The Pour Travelers Take Delmarva: Part III

After a quick pre-game beer before heading out (an apt choice with Sun-Day-Feels, a sour ale brewed with Viognier grape juice, peaches, blood oranges, lemon, and lime), Sunday began on a high note with an impromptu tour of Dogfish Head's brewing facility in Milton. We didn't plan it that way; we were going to call ahead to make a reservation while en route to the brewery, but we got to talking and forgot to call. When we arrived, there was a solid 90-minute wait. Luckily, Taylor brought along his keyfob, which gave us VIP access to the entire brewery. Honestly, this was much cooler than sitting under a huge white tent and enjoying a beer.  

For the next two hours or so, we strolled casually around the brewery, sipping various beers as we stopped to check out specific areas of the impressive facility. Somewhere along the way, we sampled some Walking Run, a hazy, hoppy pale ale brewed with English pale ale malt, wheat malt and flaked oats. Soft and pillowy with a pleasant malt flavor, this pale ale finishes with tropican and citrus fruit notes. 

DFH is sportin' some serious wood!

Over in the barrel room, Taylor pointed out that DFH's barrel-aging space was slowly being snuffed out by the recent explosion of Truly, a series of hard seltzers that became part of DFH's repertoire upon merging with Sam Adams. Taylor mentioned that they employ temp workers virtually around the clock just to pack mix cases of this highly popular - for lack of a better term - alcoholic soft drink. I suppose one has got to pay the bills, right? 

Looks like some World Wide Stout right there.

While we milled around the barrel room, Taylor offered to crack open a Pour Travelers' choice. After perusing the many cork and cage bottles strewn about the packaging area, I settled on Ouvert Operation, an open-fermented saison aged in gin barrels. This one had me at "gin barrels." Although I'm not a huge fan of gin itself, I became quite enamored with gin barrel-aged beers a few years ago when we visited Oregon. It seems as though this trend kicked off out west and worked its way eastward over the subsequent months. While gin barrel-aged beers are hard to come by on the east coast, it didn't surprise me one bit that DFH had one available. I enjoyed this one quite a bit and it was one of the many highlights of our little VIP tour.

Pleeps wants a lesson in mixology.

Speaking of highlights, we also got to sample uber-fresh 90 Minute IPA from one of the brite tanks in the fermentation hall. Although most jaded beer geeks might brush off this iconic beer in favor of trendier hazies and juice bombs, Esquire Magazine has called 90 Minute "perhaps the best IPA in America." I must admit that even I take this one for granted despite it being an early favorite of mine back in my young Padawan days. I will say that this tasted very good; so good, in fact, that I had two pours from the brite tank! IPAs with an extreme hop character and supporting malt backbone seem to be a thing of the past these days. This one has such a distinct flavor profile that I could likely pick it out of a line-up of 10 different IPAs. 

Another highlight was drinking a can of our COVID-19 fridge beer, Slightly Mighty, while relaxing and chatting in the quality laboratory. Brewslut and I have tried a handful of these new "lo-cal" pale ales and IPAs, and have decided unanimously that this one is our favorite. Slightly Mighty boasts all the flavor and tropical aromas of typical full-flavored IPA, but with just 95 calories and 3.6 grams of carbs. While it's brewed with locally-grown barley, this beer's magic ingredient is monk fruit, which delivers body and complexity without the excessive carbs. This sucker is light, flavorful and crushable! It was a Club Mease favorite of ours during the summer months out at the pool for Minkie Ball. (I won't elaborate on this... just know it's hella-fun!) 

Taylor, our guide and innkeeper.

Although I work at a brewery, I still tend to geek out and get giddy when I visit a brewery I admire. DFH has such an amazing facility with so many different facets, and it was a joy having a great tour guide and free reign to explore. Many thanks to Taylor for the hospitality and great conversation!

We decided to make a quick stop at Brimming Horn Meadery, which we'd enjoyed quite a bit last time. Taylor wanted to drop off a few beers for the owner, who'd just had a death in the family. Unfortunately, he wasn't around during our visit. (I had fun chatting briefly about metal last time, as he's an all-around fan of the genre.) At any rate, we stuck around for a quick one in the heated tent around the back of the building. I opted for Shirley Temple, a mead brewed to mimic the non-alcoholic drink of the same name. The classic version is traditionally made with ginger ale and a splash of grenadine, then garnished with a maraschino cherry. This light and flavorful mead boasted the requisite notes of cherry and ginger and was quite enjoyable. This turned out to be a quick one-and-done stop, but we did pick up a few stovepipe cans of a few things (because, you know, 12% meads should come in 19.2oz. cans) and went on our merry way.

Outside Big Oyster Brewing in Lewes, DE.

One of the breweries I was most excited to revisit was Big Oyster. The 6,000-square-foot facility and brewpub is situated on King's Highway, just outside of Lewes, inside Fins Ale House & Raw Bar. Last year, we enjoyed lunch there but I only sampled one lone beer. That was about to change! 

Taylor and I both ordered Hammerhead, Big Oyster's flagship IPA. However, we were given pours of a much lighter beer, which we deduced was in fact Hammer Light, a low-calorie version of Hammerhead IPA. While it was solid, I wish the waitress would have informed us of this because we would have ordered something different. 

Meanwhile, Brewslut was enjoying one of the brewery's fruit beers called Triple Pineapple Dreamsicle, an amped-up version of Pineapple Dreamsicle featuring more lactose and oats. I had a few sips of this and was sufficiently blown away. Creamy vanilla and tropical fruit mingles to create a soft mouthfeel and initial sweetness, which gives way to a huge smack of tropical hops akin to - no surprise here - pineapple. This one was delicious and prompted us to purchase a pair of 4-packs to bring home. 

Pleeps says, "More pilsners, please!"

We happened to arrive at Big Oyster smack dab in the middle of its awesome Happy Hour, so we enjoyed discounted pints and lunch specials. Oh, and oysters! For my lunch beer, I opted for Public Pils, a fine Pilsner brewed with authentic German Weyermann Malt and classic Czech Saaz hops. This went well with the plate of oysters on the half shell we shared as well as my fish and chips. After a fantastic (and reasonably priced) lunch, we also picked up a good case-worth of beers to take home and enjoy. Our recent beer acquisitions wer starting to take up much of the back of the CRV. In addition to Triple Pineapple Dreamsicle, we also grabbed some Triple Delaware Dreamsicle (think dry-hopped Orange Julius) as well as Hammerhead IPA. More beer for our pile! With full bellies, we shipped off to our next stop of the day. 

