Cape Region embracing craft movement
Story Location:
Lewes, DE 19958
United States
The popular Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail has been expanded, and four of the 10 new destinations are in the Cape Region.
During a May 3 news conference at Iron Hill Brewery on the Wilmington Riverfront, the Delaware Tourism Office unveiled new stops on the trail. Among the additions are Beach Time Distilling and Crooked Hammock in Lewes, Big Oyster Brewery in Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beer Co. in Dewey Beach.
Rich Garrahan, Crooked Hammock owner, said May 4 that nationwide this is the golden age of craft brewing, and it’s exciting the Cape Region community has really embraced the movement.
Garrahan said he reached out to the state to make sure Crooked Hammock, which opened its doors this past fall, was included on the trail.
“The trail’s had great success, and we wanted to make sure we were on it,” he said.
In total, the trail now has 25 sites. Other local businesses include both Dogfish Head sites in Milton and Rehoboth, 16 Mile Brewery in Georgetown, Nassau Valley Vineyards in Lewes and Delaware Distilling Co. in Rehoboth.
Garrahan said the local distilleries and breweries have worked closely with each other and Southern Delaware Tourism to make Sussex County a tourist destination for people who enjoy craft products.
Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail
New destinations:
• Crooked Hammock – Lewes
• Big Oyster Brewery – Rehoboth
• Beach Time Distilling – Lewes
• Dewey Beer Co. – Dewey
• Rebel Seed Cider – Marydel
• Blue Earl Brewing Co. – Smyrna
• Brick Works Brewing and Eats – Smyrna
• Bellefonte Brewing Co. – Wilmington
• Frozen Toes Brewing – Wilmington
• Liquid Alchemy Beverages – Wilmington
Existing destinations:
• Nassau Valley Vineyards – Lewes
• Delaware Distilling Company – Rehoboth
• Dogfish Head – Milton and Rehoboth
• 3rd Wave Brewing Co. – Delmar
• 16 Mile Brewery – Georgetown
• Mispillion River Brewing – Milford
• Pizzadili Vineyard & Winery – Felton
• Harvest Ridge Winery – Marydel
• Fordham & Dominion Brewing – Dover
• Painted Stave Distilling – Smyrna
• Iron Hill Brewery – Wilmington and Newark
• Argilla Brewing Co. – Newark
• Stewart’s Brewing Co. – Bear
The trail, which provides an interactive way to explore craft beverage makers across the state, started in 2010 under the name Delaware Wine & Ale Trail with the goal of increasing out-of-state visitors and featuring a developing segment of the state’s economy. At the time, it included 12 locations, all of them wineries and breweries.
“Every day we work to share with the country and the world that Delaware is a vibrant, viable and exciting place to visit, to live or to do business,” said Gov. Jack Markell at the Wilmington press conference. “I’m pleased to celebrate the expansion of our Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail and the entrepreneurs who are building Delaware’s craft beverage industry into a growing economic engine for our state.”
Delaware Director of Tourism Linda Parkowski said the trail drives business at trail locations.
“These business owners take on a lot of risk. They have the courage to turn their dreams into realities, their passions into profits,” she said at the press conference.
In addition to its new sites, the trail is getting a digital facelift.
An enhanced website – visitdelaware.com/bwst – includes upgraded features, like searching by product type, new location listings, trip planning assistance and automatic display of Instagram photos tagged #DEonTap, the new hashtag for the trail.
The tourism office is set to launch a new smartphone app this summer. It will use geo-locating and check-in technology to allow people to track their progress along the trail. The app will be available for free download through the App Store and Google Play.
Trail takers will also be able to record their progress through an updated passport available at the website. Once a person has been to any 10 of the locations, Visit Delaware will send them a free prize – a glass beer stein featuring the Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail logo on it.
The Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail is one of Visit Delaware’s five Trails of Discovery. The other four trails are: history, outdoor, geocaching and culinary.
For more information, visit the official Delaware Tourism website at www.visitdelaware.com or call 866-284-7483.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
