest dish!

Sometimes you take a whiff of spicy food and just know it’s going to hurt a bit. That was the case with the Firedog Wings from Old Dog Alehouse & Brewing in Delaware. A traditional bright red, with seeds adorning the crispy chicken bois, these set my nostrils on fire as soon as I took a whiff. I passed them to The Lady of the Farm who let out an “oh boy,” with raised eyebrows, wondering what she was about to witness.

First wing in, there’s an immediate lip tingle, with a focus on the chicken, followed by some fruity notes of pepper, a touch of sweetness, then a mouthful of scorch. Hello spiciness my old friend, it has been a while. This was my first foray back into eating legitimately spicy food in public and there’s definitely a mental game and shame that washes over as things start opening back up. Second wing in, my nostrils let out some drips and I sheepishly wiped them away with my napkin. Lips tingling I reached for a third wing, pulling apart the flat to get to all the meat and heat.

Moving my way through the basket, I’d begun to sweat, cheeks flush and eyebrows raised. That light sweetness comes from a touch of honey, but then gives way to the peppery mix of ghost peppers, habaneros, and reapers. An Old Dog Rep said of the sauce, “A few of us like to try and eat sauce hotter than the next and this particular blend was as far as we could go while still enjoying the taste!” The taste drives you further forward, with that addictive blend of fruity peppers and sweetness. They’re not wet wings, but not dry either. It’s a nice in-between state that keeps you wanting more of that full-mouth heat.

Finishing the wings, I sat on the precipice of the spicy high. As I rounded the corner with the tenth wing, I could see it in the distance, but as I reached out to grab hold, it faded. Looking like a sweaty mess, I quietly blew my nose and shouted to the many head-turners, “I’M NOT SICK, IT’S JUST SPICYYYYY.” Skeptical, they turned back to their enormous pretzels as I snuck into the night, Firedog sauce lingering for several minutes after.

Reflecting on the sauce, it is definitely a top 15, but it’s likely that it could be a different experience for folks depending on how sauced the wings are. For me, because they weren’t super wet, we’re placing the Firedog Sauce wings at #14, just behind JT’s Stupid Hot Wings (super wet), and right before Fukuryu Ramen’s Red Dragon Ramen, Level 4. The pepper blend definitely helps this get into the top 20, and I’m curious if it intensifies during pepper season (August – October).

More on Old Dog Alehouse & Brewing

• Location: 13 W William Street, Delaware, Ohio, 43015.
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Look below for more on our spiciest dish in Columbus series and hit us up if you have any suggestions that are not already on our list!

Recently featured in the Spiciest Dish in Columbus Series:

• Min-Ga [Bethel Rd.]
• Dirty Frank’s Hot Dog Palace [Downtown]
• Huli Huli [Powell]
• Little Palace [Downtown]
• Stadium: Hella Habanero [Gahanna]
• Nostalgia Brewing: Spicy BBQ Beef Brisket Mac n Cheese Skillet [Gahanna]

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