Keeping It Local for the Holiday Season

It's hard to believe the holidays are well upon us already! Are you stumped on what to buy the craft beer lover in your life? Or need to drop a few subtle hints on what you'd like to receive this holiday season? Well, keep it local folks, and look no further than one of our local breweries to help you finish up your holiday shopping! 

We decided to suggest a few of our favorite items from the breweries around the state again this year. Check them out!  

16 Mile Brewing Company

16 Mile Hoodie, $35, available at the brewery
16 Mile Taphouse Growlers
Whether you're visiting the Tavern at 16 Mile Brewing Company in Georgetown, or the 16 Mile Taphouse, located on Main Street in Newark, here are two ways you can show your love for 16 Mile: the 16 Mile Brewing Company hoodie, which you can purchase down in Georgetown, or a 16 Mile Taphouse growler that you can fill right there on Main Street!  16 Mile has you covered whether your in Northern or Southern Delaware! 

3rd Wave Brewing Company 

Surfboard Unisex T-Shirt, $16
Winter Beanie
3rd Wave has some pretty cool surf-inspired gear for that craft beer lover on your holiday shopping list. Check out their Surfboard Unisex T-shirt rocking their slogan, "Good Friends Good Waves Great Beer" across the surfboard. Want to keep your noggin warm this winter? We're digging the beanies the brewery just got in. Can't make it down to Delmar before the holiday? No worries, just hop on their website and place your order! (Side note: you may need to contact the brewery about the beanie if you're looking for that. When we were on there on 12/12/13 it hadn't been added quite yet).  

Argilla Brewing Company


You have to love when a holiday gift for someone else turns into a little holiday bonus gift for yourself! When you purchase a $50 (or more) gift card from Argilla between now and December 31st, you'll receive a free $15 gift card for yourself, to be used between January 1st, 2014 and March 1st, 2014. Happy Holidays to everyone in this equation! 


Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
DFH4Life Hoodie, $55
2013 Tap Handle, $40
Thinking about hopping on the DFH site to do some holiday shopping? They're trying to make it as easy as possible for you by suggesting several "Holiday Items." They even went one step further and broke it down to "Under $20," "Under $50," and "Damn! That's Luv!" For under $20 you can't go wrong with a Randall Jr. ($19.99). They're a blast to experiment with. Go a little crazier in the under $50 range with the 2013 Tap Handle which will ring up at $40. If you're feeling even more generous this year, how about the DFH4Life Hoodie for $55? And like we mentioned, no worried if you can't make it down to the Tasting Room in Milton or the kiosk at the Brewpub in Rehoboth; you can order all of these items from DFH's website!                                                                 
Randall Jr., $19.99
  
Fordham Brewing Company/Old Dominion Brewing Company
2014 Pinup Calendar, $10
Save $5 and purchase both for $45
Are you a fan of Dominion's Bomber Girls? Then you might want to check out the 2014 Pinup Calendar, featuring winners from several Dominion-hosted Pinup contests throughout 2013!

Speaking of 2014...did you know that you can already purchase your tickets for R2Hop2 (April 26th, 2014) and Cheesetoberfest (October 4th, 2014)? This is a great gift for a friend...or for yourself! Throw yourself into super rock start status when you buy that craft beer loving gift recipient tickets to both events! Bonus: you'll save $5 when you buy them together! 

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

King of the Hill, $25
Winter Wheat Wine Ale
Gift Package, $35
Iron Hill Brewery is helping make your holiday shopping as simple as possible with their Holiday Gift Menu! If you know someone who visits Iron Hill pretty regularly, you should sign them up for the King of the Hill Rewards Club Program. The $25 annual fee is a loyalty program that earns points for purchases and visits. There are all sorts of perks like a handmade mug, free birthday gift and invitations to exclusive events. Is the craft beer lover on your list already a member of the King of the Hill Club? No worries, why not check out one of Iron Hill's Gift Packages, with prices ranging from $35 - $65. 


The newest brewery in the state has a very unique gift to give this holiday season - a bit of an investment in the brewery by making a pledge in their indiegogo campaign! Pledge $25, and receive a Mispillion River Brewing t-shirt. Go for a $100 pledge, and you're getting a Mispillion River Brewing growler, t-shirt and hat! Have some really special on your list? A $500 pledge will get you a bar stool, always guaranteeing a spot at the bar. A $1,000 pledge? That will get one of the brewery fermenters dedicated to your gift recipient. Oh, and as if that isn't cool, the $1,000 pledge will also give them a chance to design and brew a beer recipe! Major cool points! 

