A Long Overdue Deleware Brewery Tour

Last February I promised Dan a day of brewery tours and beer tasting, and nearly ten months later I made good on that promise.  While there are multitudes of tours available during the weekend, there are only a handful open on Friday afternoons.  As a result, we headed to Delaware to see to check out what the craft beer scene had to offer.

First stop of the day ... Dogfish Head.  While many know them for their 60, 90 and 120 minute IPAs they brew several others and will soon open a distillery for hard alcohols.  The tour lasted about 90 minutes, but our group asked a ton of questions.  This brewery was the largest of the three we visited and reminded me a lot of the tour I did with my parents at Magic Hat. 

The tour brought us back around to the front where the Steampunk Tree House stood in all its glory.  This forty foot, eight ton structure was brought to DE after Burning Man was a wrap.  Apologizes for the picture, but getting some color contrast was nearly impossible due to the cloudy sky. 

 

There is no better way to wrap up a tour than with some beer tastings.  

Dan and I got to drink some old favorites and a couple of new ones too.  

Next stop post lunch break was 16 Mile brewery.  While the tours were canceled because of an upcoming event, that did not stop us from trying what they had on tap.  While the Old Court Ale was a personal favorite, there were a few which we left on the bar.  The Killer Tiller is a brown ale brewed with several kinds of peppers, including ghost chilies, and would better when added to a chili recipe than to chug down. 

The last stop of the day was the 3rd Wave Brewing Company.  Two flights and a taster allowed up to try all nine brews and every one was delicious, even the darker beers which I am not always able to drink. 

All in all the day was a complete success and fingers crossed,

I will see some of these local breweries at next year's DC Beer Festival.