We skipped over Crooked Hammock during our last visit, so I suggested we stop for a one-and-done. While Taylor promised we wouldn't be wowed with any of the beers, I will say that the vibe of this place absolutely captures the Delaware beach area to a "T" and probably had the coolest beach atmosphere of all the places we visited on this particular trip.  

It's a Jeep, it's a brewery... it's Crooked Hammock!

Like so many other folks who decide to open a brewery, Crooked Hammock's story isn't much different. Fed up with the daily 9 to 5 grind of his corporate gig in big city, owner Rich Garrahan decided he was ready to kick back and do something fun. He decided to ditch his shirt and tie in favor of flip-flops, and he moved to Rehoboth Beach to open Crooked Hammock, whose motto is likely "take it slow and live life easy."

Actually, I was quite pleased with my beer selection: Permanent Vacation. Brewed in collaboration with Brandywine Coffee Roasters and Mug & Spoon in Rehoboth Beach, this imperial coconut coffee stout proved a pleasant dessert beer after our recent lunch at Big Oyster. Boasting equal parts shaved coconut, fresh roasted coffee and rich chocolate malt, I was pleasantly surprised with this beer. However, this turned out to be a one-and-done stop for us, as I was eager to head over to our next stop and dig into a few beers. 

Pleeps is ready for his own permanent vacation!

Up next was Thompson Island, a relatively new place we'd visited last time around. The brewpub is the first of its kind opened by Delaware restaurant group, SoDel Concepts, which operates several successful restaurants in the area. The brewery takes its name from an island between Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach known as the Forgotten Mile, an area popular with hikers and birders. Since I work in marketing at Tröegs, this place had always been on my radar (SoDel Concepts served as consultants when Tröegs introduced its Snack Bar back in 2012). With Thompson Island, Tröegs reciprocated and lent a hand with recommending a state-of-the-art brewhouse designed specifically for the restaurant. The brewpub itself is modeled after popular SoDel activities like bonfires, kayaking, paddle-boarding, fishing, and general "salt life." 

Outside Thompson Island brewpub.

Since I only sampled one beer during last year's initial visit, I opted for a flight this time. Call it an effort to test the waters with a variety of beers. Here's the scoop:

• Impervious - West Coast IPA with notes of pine and grapefruit with a dry, resinous finish.
• The Shoals - Rich imperial stout conditioned on cocoa nibs and Guatemalan coffee from Swell Joe Coffee of Lewes, DE.
• Escapades - sour ale brewed with tons of peach and pineapple. You know my peach rule, kids!
• Cosmic Cow - Sweet stout with hints of milk chocolate, coffee, roasted malt and toffee.

Pleeps poses with my Thompson Island flight.

If memory serves me, I enjoyed all of these quite a bit, with my favorite being The Shoals. It's tough to compete with a tasty coffee stout in my book. This visit was in stark contrast to our previous visit, as the place was noisy and bustling with people. This time, we got to sit at a quiet table and enjoy some conversation with our beers. The beers also seemed to have improved over the last year. I'm glad to see this place doing well. 

Like last year, we couldn't leave without a second visit to Dewey Beer Company, and this year was no different. There's no need for me to go on about how much I love this place. Let's just leave it as this: Dewey is a two-visit brewery when we're in the area for more than two days. 

I decided to dive into the fruited sours this time around (as Brewslut did on Friday night). First up was Secret Machine - Strawberry Angel Food Cake. I had a swig of this one on Friday and it was quite delicious, so I felt obligated to enjoy a full pour of my own. This tastes like sweet strawberry shortcake with vanilla icing. Of course, it was brewed with more than 30 lbs. of angel food cake! 

There's no bread, let them eat (er, drink) cake!

Similar to its Secret Machine series, Thrills is another line of heavily fruited sour beers offered by Dewey that are equally as delicious. To be honest, I'm not even sure what the difference is between these two lines. Perhaps one of them uses lactose and the other doesn't. Whatever the case may be, this particular Thrills beer I samples, Strawberry, Mango, Orange was pretty damn impressive. Citrusy and tangy with a thick, fleshy mango character, this smoothie-like beer was delicious and surprisingly multi-dimensional. While the mango character was the dominant flavor, the orange and strawberry complemented the tropical-forward bent of this beer, making for an enjoyable quaff. End result? This stuff goes down waaaaaay to easliy! 

I couldn't leave without ordering something on the hoppy side of the spectrum. After the one-two fruit punch of the aforementioned beers, it was time for Victorious Secret, an IPA brewed hopped with Galaxy, Motueka and Vic Secret. This one features wheat flakes in the malt bill to elicit a fluffy mouthfeel. After the fruit overload I experienced from my previous two beers, it was nice to quell the sweetness with some serious hops, and this beer did not disappoint. And with that, it was time to retire for the evening and head back to Taylor's and wind down another enjoyable visit to Delmarva.

Pleeps knows the end of the trip is near.

Back to Taylor's, things definitely started going south. After drinking all day, we decided to crack open several more beers, including a relatively new DFH beer called Horkin' Heapload, a 9.1% ABV Imperial IPA. We also dug into more Marc Ribbilet videos on YouTube and carried on throughout the evening with plenty of laughing, drinking, and talking. After a while, this is what that looks like... 

Shots are seldom a good idea after drinking all day.

Post-script: We decided to just hightail it back home on Monday and grab some dinner at Tröegs. Breweries are seldom open on Mondays (consider it the "weekend" for bartenders and brewery staff), and the ones that are typically open around 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I was anxious to try our new Scratch release, Scratch #429 - Pale Bock. I feel one of our fortes as a brewery is making great lagers, and this one was solid. The combination of Vienna and Munich malt is coupled with a robust fermentation with our tried-and-true House Lager yeast. At 8% ABV, this one was quite quaffable and boasted notes of honey, saltine crackers and fresh baked biscuits. 

