State gives Delaware alcohol-makers a high-tech push

With a constant flow of new beers and a steady stream of events to showcase them, it's harder than ever to keep track of the state's growing roster of breweries.

Even with the state-run Delaware Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail website, beer blogs like Delaware Hop Scene and each of the state's 20-plus breweries pushing their beers and bashes online via social media, the scope of the state's beer bubble is downright unwieldy -- even for plugged-in beer geeks.

With the popularity of beer applications nationwide such as Untappd, which allows its 5 million users to find, rate and track their favorite brews, smartphone apps have emerged as a must-have for true blue brew buffs.

Now The First State is getting into the sudsy Silicon Valley mash-up, getting what is quite possibly the first-ever app dedicated exclusively to Delaware's alcohol-makers.

The Delaware Tourism Office quietly released its new Delaware on Tap app a few weeks ago, giving residents (and potential visitors and vacationers) a handheld guide to the state's burgeoning craft booze scene.

The app is a one-stop shop for the state's breweries with updated events listings, deals, maps, tours and more, including links for Uber rides and a "photo booth" allowing users to take photos with drink-themed frames.

Its geolocation software can show you the closest breweries, distilleries, and others in your current area, complete with directions.

Delaware on Tap also now gives the tourism office's Delaware Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail a streamlined "passport" for its brewery scavenger hunt.

The program previously encouraged people to visit 10 different breweries, cideries, distilleries, meaderies or wineries, getting a code at each spot and mailing in the downloadable "passport" to receive a limited edition mug as a prize.

With the app, the program is now also digital. Users can "check-in" to a spot with a push of a button. And there's no cheating. The geolocation technology will know if you're not where you say you are.

It's essentially a souped-up mobile version of the Delaware Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail and leaves the nitty gritty of what's on tap at each spot to Untappd and its powerful network of beer enthusiasts.

"We heard consistently from travelers that the trail provided them this great guide of places to visit, but they wanted it in the palm of their hand," says Liz Keller, director of the state's tourism department, which has been working on the app for about a year. "That's how Delaware on Tap was born."

The app, which is integrated with the state's craft trail website so updates are simultaneously pushed through the app and the site, helps craft fans wrap their arms around what seems like a never-ending whack-a-mole game of new breweries and events that seem to sprout daily.

It's an industry built on what's new. Experimentation leads to a constant rotation of new brews with the state's craft breweries churning out about 250,000 barrels each year, according to the Brewers Association.

And these 23 indie breweries across the state -- many of which have been opened by home brewers -- have substantially increased their number of events to draw people to their sometimes hard-to-find locations.

Whether it's festivals based on music, food or beer (or all three combined), craft fans can find brewery events to attend just about every weekend.

This weekend's offerings include Food Truck Friday at Dew Point Brewing Co. in Yorklyn with Doggy Style Hot Dogs. For Saturday fun, you can find the second annual Mead & Meat at Liquid Alchemy Beverages near Elsmere with Bang Bang BBQ and "The Sausage King of Delaware" Maiale Food Truck on site, along with Blue Earl Brewing Company's third annual Blue Soul Fest, which includes sets by 
Dr. Harmonica & Rockett 88, Blue Cat Blues Band and others.

The constant barrage of events and releases can be dizzying -- even if you aren't partaking. And these days, beer and technology go together like an ice cold IPA with a pipin' hot sausage sandwich.

"From trade shows to local events like Brews By the Bay, the feedback has been asking about a mobile app, so it was only a matter of time before we came up with Delaware on Tap," Keller says of the app, which will be officially unveiled next Friday on American Beer Day as part of a promotional push.

It didn't take long for Joe Conway, a Bear-based homebrewer and beer fan, to jump on board with the new Delaware beer app.

"Oh cool, I'll definitely download it today," he said when he heard it had been made available with little fanfare ahead of its official release.

Conway knows all about how large the Delaware craft beer scene has grown -- and how hard it is to keep track of it all. Earlier this year, he launched his own site, Delaware Brew Trail, to go with the Delaware Beer, Wine & Spirits Facebook group he created in 2009.

It not only maps out all of the state's breweries, but it does the same for the surrounding region, reaching into Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Breweries are destinations for many who are willing to drive to try something new -- part of the reason why the state's tourism department first launched the Delaware Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail in 2010.

Conway has found that craft fans in general -- not just 20-something beer-loving hipsters -- are drawn to apps and websites that connect them with not only breweries and beers, but with other members of the craft beer community.

"Even those people that might not be considered the prime demographic, such as someone 50, like me, have smartphones now. They are ubiquitous," he says. "And if they are a craft beer fan, they want to know what's going on and what's new they can try." 

Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).