Kemp’s Liquors launches new craft beer club March 23
Kemp’s Liquors in Milton will kick off its new craft beer club with the first of its monthly free beer tastings, 4 to 6 p.m., Friday, March 23. The tasting will also include appetizers which complement the beers served to show how well many craft beers pair with food. Co-owner Rory Costello, who is described as a beer geek by his beer suppliers, is eager to spread the word that beer can have more taste than the domestic light beers most people are familiar with.
While sales of the standard, domestic beers like Bud and Miller have been falling in recent years, growth in the craft beer segment has been explosive. Volume of craft beer sold increased 14 percent in the first six months of 2011.
Costello attributes his appreciation of extreme beers with growing up in Lewes and its close proximity to Dogfish Head brewery and brewpub. When he reached drinking age, he and his friends sampled all of the available Dogfish products and also joined a beer club at a now closed Rehoboth restaurant where he tasted more than 100 different craft beers. Last year, he attended the Great American Beer Expo in Philadelphia where he tried some 35 new beers.
Kemp’s beer club will be set up to help the consumer learn about the different types and categories of the craft beer genre. All participants will receive a card listing the beers to be tasted and will receive 5 percent off the purchase of each of the beers. Once the participant has tasted all of the beers listed, he or she will receive a special Kemp’s Beer Club T-shirt and will also be able to take a 5 percent discount off all craft beer purchases in the future.
Costello tries to keep all of the Dogfish Head products in stock and also offer other Delaware beers as well as beers from all over the world. He currently has more than 160 different craft beers for sale, and all beers can be bought by the individual bottle.
Two of Costello’s current favorites are Schafly Reserve Imperial Stout from St. Louis, Mo., and Het Anker’s Cuvee Van de Keizer blauw from Belgium. The Schafly Reserve is a great example of the new trend among breweries of aging the beer in used bourbon or whiskey casks, which imparts a new level of flavor to the beer.
Kemp’s will also be holding free wine and beer tastings accompanied by snacks at the Milton Farmers Market from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month beginning in April. The focus will be on tasting wines and beers produced within 200 miles of Milton.
Kemp's is at 22841 Milton-Ellendale Highway in Milton, on the corner of Route 16 and Route 30, and the telephone number is 302-684-3004.