Well kids, that wraps things up for this adventure in Delmarva. Tune in next time for another installment of the Pour Travelers blog, which will take us to nearby Cherry Hill, NJ, and Philadelphia, PA, for our annual winter beer trek to one of our favorite nearby beer regions. Until next time...

The Pour Travelers Take Delmarva: Part I

I think I speak for everyone when I say it's time to start getting things back to some semblance of normalcy. That doesn't necessarily mean chucking my mask in the trash and throwing caution to the wind, but enough is enough. It's time to start living life again. Whatever that means to you, I hope it at least means more than going to the store and stocking up on a month's worth of groceries and toilet paper. For us, well... we'd love nothing more than to just belly up to a random bar at a brewery we'd never visited before and start talking to a friendly bartender, a brewer, or even a pair of complete strangers. While we're still not there yet, we were able to recently pick up and head southward to coastal Delaware to spend a few days with our friend, Taylor, for some leisurely brewery hopping. You may remember Taylor from our "Cape Crusader trilogy" (links to parts 1, 2 and 3 for your reference) back just before COVID-19 reared its ugly head and threw up a roadblock so massive that it dwarfed Trump's sad little border wall. 

So, we set aside a long holiday weekend to traverse some familiar terrain and hit a few newbies in the process. The trip began on a Friday afternoon. With both of us working from home, we were able to shove off a few hours early and get a head start on traffic. The plan was to meet Taylor at Dogfish Head's Rehoboth Beach pub for dinner at 5 p.m. and head over to Dewey Beer Co. on the way back to his house. We arrived at 5 o'clock on the dot. We were both rather hungry, so I was glad to be seated immediately. 

The Pour Travelers are no strangers to Dogfish Head Brews & Eats. My band, herbie, used to play there often. However, it was during last year's visit when we witnessed the newly expanded brewpub in all its magnificent glory. First off, the stage for live music quadrupled! Anyone who has been to the original location knows how diminutive the stage was. The new spot was made for live music. (I'd love to book Solar Federation there, but they do original bands only, which I can respect.) 

Taylor deserved a hug rather than a COVID-sanctioned elbow bump. I mean, we'd be staying with him for a few days, so... With that, we took our seats and perused the beer menu, which was rife with exclusive beers a la Scratch Beers at Tröegs. I was pleased to see a favorite from last year's visit, Covered in Nuggs, on tap. I swiftly ordered a pint. Originally brewed for IPA Day, this old school style IPA is dank, piney and citrusy - just the way I like 'em! Citra, Simcoe, Amarillo and Centennial hops lend a hop-forward aroma and a sticky, resiny West Coast character with hints of grapefruit and pine. This beer reminds me of Nugget Nectar, although it's a tad less malty. 

After noshing on a pile of tasty fried pickles as an appetizer, it was time for dinner. Brewslut and I both ordered the same thing: ramen soup with chicken, mushrooms and a killer Thai-like broth. It was the dinner special of the day. Our server informed us that they typically don't offer specials, but mentioned that the kitchen staff was likely bored due to the lighter-than-usual crowds (thanks again, 'Rona). So they - as much as I hate this phrase - decided to make lemonade out of lemons. It was delicious and filling. 

Pleeps asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

I followed up my meal with some liquid dessert, courtesy of Porter Pounder. (Great name, by the way!) A robust porter, this one benefits from additions of lactose, vanilla, cocoa powder and - here's a first - pistachio flour. DFH claims this to be "the ideal beer to pair with a burger" and likens it to a gourmet milkshake. No burger for me (unless it's made with black beans or pea protein), but I'll definitely have the beer, thank you very much! This was pretty damn tasty to boot.

After dinner, we stopped in next door at the DFH general store and picked up some beer to-go (thanks for the employee discount, Taylor!) and headed to nearby Dewey Beach for our first of two visits over the weekend to probably our favorite small brewery in the area. 

Of course, I'm referring to Dewey Beer Company. When we arrived, we parked around back in a small dirt lot (parking is kind of tricky, as there are a lot of houses and driveways around), and met up with Taylor's DFH brewer friend and co-worker, Brandon, who had just arrived in his mammoth, monster-sized truck... or at least it appeared that way to my Pontiac Vibe-drivin' ass. After the obligatory greetings (I was identified as the "guy with the amazing backyard party," we headed inside for a few beers. 

There was a pretty healthy crowd at Dewey (at least by COVID standards) when we arrived, but we managed to snag a high top table close to the bar. I love the vibe of this place, which has the look of old repurposed wood. We enjoyed the beers and service so much last year that we visited twice. (Well, it would feel like deja vu again this year, but more on that later!) 

I was planning on really digging in to some fruited sours, but after scanning the beer menu, I noticed a DIPA brewed with one of my favorite hop varieties, Nelson Sauvin, so I switched gears and ordered a pour. The beer in question, Nelson Laugh (Haha!) features the aforementioned Nelson Sauvin as well as Galaxy and Motueka Hops. Nelson tends to introduce a very distinct white grape character, almost like a Riesling wine. However, the addition of Galaxy and Motueka (Australian and New Zealand varieties, respectively) added some bright citrus and tropical notes. This one was quite delicious!

Meanwhile, Brewslut worked on a pour of one of Dewey's Secret Machine series, this one the Blueberry, Blackberry, Raspberry variation. I really enjoyed sampling some of these during our previous visit, and this time was no exception either. Brewed with lactose, these fruit-infused, smoothie-like beers are soft, creamy and bursting with fruit flavor, in this case ripe berries. 

Pleeps has a Secret... Machine, of course!

