Turning Shore's beer industry into liquid gold
Ann Hillyer is a woman on a mission.
Her goal? To turn the Eastern Shore into a top craft beer destination.
"We have unbelievable beauty right at our doorstep and we have exceptional beer," she said. "Now we need to start letting America in on our secret."
She has been working diligently with the Brewer's Association of Maryland and the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association to help promote the people, breweries, bars, restaurants and hotels involved in the area's craft beer movement.
With their teamwork, October has been named Shore Craft Beer Month.
The entire month will be full of events centered around local craft beer in addition to breweries offering special deals and tour packages.
"October already features Ocean City Restaurant Week," said Susan Jones, executive director of Ocean City Hotel-Motel Restaurant Association. "So adding the craft beer element should generate even more revenue for the restaurants and bars and will hopefully attract more tourists."
Jones is working with Ocean City restaurants to create new dishes infused with local craft beer. She's also encouraging brewpubs to revamp their menus to feature beer pairings with popular food items.
Several hotels are also supporting the Shore Craft Beer movement.
The Clarion in Ocean City offers guests a craft beer package available year-round. With a two-night stay, guests receive a four pack of craft beer from a local brewery of their choice, two beer glasses and a $50 meal credit, valid at participating food and beverage outlets.
"More and more people are taking advantage of our beer package," said Renee Seiden, Clarion director of sales and marketing. "We've received a lot of positive feedback about it."
The Dunes Manor in Ocean City offers a brewery tour package — Beach Brew Hop —to hotel guests and to the public.
The tour begins, every Thursday at 3 p.m., in the Dunes Manor lobby and visits three local breweries with free tastings at each and a guided tour of one of them. Participating breweries include Evolution Craft Brewery in Salisbury, Tall Tales Brewing Co. in Parsonsburg, Burley Oak in Berlin, OC Brewing Co. and 45th Street Taphouse in Ocean City.
Dunes Manor partnered with Fin City Brewing Co. in Ocean City to create their own branded beer — Zippy Lewis Amber Ale. The Beach Brew Hop ends back at the Dunes Manor lounge with brew masters from Fin City handing out Zippy Ale tastings and describing the brewing process behind creating it.
CBreeze Shuttle and Limo Service provides transportation for the Beach Brew Hop.
"It's a win-win for everyone involved — the hotel, the breweries and the shuttle service," said Marge Steele, Dunes Manor sales and marketing director. "It's great having such a large collaboration working toward a common goal."
Jerry Connolly, founder of CBreeze Shuttle, also creates customized packages for those interested in independent brewery tours.
"My goal is to limit windshield time and maximize venue time," Connolly said. "I work with my customers to create a tour package that best suits their agenda."
Like Connolly, Richard Pennington saw the need for a safe way to get people to and from the many breweries on Delmarva. His company — Eastern Shore Brewz Krooz — also connects people to local breweries without the threat of a DUI.
A standard Brewz Krooz tour package includes a visit to three local craft breweries, a behind-the-scenes production tour of one of them and a flight (four to six 4-ounce samples of beer) from each.
"You do the drinking and we do the driving," said James Davis, Brewz Krooz vice president and Pennington's brother-in-law.
Education is key
Last fall, Hillyer created Shorecraftbeer.com to serve as a collaboration platform for all of those involved in the Shore Craft Beer movement. It provides information on the local breweries, shuttle and hotel packages, upcoming events and links to educational and informative craft beer related sites.
Working with Ocean City tourism, she also created a Shore Craft Beer brewery guide and brochure that is now included in each Ocean City tourism package.
"People are already coming here for the beaches and vacation," she said. "So why not for our beer?"
Without proper education though, Hillyer believes even the best marketing strategies and beer packages will be futile in turning the Shore into a top craft beer destination.
"I absolutely hate it when I go out dinner and ask my server which beer they recommend, only to be told 'I don't know' or 'I don't drink beer,'" Hillyer said. "Those working in the trade need to know craft beer inside and out."
She's organized quarterly Beer Talk and Tastings, each held at a different brewery, to promote education and interest within the industry. Open to the public, each Beer Talk features a different topic. Past topics have included insight on beer styles, flavors and ingredients.
"The best part about the talks is watching those in the industry interact with one another," she said. "You would think this business would be competitive and cut-throat but it's the complete opposite. They all want one another to succeed."
On that same note, Hillyer believes more Shore locals will support the craft beer movement if they understand how much it will benefit the area's economy.
The craft beer industry contributed to $33.9 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012 and created more than 360,000 jobs, according to the Brewers Association.
In addition to the national impact, the Brewers Association examined economic contribution per state. In 2012, Maryland's economic impact was listed at $455 million.
"Craft beer is not a fad," Hillyer said. "For the last 30 years, it has been a growing trend that doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Every day, I'm hearing about another new brewery in the works. The state needs to embrace this industry and we need to really start marketing ourselves as beer destination."
Right place at the right time
Hillyer wasn't always crazy about beer. In fact, she used to hate it. But a series of events led her to find a strong passion for the beverage and a drive to help those who make it.
When she graduated college, Hillyer was hired as the marketing assistant for Presidential Airways at the Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
She was shocked when her boss announced the company was going to start serving Sam Adams beer on their planes.
"She told us Sam Adams was going to be big one day and that carrying their beer would set us apart from other airlines," Hillyer said. "I just remember thinking, 'gross.'"
When her brother graduated from college, he struggled to find the right job amid numerous dull and lackluster offers, Hillyer said.
She suggested he look into the up-and-coming Boston Beer Company, Sam Adams.
Jim Koch hired Hillyer's brother as one of his company's first beer representatives. The skilled salesman that he was, Hillyer's brother convinced her to try the Sam Adams Triple Bock — an extreme brew with deep, full flavor exploding with notes of maple, vanilla, oak and toffee.
She loved it.
Shortly after, Hillyer came across a new favorite — Guinness, an Irish dry stout. And then she fell in love with the Pilsner Urquell, packed with crisp hoppy flavor and a touch of malt sweetness.
"I remember thinking, wow, there is so much more to beer than I thought," she said, smiling. "Looking at my life now, I can't help but see the irony. It's funny how things fell into place."
hcarroll2@dmg.gannett.com
410-845-6828
Follow on Twitter @hcarroll_1