New rules mean Delaware booze-makers can offer wider variety, including wine in breweries

Do you love sipping craft beers at local breweries, but your partner is a wine-only kind of person?

If you're in Delaware, you now have options.

Breaking decades of regulation, a new alcohol rule that sailed through the Legislature and was signed by Gov. John Carney on June 7 allows each of the state's 30-plus alcohol-makers to decide whether they want to sell their products at craft locations.

It's been 1 1/2 months since Delaware breweries have been allowed to serve glasses of wine or distilleries able to pour a freshly brewed First State beer, and several spots across the state are already taking advantage.

For example, Smyrna's Painted Stave Distillery, which pushed support for H.B. 373, rolled out local beers and wines immediately.

When he heard Carney had signed the bill, co-owner Ron Gomes stopped at Kreston's Wine & Spirits in Middletown to buy an array of Delaware-made beer and wine, bringing it back to the distillery for their customers.

After several years of only being able to offer their own whiskey, vodka and gin, you can now spot people drinking glasses of wine from Marydel's Harvest Ridge Winery at Painted Stave. It also carries bottles and cans of beer from breweries such as Smyrna's Blue Earl, Milford's Mispillion, Delmar's 3rd Wave and Lewes' Big Oyster.

So what effect has it had on their in-house spirit sales? Not much. So far.

Painted Stave co-owner Mike Rassmussen says sales have been steady, with only a handful of people taking advantage of the new offerings each night.

It's during special events when he has seen beer and wine sales pop, such as last month's Smyrna at Night block party or an event they hosted celebrating Smyrna's 250th anniversary. 

"We had a lot of older folks who just wanted to have a glass of wine," Rassmussen says. "So those are the opportunities where we see a great benefit because we can get something for a customer who may otherwise drink nothing at all while they're here."

The idea for the bill originated after Rassmussen took a trip to Pennsylvania and noticed that its laws allow much of the same kind of interchangeable offerings that Delaware's bill OK'd.

Rep. William J. Carson, D-Smyrna, the bill's primary sponsor, soon got on board and introduced it in April. His bill didn't get a single "no" vote in the Senate (19-0) or the House (39-0). 

The bill did not face resistance from the state's alcohol distributors because language in the bill was specifically crafted to keep the state's three-tier distribution in place.

That means the state's breweries, wineries, distilleries, meaderies and cideries would not be able to directly sell to each other but would have to go through a third party. That means everyone involved in the production, distribution and sale of the product would benefit.

Dogfish Head has not yet jumped into the action, but representatives say they are open to participating down the road.

So which Delaware alcohol-makers are already serving drinks made by others? Here's a taste.

16 Mile Brewing Company, 413 S. Bedford St., Georgetown. The brewery is serving up kegged cocktails using liquor from Beach Time Distilling near Lewes. Try a Watermelon Crawl, Matt's Lemonade, Cucumber Smash or Rum Passionfruit drink. "We're always creating new ones, too," says Angelina Idler, 16 Mile's marketing and events director.

Dew Point Brewing Co., 2878 Creek Road, Yorklyn. Painted Stave spirits and Harvest Ridge wine is now on the menu at the historic Garrett Snuff Mill complex. Says co-owner John Hoffman, "We hope to serve Liquid Alchemy Beverages products (ciders and meads) in the future."

Harvest Ridge Winery, 447 Westville Road, Marydel. During the wineries new "Local Love Thursday" events, they are serving Mispillion River Brewing (Milford) beers and cocktails made with Painted Stave spirits every Thursday 5 to 9 p.m. in July. New collaborations will be added for August.

Liquid Alchemy Beverages, 28 Brookside Drive, near Elsmere. The meadery will begin offering special Delaware cocktail nights throughout the year beginning next month. Expect drinks made from Painted Stave and Beach Time spirits. Big Oyster beers will soon also be on the way, says co-owner Jeff Cheskin.

Midnight Oil Brewing Company, 674 Pencader Drive, Glasgow. Harvest Ridge wines have made it to the bar at Midnight Oil, one of the state's newest breweries.

Painted Stave Distilling, 106 W. Commerce St., Smyrna. Wine from Harvest Ridge and beers from Blue Earl, Mispillion, 3rd Wave and Big Oyster are available in cans and bottles. A draft system could be in their future, Rassmussen says.

Volunteer Brewing Company, 120 W. Main St., Middletown. This microbrewery now offers Harvest Ridge wines with a plan to add a cider tap later this summer, eyeing cider from Marydel's Rebel Seed Cidery or Liquid Alchemy.

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).