I kept things light for my next beer and decided to try a lager, so I ordered a beer called Brewers in the Wild. When you're an avid craft beer drinker for as many years as someone like me, you eventually base camp. Inevitably, you are bitten by the hop bug. Once you get the taste of those green, sticky cones on your palate, there's no turning back. So, you work your way down the winding halls of hoppy beers, passing through phases of pale ales and eventually moving on to IPAs and, finally, West Coast hop bombs. After expunging all of your "hoptions" and graduating from Triple IPAs, you might begin exploring darker beers, starting with porters and ending atop the zenith of the extreme beer mountain, which in my opinion would be bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stouts. Then perhaps you familiarize yourself with sours, first getting into a light sour wheat such as a Gose or (in our case) Berliner Weisse, which inevitably beckons you to the cellars of Belgium where you soon discover the sacred, succulent nectar of breweries like Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen. When all of your styles options have been expunged, though, the circle of life returns back to where it all likely began for you: lagers. I don't mean the "lite" American macro swill that you may have imbibed when you were in college, or even Yuengling (although referring to that beer "swill" is definitely up for debate in my classroom). But there comes a time in every serious beer drinker's lifeline where he or she, at the end of the day, just wants a crisp, clean, no-frills lager. 

So with that I say, "Gimme some Saaz and Tettnanger!" I'm glad to see a trendy brewery such as Dewey making a fine lager. This beer is floral and slightly citrusy. Cozy and familiar. The thing I absolutely love about lagers is that they are so nuanced in their simplicity. It's the merger of four basic ingredients - malt, hops, yeast and water - all coming together eloquently. You can't hide behind anything. You can't throw in 7 pounds of hops per barrel. You can't dry-hop the shit out of it. You can't throw it in a barrel and "hope for the best." At the end of the day, you must be an exceptional brewer to craft a world-class pilsner. The moral of this story: Don't take lagers for granted. 

While I worked on my lager, everyone else was enjoying pours of Hot Wax, so I joined the party. Brewed with wheat flakes and Pilsen malt and hopped with Vic Secret and Galaxy, this 8.5% NEIPA boasted lots of tropical notes with a dank pineapple character that's rounded out by a hint of citrus. By now, you surely have come to know my relationship with NEIPAs, but I'm happy to report that this one was well-executed and enjoyable. 

After our session at Dewey, we stocked up on beer to-go (something in which we've been partaking much more often since the 'Rona) including several four packs of Secret Machine and Thrills variants. We can't wait to start digging into these in the very near future! 

Before retiring for the evening, we had to stop in at Taylor's favorite local dive bar for a few $2 cans of Natty Bo. Scotty's Bayside Tavern is a typical dive bar complete with pool tables, stale cigarette smoke dangling in the air and - most of all - plenty of colorful regular customers. Apparently, some of the patrons of a lighter complexion were heard making veiled (albeit disparaging) comments about some folks with noticeably darker complexions. ("Man, it's gettin' dark in here now" was overheard as a few black customers came in.) Kudos to the racists, though, for not being so blatant about it, right? New rule for 2021: If you're going to practice racism, keep it subtle. 

How 'bout some Natty Bo, yo!

Anyhoo, after pounding a pair of Natty Bo cans, we headed back to Taylor's pad for more beers. I was also introduced to the genius that is Marc Rebillet. (Unless you want to do down a 2+ hours YouTube rabbit hole, don't click this link right now... save it for another time when you're insomnia-plagued brain is staring blankly into your computer screen at 2:30 a.m.) Taylor broke out some DFH treats, including the brand spankin' new Hazy-O, a NEIPA brewed with oats... tons of oats. We're talkin' malted oats, rolled oats, naked oats, and oat milk, all of which combine to produce a pillowy, easy drinking IPA that's smooth and refreshing. I know we cracked open a bunch of other stuff, but I must have been on a brief Untappd hiatus, as this was the only beer I checked in that night after Natty Bo. We must have been having too much fun cruising for YouTube videos. 

We're just getting started, kids! Stay tuned for our second of three installments of our road trip to southern Delaware including a full day in neighboring Maryland. Until next time...

Cape Crusaders: Exploring SoDel - Part 2

Our first stop on Saturday after our extensive tour of the DFH facility was Brimming Horn Meadery. Taylor mentioned that Deuane said it was the best mead he'd ever had. Strong words! One of the owners, Jon, was there when he arrived. Taylor also mentioned that he got his start brewing at Dogfish Head, so the two were acquainted. Turns out he brewed for DFH for about 12 years and also has 3 years of wine-making under his belt. So it was time to try something new on for size: mead. He's also really into metal (bonus points) and Brimming Horn even has a Mead & Metal series, which features collaborations with a number of up-and-coming metal bands. Horns up, people! \m/

Interior of Brimming Horn (photo courtesy of Giftly.com).

If by chance you're unfamiliar with mead, it is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water. Other adjuncts such as fruit, spices, grains, or hops may also be used. It can be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet. While the ABV content can be relatively low, most meads I've encountered are in the 8 to 15% realm, which is kind of between beer and wine. The majority of its fermentable sugar is derived from honey, which is the biggest differential between mead and beer. If you ever see a "braggot" on a beer menu, it is a wonderfully albeit rare hybrid style that melds beer with mead.

There was a lot to be had, so we opted for a sampler flight of six different selections, which was presented as a little viking ship! Here's the low-down:

• Russian Donkey - Moscow Mule-inspired mead with honey, ginger, and lime
• Tej - Sweet, earthy, spicy and citrusy mead made with with pure honey, woody hops and orange zest
• Seeds of the Underworld - Sweet mead with honey and pomegranate. Brewslut's favorite!
• Cherry Coffee Cake - cherries, coffee, and coconut. BAAAAM! 
• Blackberry Chai - sweet mead made with honey, local blackberries, and chai tea
• Melato - I'll let the folks at Brimming Horn explain this one in their own words: "Every two years, an amazing natural phenomenon occurs. In addition to the nectar produced by the Bracatinga flowers, bees also collect the honeydew produced by sap-sucking insects called cochineals, which live in the bark of the trees. Bees then process this honeydew, just like nectar, and produce Melato. Melato naturally remains liquid for a long time and can be compared to the best European forest honeys. Melato has been elected best honey in the world four times at the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations."

Pleeps also does mead!

My far and away favorite was the Cherry Coffee Cake, which was absolutely mind-blowing. Sadly, this was not available in bottles. This was so good that I'd keep a cattle trough of this on-hand to enjoy at my leisure. Luckily, they had bottles of Seeds of the Underworld, which Brewslut happily picked up to enjoy at home.

