This time, DE on Tap is here to help with the regional brewery hopping experience.
October 27 was National American Beer Day, and it was also the day that the Delaware Tourism Office officially unveiled DE on Tap, an app for craft-beer-loving Delawareans (and DE vacationers) to find breweries nearby, check out local events and explore all the craft beer that the state has to offer.
The app is similar to our own Shore Craft Beer app and the countrywide beer-finder Untappd–but narrowed down to Delaware, a state with 23 independent breweries and counting, rather than all of Delmarva or the entirety of the U.S. (and that’s a lot of ground to cover).
Untappd has seven million users to date and has grown exponentially since its launch in 2010. But as the indie craft beer scene grows, too, beer lovers are drinking locally and discovering the small breweries unique to each state, and region-specific apps are gaining popularity.
Similar to Shore Craft Beer and Untappd, the most convenient part of the app might be the “What’s Nearby” map and “Where to Go” page, which display 28 of Delaware’s breweries and wineries from Wilmington to Dewey Beach.
If you’re someone who’s trying to explore the Delaware Beer, Wine and Spirits Trail, DE on Tap offers a simple look at the venues you need to hit, how far away you are from each of them and what tastes you can expect upon arriving.
The “Events” page is pretty cool, too–when I checked the day the app was released, it consisted of mostly Halloween-centric happenings from a Hoppy Halloween party at Blue Earl in Smyrna to a pumpkin beer soap-making class at Bellefonte Brewing up in Wilmington. Today the first one on the list is the 7th Annual Wilmington Beer Week! (No happy hours, though–for that, you’ll have to look on the breweries’ Facebooks the good, old-fashioned way).
Under “Tours” are four brewery/winery/distillery bus tours–wineries are included in the app, too. And if you’re seeking out a brewery solo, a helpful little “Uber to this location!” button will open the Uber app on your phone with your desired drop-off location already set.
Up-and-coming regional beer apps could be the wave of the future when it comes to trying new brews and supporting local breweries–in addition to online (shore) craft beer destinations, of course.
Author: Kristin Helf
Kristin is a writer and picture-taker in Ocean City, Maryland. She likes puppies, pumpkin ales and watching movies for the Ocean City Film Festival in her spare time.
