Breweries descend upon Crooked Hammock for festival
Craft beer lovers were hopping over to Crooked Hammock Brewery in Lewes as they hosted their Local Beer Festival Sunday, May 15.
Ten local breweries from Delaware and Maryland were looking to show off some of their new and exciting creations. People were also able to take part in fun and games, including a corn hole tournament and live music.
Lindsey Shockley, representing Crooked Hammock Brewery, said this was the first time Crooked Hammock has done an event like this since they have opened in October of 2015, and hopes to get many more breweries involved in the future.
“This is something we thought of doing as a way to support local breweries and as a way to show we support local companies,” Shockley said. “We are definitely hoping to do this event more in the future.”
READ MORE: Learn about other craft beer events on Delmarva
Interest in craft beer has grown amongst consumers as breweries are taking extra time to hand make their product, as well as being inventive in different types of beer.
Jessica Daleiden of Blue Earl Brewery in Smyrna said craft beer is just different from what people are used to drinking. Daleiden said local businesses taking the time to make their beer fresh is what draws people to it.
“Craft beer is fresh and at the finest quality by using fresh ingredients,” Daleiden said. “It also really helps local businesses.”
Delaware has seen a growth in craft breweries in the state, so many of the breweries are attending local events like this as a way to promote themselves and their products.
Georgetown brewery 16 Mile’s representative Ben Jones said local events like these are important to show just what craft breweries can do. Jones said that craft beer events also get people to try different beers, like 16 Mile's Seed Free and Joy watermelon ale, instead of just the normal big name beers they are used to.
“Beer events like these are always a ton of fun,” Jones said. “These people aren’t out here as your typical Bud Light drinkers which is great.”
At events like these, many breweries take an opportunity to experiment with new products. Dogfish Head Brewery used this platform as a means to try out some new ideas.
Dogfish Spirits salesman Jason King said even though this was a beer festival, it’s still a great opportunity to test out new non-beer products such as their Moscow Mule and Pomegranate Moscow Mule keg conditions.
“We like to take the opportunity to test out new products whenever we can,” King said. “You have many people here to test out our products to see whether it works or it doesn’t.”
Despite the breezy day, craft-beer lovers were happy to come out and enjoy some beer and food. Some had other reasons for attending the event.
Local resident Haley Workman said she was taking this event as an opportunity to decide what beers will make the final cut for her wedding later this year.
“We were out here supporting Dogfish Head and doing some scouting for my wedding,” Workman said. “We are pretty sure Dogfish Head’s Pomegranate Moscow Mule is going to be our signature drink.”