After an enjoyable visit to Brimming Horn (and accidentally backing into the food truck... nobody was injured, fortunately), it was time to continue exploring the local beer scene. Big Oyster, our next stop, opened its doors in 2015 and was named the fastest growing independent craft brewery in America by the Brewer's Association in 2018. After operating for only a year or so, the brewery expanded to open a 6,000-square-foot facility and brewpub on King's Highway, just outside of Lewes, inside the established Fins Ale House & Raw Bar. The brewery distributes its beers throughout Delaware as well as into southern PA and parts of MD. It was pretty busy when we arrived, but we managed to snag four seats at the bar.

Outside Big Oyster Brewery.

By now it was around dinner time, so we decided to get some grub while we were here. A quick perusal of the menu made me hungry even if I wasn't. Obviously, oysters are huge in this particular region of Delaware, but I ultimately decided to go for a Veggie Burger featuring an organic black bean and corn patty with guacamole, mixed greens, tomato, and cheddar jack on a brioche bun. Beer-wise, I made a wise decision going with Then, a wine barrel-aged saison that was aged on 2017 crop peaches from Fifer's Orchards. This beer was pretty damn delicious, with plenty of peachy goodness and a hint of vinous and woody tones from the barrel. This beer was one of my favorites of the day! Brewslut really enjoyed the Mango Dreamsicle, which was part of her sampler flight, so I picked up a 4-pack of that before we left.

...and Then there was Pleeps.

Working at Tröegs, I've been in the know for a while about the newly opened Thompson Island, the next stop on our itinerary. The brewpub is the first of its kind opened by a Delaware restaurant group, SoDel Concepts, which operates several successful restaurants in the area. The brewery takes its name from an island between Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach known as the Forgotten Mile, an area popular with hikers and birders.

Outside Thompson Island, Rehoboth Beach.

SoDel Concepts had acted as consultants when Tröegs opened its Snack Bar back in 2012. With Thompson Island, Tröegs returned the favor and assisted with the selection of a state-of-the-art brewhouse designed specifically for the restaurant. The brewpub itself is modeled after popular SoDel activities like bonfires, kayaking, paddle-boarding, fishing, and general "salt life." In addition to the bays and beaches, local farms will play a prominent part of the theme as well.

Interior of Thompson Island (photo courtesy of Visit Delaware).

SoDel has a very good reputation among diners in the region, so it was no wonder that the place was brimming with people when we arrived. We nabbed a high top table in the bar area and perused the beer menu. Something called Beautiful, a dry-hopped kettle sour, immediately jumped out. The beer begins with a kettle soured base, after which it gets the dry hop treatment with heavy additions of Citra and Galaxy hops to coax notes of citrus peel and papaya. This one was pretty solid overall. I was also happy to hear that Thompson Island had everything dialed in prior to its grand opening. Tröegs actually did a pair of Scratch beer collaborations, which we sent down for the grand opening. The brewery also dumped its first batch of beer, an IPA that was deemed just "fine" (not flawed or infected). Other breweries should take note of this practice before releasing subpar - or worse - beer to the public.

Uh-oh...

After visiting Thompson Island, we headed over to the Dogfish Head EmPOURium, which had been given a considerable overhaul since our last visit more than a decade ago. Established in 1995, it was the home of the brewery (once cited as the smallest commercial brewery in the country... oh, how the times have changed). With the brewing facility sharing its space with the brewpub kitchen, DFH founder Sam Calagione had the luxury of simply grabbing off-the-wall ingredients like raisins, maple syrup and roasted chicory, all of which worked their way into some of DFH's earliest and most popular beers. Over the years, the "Brewing & Eats" became known as the place for craft beer, spirits, food and live original music. After more than two decades, the new site opened right next door to the original space. I was surprised to see how much everything had expanded - especially the stage! - since we'd last visited. The bar was much bigger too, and we were able to secure four seats there. One of Taylor's brewing friends also made a quick appearance while we were there, and we chatted for a bit. 

Outside the DFH EmPOURium (photo courtesy of Trip Advisor).

Taylor suggested a West Coast-style IPA brewed in celebration of national IPA day called Covered in Nuggs. Dank, piney and citrusy - all good qualities in an IPA, if you ask me - this beer covers all the bases. Hopped heavily with the classics - Amarillo, Centennial, Citra, and Simcoe - this IPA didn't disappoint. I wish more breweries brewed IPAs like this. Even the last time we were out in San Diego, the "haze craze" had infested many of the traditional old school breweries.

Obviously, DFH has come a long way since the early days, and while not every beer may be a home run, but you'd be hard-pressed to find another brewery that has made more of an impact on the craft beer scene. Sam is a trailblazer, and his experimental nature and eclectisim has raised the bar and set an industry trend that's mimicked by countless other breweries to this day.

Following our visit to the EmPOURium, we headed over to one of the local breweries I was most excited about checking out: Dewey Beer Co. The brewery opened for business on May 28, 2015 in an old eatery called Bubba's Grill just off Coastal Highway. In addition to a full restaurant offering a diverse, scratch-made menu, the brewery side of the operation churns out some amazing forward-thinking beers on a custom-made 7-barrel system. Perhaps Dewey's most popular beers stem from its Secret Machine series of fruited sours. I was anxious to dive into some of these, and let me tell you... they didn't disappoint!

Outside Dewey Beer Co.

The place was boppin' when we arrived (and for good reason, as I'd soon find out) but we managed to snag a hightop table in the back of the crowded room. Upon perusing the beer list, I noticed a few Secret Machine variations on there. The two we ended up ordering were Pomegranate Coconut Mousse and Cherry Blackberry Pie. The former is an imperial sour brewed with sweet and tangy pomegranate and fluffy coconut-chocolate mousse, while the latter is brewed with cherries and blackberries to mimic a slice of fresh-baked pie. Both were absolutely delicious, but I think I have to give props to the Pomegranate Coconut Mousse variant. Regardless, both of these beers intrigued me to the point that I was mentally making plans for a return visit the following day. Plus Taylor said the food is awesome, so another visit seemed like a no-brainer decision.

