Brewpubs are reshaping beach towns
I thought it was busy at the Dewey Beer Company and, I guess, for the uninitiated it looked that way. But there were seats to be had and no wait for tables on a Friday afternoon, which in August just means there’s a lull. Another way to tell there’s a lull in the action is […]
Burley Oak embodies craft beer culture, stimulating local economy
OceanCity.com, August 4, 2014 by Anthony Towey When Berlin squared off against Cazenovia, NY in the finals of Budget Travel’s “Coolest Small Town” contest this winter, the mayors of the municipalities upped the ante on the competition, each wagering a growler of locally brewed beer on the outcome. Mayor Gee Williams putting beer from Burley Oak on the line […]
Brewing from the rafters at Fin City
When people told me Fin City was above Hooper’s Crab House, I didn’t take them literally. After all, Hooper’s is just on the Assawoman Bay and it would make sense to have a brewery just above it on the water. Imagine my surprise when I showed up to Hooper’s to meet some of the owners […]
It’s all about the execution
The executor’s song It was 10 a.m. on a Friday morning and the boardwalk mostly was empty, save for the exercises (bikers, joggers, etc.) and Adam Davis, the head brewer at Backshore Brewing Company. Inside the brewery, Davis was just finishing up his morning. He’d popped by to get some work done early and was […]
Where’s the beer?
Recently I had the opportunity to speak with Jim Lutz, who runs Fordham/Old Dominion in Dover. Jim inherited a number of problems after the two beer companies merged (*shameless plug alert* which will mostly be enumerated in my forthcoming book on beer in Delaware), but one of them is common still among many of the […]
The Keymaster, not the Gatekeeper
Setting aside the cultural, epicurean and economic benefits the craft beer revolution might just herald a larger social good: the extinction of the dead-eyed bartender. Bartending always took an amount of skill, but it increasingly takes engagement. This is pretty true behind any normal bar, but behind the bar at a craft brewery, it is […]
Burley Oak builds a house
That taverns were the heart of the American Revolution, hell, of most revolutions, feels like it’s common knowledge, but why taverns as opposed to private homes or churches is something that escapes people. The fact is, it had very little to do with alcohol. In early America, especially in rural areas, there was a tavern […]
There’s no place like home
That taverns were the heart of the American Revolution, hell, of most revolutions, feels like it’s common knowledge, but why taverns as opposed to private homes or churches is something that escapes people. The fact is, it had very little to do with alcohol. In early America, especially in rural areas, there was a tavern […]
Being undeniable on 45th Street
The restaurant that is Assawoman Bay Brewing Company was under construction when I visited this spring. It was disorienting and made me grateful for the weird beer reporter position I’ve been in for the last few years. I’m privileged to see a lot of breweries mid-construction or conversion, to taste beers that might eventually get […]
Assawoman Bay Brewing ups its game
The restaurant that is Assawoman Bay Brewing Company was under construction when I visited this spring. It was disorienting and made me grateful for the weird beer reporter position I’ve been in for the last few years. I’m privileged to see a lot of breweries mid-construction or conversion, to taste beers that might eventually get […]
Riding the 3rd Wave of success
AmericanCraftBeer.com, May 20, 2015, by Anthony Towey What do surfing, pizza making, science degrees, and brewing beer have in common? Not much. But 3rd Wave Brewing Company, Delmarva’s first and only all-woman owned brewery may not be here without all three. Like many of us who grow up on the Delmarva Peninsula, Lori Clough and […]
Craft Business as usual: Rubber Soul and the potential greatness of good beer
This part two of a two part story It’s an obvious statement but one that still is worth making: craft beer has tipped and not just in popularity. It is a Thing now, with expectations and pro- and con- sides and subcultures and vanguards. It has become part of our culture in a way very […]