After an enjoyable session at a world-class brewery, we headed to Scotty's Bayside Tavern, a dive bar located near Taylor's house. This place is at the opposite end of the spectrum compared to what we'd just experienced at Dewey Beer Co... not that I was anticipating anything more. A smoky place with colorful locals, pool tables, and questionable tunes on the jukebox, Scotty's is a quintessential local dive bar. By this time, we were all pretty schlitzed and hankering for some grub. Greg noticed a Chinese restaurant next door, so he called to place an order. In the meantime, we ordered a round of Natty Bo cans. At two bucks each, I'd say it was a bargain. After a while, our Chinese food was ready and we chowed down on sub par chicken fried rice right from the box while at the bar. I'm pretty sure the bartender wasn't too pleased with us not using plates or napkins, but we were too oblivious to take notice. After another round of Natty Bo for everyone - and a few choice tunes on the jukebox - we headed back to Taylor's to close out the night with some more beers.

Inside Scotty's (photo courtesy of Yelp)

I broke out a few things I'd brought with us, including a bottle of Corne De Bois, a strong ale from A l'abri de la Tempête, and London Balling, an Amburana wood-aged barleywine from Against the Grain. Just as my refrigerator is overflowing with Tröegs, so it Taylor's with a variety of DFH offerings. He busted out a few we hadn't had before, including Vibrant P'ocean and Slightly Mighty. The former is a combination of two unique base beers – one developed by Rodenbach (Grand Cru, anyone?) and the other by DFH. The result is a complex, ruby-colored ale that's dry and tart with notes of dark fruit, berries, and lemon zest. The latter is a light bodied, low-calorie IPA featuring tropical notes and a hint of toasted grain. At only 95 calories and less than 4 grams of carbs, this beer delivers quite a bit of flavor and aroma for such a small beer. You can definitely slam a few of these without feeling bloated! He also shared a bottle of Bourbon Barrel-aged World Wide Stout, which we'd never had the opportunity of trying. This version of the legendary imperial stout is aged in charred oak bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distillery. Dense, roasty and complex, this huge 18-ish% ABV heavy-hitter boasts rich notes of coffee, licorice, dark caramel and plenty of bourbon warmth. After that one, I'd say you could stick a fork in us.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of our adventures in SoDel, including our much anticipated visit to Burley Oak. Until next time...

Cape Crusaders: Exploring SoDel - Part 1

After Brewslut and I had visited northern Delaware back in January (as documented in Dela...where? - Part 1), one of my friends, Taylor, commented that we should make the trek a bit further south next time and visit him in the Rehoboth Beach area. I considered the invitation and quickly realized that we hadn't been down in those parts since my band, herbie, used to play at the Dogfish Head (DFH) brewpub back in 2008 or thereabouts. Taylor mentioned that a lot had changed since we last visited the area, including the number of breweries. It seems as though the popularity of DFH had spawned several up-and-coming breweries around Delaware's rapidly growing Cape Region, which includes Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Lewes, and Milton, among others. Turns out all of these towns have at least one brewery. Great! More to add to our ever-expanding list. 

To backtrack briefly, I first met Taylor when he started working at Tröegs as a bartender in the tasting room. I immediately took like to his friendly demeanor, enthusiasm, and shared love of beer and music. His course would traverse a few brewing gigs in Central PA and - of all places - Alabama, before landing a job at Dogfish Head as a brewer. Fast forward three years, and he still enjoys crafting "analog beer for the digital age." So, we found a free weekend and took him up on his offer. With the impending Presidents Day holiday coming up, I decided to use one of my newfound additional PTO days and make a long weekend of it. Brewslut, being a professional educator, already had the day off (thanks to the cooperation of Old Man Winter), so it was settled. We were off to the beaches of Delaware. 

I quickly realized that not only would we get to visit the DFH brewing facility in Milton (where we'd never been... yes, I know... shame on us), but we'd also be about twenty miles or so from Burley Oak, a brewery that was on my long list of places we need to visit PRONTO! I'd been wanting to visit Burley Oak for about three years, and the time had finally come. 

But let's start at the beginning: Friday afternoon. 

We decided to head out late Friday afternoon around 4 p.m. and spend the night in Smyrna, DE, which is more or less the halfway point between the homestead and Taylor's place. We scored a sweet Priceline "Express Deal" (I swear we should get some kind of residuals for how often we mention it) with the idea that we'd get a head start on the drive and also check out a few breweries in the process. 

At first, we had only planned to hit two places in the same town as our hotel. However, Taylor mentioned that the Victory Parkesburg facility was on the way, so we decided to swing by and check it out. For some reason, I thought it was just a tasting room, like the Kennett Square location. However, when we pulled into the parking lot, we quickly discovered that this was, in fact, its main production facility. 

Outside Victory's Parkesburg facility.

I wanted to start off light since I didn't have much for lunch, so I decided to go with Home Grown, a dry-hopped lager. This beer boasts whole flower American hops, which lend hints of juicy citrus fruit and a hint of perfume. It wasn't overly crisp or carbonated, as many lagers typically are, and it didn't have quite the hop oomph I was anticipating, but it was still a pretty solid offering that I'd never had before. Plus it worked well with our delicious BBQ smoked wings and side of fried, which we split as a snack. 

With some additional food in my gut, we moved on to bigger and better things. Enter Java Cask Gold Rye, a coffee stout featuring One Village Legend dark roasted coffee as well as oats, brown sugar, milk, and cocoa. The finished beer is then aged for 18 months in rye whiskey barrels to coax additional notes of lush vanilla, tangy booze and a hint of spice amid the dominant coffee character. This one was pretty bangin'. 

Pleeps posing with Java Cask Gold Rye.

We didn't get to wander around too much, although I did take Pleeps for a little stroll to visit with some of his primate friends he recognized when we went to the bathroom. It seems as though the popularity of Golden Monkey has spawned a number of spin-off beers including Sour Monkey, Twisted Monkey, Berry Tart Monkey, Barrel-aged Rose Monkey, and presumably others. Brewslut once consumed an entire 64-ounce growler of Golden Monkey on her birthday, which is a pretty impressive feat. That same night, I think I polished off a growler of Nugget Nectar. Aaah, the good old days.

Taylor also tipped us off to a new brewery that had just opened in Avondale, PA, called Be Here Brewing. Located inside the historic Avondale National Bank building, Be Here opened its doors as the area's first brewpub on November 29, 2019. After examining the map on our itinerary, it looked like we wouldn't have to go very far out of our way to swing by and check it out. Unfotunately, this turned out to be the shortest visit to a brewery in the history of the Pour Travelers.

The place seemed nice enough, and the bartender who greeted us was super friendly. The beers sounded good on paper. Not sure what to expect, we each opted for half pours of two beers that looked interesting. I liked the sound of the Oatmeal Cookie Stout, as the variety of cookie after which this beer is named is one of my favorites. Brewslut tried her luck with a hazy IPA called North of Here, which promised it was "exploding with fruit hops" and boasted notes of citrus and melon. I was a bit taken aback when I was charged ten bucks for two 8oz. beers, but I wasn't about to get stuck with an entire pint of a subpar beer.

Outside Be Here Brewing Co.

Turns out I made a wise decision. My Oatmeal Cookie Stout tasted neither like oatmeal cookies nor, for that matter, a stout. The texture was watery and lifeless, there was no creamy foam on top, and the aroma was lacking. I could barely get through two sips of this beer before Brewslut took one for the team and begrudgingly finished my pour. After all, I was driving, and when you're married you sometimes need to make some very tough sacrifices. Sadly, she didn't fare any better with her IPA. There was no hop character whatsoever. Any citrus and melon notes were overpowered with chlorine and metallic off-flavors.

All in all, I think our entire visit lasted about twelve minutes, which also included parking, ordering our beers, and each of us visiting the restroom. Brewslut slammed them down and we quickly shuffled off to the next place.

I need not beat a dead horse when it comes to the importance of having everything dialed in before opening a brewery, but Be Here sadly did not appear to have the beer thing figured out. I couldn't believe that these beers were rated on Untappd at 3.24 and 3.47, respectively. While I do have a pretty discerning palate, I don't claim to be an authority on off-flavors. But both of these beers were undrinkable. I hate to be so abusive, especially to new breweries, but I don't understand how someone who is a brewer could taste these two beers and decide they were fit for human consumption. To offer a bit of constructive criticism, try familiarizing yourself with the common off-flavors in beers. I know not every tiny brewery has the luxury of having an on-site QA lab (or even a QA person on staff), but serving contaminated or infected beer is only going to hurt you in the long run. Dumping beer is expensive, but your reputation is on the line. Enough said.

Outside Brick Works Brewing and Eats.

Things improved a bit at Brick Works, one of two breweries situated in Smyrna, DE, where we'd be setting up camp for the night. Founded in 2016, Brick Works' name is inspired by the old brick-making factory that previously occupied the building. The owners of Brick Works liked the the idea of paying homage to the factory, and recognized a parallel between the art of brewing craft beer and that of laying bricks.

Inside, the decor was industrial yet earthy, with plenty of exposed brick (obviously), cool light fixtures, and a finished cement floor and horseshoe-shaped bar. Then of course, there were TVs with the latest sporting events on the screens. TVs aside, I was digging the vibe as we walked in.

The always photogenic Pleeps at Brick Works.

It wasn't too crowded when we arrived, so we easily obtained seats at the bar. We decided to get dinner here since the menu looked solid. I'd checked it out prior to our visit and noticed some tasty-sounding veggie options and chicken pot pie, which I thought Brewslut might enjoy. Turns out I was right. Well, kind of. Unfortunately, her food was pretty cold, especially the house-made biscuit on top of her entree. My black bean and quinoa burger was pretty solid, and you can rarely go wrong with fries on the side.

Beer-wise, everything sounded fairly pedestrian, with the majority of the offerings being traditional styles. I decided to go with a pale ale called Amarillo Sunshine. A somewhat cloudy beer, it emphasizes Amarillo hops but also features Hallertau Blanc and Centennial dry hops. Overall, it was fairly grapefruit-forward with faint hints of melon and wildflowers. The nose wasn't as pungent as I'd hoped, though. Brewslut's Citrus Mistress, and American Wheat, features a prominent lemon and lime zest character, which came across more bitter than my pale ale. Despite both beers being midd-of-the-road, they were a vast improvement over the beer we sampled at Be Here.

Pleeps' sunny disposition pairs nicely with Amarillo Sunshine.

Overall, we weren't enticed to stick around for seconds, so we decided to head to our final stop of the evening. Thankfully, we were able to end the night on a good note at Blue Earl Brewing. Also situated in Smyrna just a stone's throw from our hotel, I'd first heard of Blue Note a few weeks earlier during our weekend trip to Wilmington and Newark. The hotel at which we were staying had a small bar area, and although the tap list consisted of just four beers, one of them was a Blue Earl beer. I love when hotels carry local craft beers, so I ordered it. It was a Wee Heavy, a style I don't typically order too often, but I gave it a shot. Thankfully, it was solid and overall enjoyable. So I remembered the name of the brewery, thinking it may pop up in the future at some point. And here we are!

View from our seats at the bar at Blue Earl.

I kicked off our visit with a pour of a coffee porter called I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. I love this style, and even better was the fact that it's brewed with locally sourced coffee beans from Little Goat Coffee Company. Bonus points for goats! The beer is then aged on cacao nibs, vanilla bean and caramel. While not as mind blowing as, say, Ethereal's Baba Yaga (which stirred my loins during our last Drinksgiving trip), this beer was fantastic. The bitterness of the the cocoa nibs really pushed through but were quelled courtesy of sweet vanilla and caramel notes, yet it still maintained a prominent coffee-forward character. Nicely done, Blue Earl!

Pleeps is never gonna die!

Meanwhile, Brewslut worked on a pour of Magical Mystery Tour (more bonus points for the Beatles reference)! The first component of this beer is a Flanders-style sour ale aged in a whiskey barrel for a year. This is then blended with a second base beer, a Belgian-style dark strong ale, to add deep, complex notes of dried stone fruit and dark caramel. Another solid beer. Two for two!

Things were going well by this point, so we decided to extend our stay a bit. I ordered a 5-ounce pour of a bourbon barrel-aged version of Blue Earl's imperial stout, Dark Star. This beer starts with 100% cocoa nibs and fresh roasted Bolivian coffee beans from a local roaster called The Young Bean. The malt bill includes lots of dark malts as well as flaked oats to achieve a velvety mouthfeel. The base beer is aged in a Heaven Hill bourbon barrel for six months. Rich and full-bodied, this decadent stout boasts lively notes of Belgian chocolate, espresso, bourbon, vanilla and dark fruit.

I can't say I really remember drinking Hazy at Heart , but I checked it in so I must have at least tried it. For some reason, Brewslut has been ordering lots of hazy IPAs lately. This one is brewed with a blend of 2-row barley, oats, wheat and lactose, and double dry-hopped with Citra, Mosaic and Cascade for a pungent slap of citrus fruit across the palate. That was about it for me. When you don't remember your last beer, it's best to close out your tab and head back to the hotel... which is exactly what we did. Of course, we enjoyed sharing a bottle of 2017 Kriek from New Glarus in sweet plastic hotel cups before getting some shut-eye.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On Saturday, we planned to visit Mispillion River Brewing on the way down to meet Taylor at Dogfish Head. However, we had to check out by 11 a.m. and the brewery didn't open until noon. So, we called an audible and decided to meet Taylor about 90 minutes ahead of schedule. We were a little early arriving at the brewery, which I must say is quite impressive. I never saw so much wood on the exterior of a brewing facility!

Outside the DFH facility in Milton, DE.

It was still pretty early in the day, so the tasting room area wasn't packed to the gills. We bellied up to the bar and immediately noticed a myriad of different, unusual sounding beers available on tap... as I was expecting, of course. A beer called Koffie Koyt immediately grabbed my attention. My eyes quickly scanned the board and both the words "coffee" and "cask" jumped out. Unbeknownst to me, Koyt is a long-forgotten Dutch beer style brewed primarily with malted oats. For this particular beer, DFH uses a malt bill of 55% oats, 25% malted white wheat and 20% pilsner malt as well as a touch of milk sugar to provide a dense, golden base beer, which is then aged on a single-origin organic Guatemalan coffee from neighboring Rise Up Roasters, as well as roasted cocoa shells from Askinosie Chocolate and whole Madagascar vanilla beans. This beer came across as intensely bittersweet with hints of dark roast, followed by a rich vanilla latte finish.

Tasting Room bar at DFH.

While we worked on our initial beers, Taylor showed up with another familiar character in tow - Greg (aka "Little Ryan Seacrest"), another friend I met through Tröegs. These two are quintessential hetero life-mates (I love that term), and I can't think of one of them without thinking of the other. In case you're wondering, the nickname "Little Ryan Seacrest" comes from a comment card I once received at Troegs describing an excellent server as the aforementioned moniker. But what Greg lacks in height he more than makes up for in personality and general charm. Greg's mom was also along for the ride, which was about to include a private VIP tour of the brewery, courtesy of Taylor.

Pleeps digging into my Koffie Koyt.

OK, now that we've introduced the cast of characters, let's get back to the beer.

We caught up over a glass of Pivo Prossim (pronounced "PEE-voh prah-SEEM"), which is Czech for "Beer Please." This classic Czech-style pilsner features Moravian pilsner malt and is mashed using the traditional decoction method. Light and toasty with a pleasant, zesty Saaz hop bite, this is a delicate yet flavorful version of this classic, often overlooked style. Midway through this beer, we got to go outside and check out the infamous steampunk treehouse that has been a centerpiece of the brewery since 2010.

DFH's steampunk treehouse.

This amazing piece of art was conceived and created in 2007 by an Oakland, CA-based artist named Sean Orlando with the help of the Five Ton Crane Arts Group. The sculpture was unveiled at Burning Man later that year. Measuring 40' tall x 40' wide, the treehouse weighs 8 tons and was constructed primarily with recycled and reclaimed materials. DFH later stumbled across the treehouse on the internet and eventually contacted the artists about making it a permanent fixture at the brewery. Here are a few photos I snapped during our exclusive peek inside the treehouse:

"I could really use a hand here..."

Cell phone, circa 2112.

Set the controls for the heart of the sun.

Back on the tour, there were several stops along the way, including the pungent cold storage space, where all of the hops and specialty adjunct ingredients - and DFH uses A LOT of 'em - are stored. We also checked out the fermentation cellar, barrel-aging space (which included large Palo Santo wood foeders), and eventually the main brewhouse.

These are NOT the old Palo Santo foeders.

Along the way, we got a taste of a beer called The Bellini Bambini, which is a take on a peach and blood orange Bellini, a classic Italian cocktail. This beer starts life as a light kettle sour with equal parts pilsner malt and malted wheat. It's then fermented with fresh peach puree, Italian blood orange juice, and white wine grape must to unearth flavors of juicy peach and citrus fruit with a champagne-like finish.

The original brewhouse on which Sam honed his brewing chops.

Once we got to the brewhouse, we sampled some 60 Minute IPA, one of DFH's long-standing flagship beers. Everyone reading this is undoubtedly familiar with this beer, so I needn't delve much further other than to say that it's a fine old-school IPA.

On to bigger and better things since that first little brewhouse.

Along the way, there were several examples which exemplified the irreverent collective sense of humor of DFH. Here are a few photos I snapped throughout the tour:

Gotta love a good Space Balls reference!

WOO HAAAAAA!!!

It's business time!

Too many mutha'uckas 'uckin' with my shiiii... 

Me so hoppy... "The racist dry hopper"

We ended our tour with a glimpse into the fermentation cellar and barrel-aging space, which was pretty impressive. Gotta love those walls of wood! 

Getting a personal tour of a brewery as amazing as DFH from a passionate employee ranks as among the best possible brewery experiences one can have. It was a joy to have Taylor lead us around the place where he spends the majority of his time. I must admit that one of my very favorite things to do at Tröegs is show people around - especially areas that aren't included in the tour. And this was just the tip of the iceberg of the weekend that was in store for us.

l to r: Greg, Geddy Lee (ok, me), and Taylor.

We're just getting started, kids! Tune in for episode 2 of this three-part extended weekend getaway to Delaware (and Maryland, too!) when we hit up more amazing breweries. Until next time...