Stewart's Brewing Company

You can't go wrong with purchasing the craft beer lover on your holiday list a Mug Club membership at Stewart's...unless of course you think they may already be one...then just pick them up a gift card and they can spend it on a night out at Stewart's, on a growler fill or two, and if they aren't already a member of the Mug Club, a great excuse to go ahead and finally join!  



Twin Lake's Brewing Company
Do you have a bike riding friend who loves great craft beer? Why not pick them up the Twin Lakes Cycling Jersey? After all, the whole point of riding those long distance rides is the reward of a craft beer at the end, isn't it?! Sometimes I personally like to put together a gift bag or basket and include several smaller similarly themed items. I could easily do that with the Twin Lakes' baseball hat and pint glass. I would throw in an IOU of either a tour of the brewery ($22 per person, held Wednesdays and Saturdays), a growler fill ($12 for a Greenville Pale Ale and $15 for their seasonal brews) - or better yet, BOTH! 


Know that you want to get the craft beer lover on your holiday list a craft beer related gift, just not sure what to get them? Many of the breweries in the state offer gift cards - you can't go wrong with that! Either way you're supporting one of our our fantastic local breweries and you're pretty much guaranteeing that you're going to be giving one of the coolest gift you friend, family member or significant other will get all holiday season long! Nice!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Holiday Shopping at Our Delaware Breweries!

I'm all about buying local. And drinking local (of course!) Putting the two together is the perfect combination for the perfect holiday gift for those craft beer loving folks on your shopping list!

Think about it - we have 8 breweries in our state - where you can purchase beer drinking goodies such as pint glasses, t-shirts, hats, growlers and  gift certificates. I thought it would be fun to give you a quick rundown of some of my favorite things from each brewery. Check them out...

16 Mile Brewing Company
My 16 Mile hat that I rock often!
I'm a sucker for a good hat, and the maroon 16 Mile baseball hat we picked up over the summer at the brewery is one of them! In addition to my favorite baseball hat, 16 Mile has some new merchandise in for the holiday, including a new Promo T, an update to the Responders Tshirt, a new hoodie, and a new long sleeve shirt for women. Not sure what to get that craft beer loving person on your list? A 16 Mile Gift Card is always a great alternative to your lame ol' generic gift card! I mean, you can buy beer (or cool 16 Mile gear!) with it! 

3rd Wave Brewing Co.
Source: 3rd Wave Facebook page
You have your pick of goodies at 3rd Wave Brewing Co.! Short- and long-sleeved t-shirts, hats, growlers, sweatshirts, and pint glasses - 3rd Wave has your gift giving covered! If you're going to make the trip to 3rd Wave, you can't leave there without chatting with Lori and John, and of course, without trying at least one of the brews. Even better, we suggest you try the sampler so you get a little of everything! And with SEVEN beers on tap now, that's a lot of samplin'!


Source: http://www.argillabrewing.com/
So maybe you weren't one of the lucky 50 people to get first dibs on their upcoming growlers! Why not get that craft brew loving person on your holiday list a gift certificate to use on one when they become available? Or just to use on Argilla's amazing craft brew and grub?! And now is the perfect time to purchase that gift card from Argilla! Now until December 31st, when you purchase a $50 gift card, you receive an added $15 gift card. ($15 gift card will be valid from January 1, 2013 through March 1, 2013). You can't beat a deal like that! Especially when there's good beer involved! 


Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales
Source: http://www.dogfish.com/
It's easy to find something for just about everyone (including your pup!) when you hop on the Dogfish Head online store! Have a hiker, a biker or outdoor activity loving beer drinker on your holiday shopping list? The DFH Emergency Info Bracelet is a pretty cool gift for them! (I'm thinking this is going to be in someone's gift pile on Christmas day!) A cool stocking stuffer for the avid beer taster is the DFH Beer Tasting Journal (I just got mine!) Pretty much one of my favorite purchases from an Analog-a-Go-Go a few years ago (no pun intended) is the Heidi Lowe DFH Vinyl Record Necklace. Seriously, how cool is this? (Heidi's gallery is the yellow house next door to the Brewpub in Rehoboth). I'm so excited to see that they're carrying her necklaces now! DFH has tons of tees, sweatshirts, Patagonia gear, hats, glassware and so much other cool off-centered good stuff. 


Fordham Brewing Company / Old Dominion Brewing Company
Source: Fordham Facebook Page
These two breweries make it easy for us to show you a few of our favorite things that we wouldn't mind finding under our Christmas tree - or in our stocking (check out the picture!) Seriously though, one of our favorite t-shirts comes from Fordham - it's the 'Fordham Unisex T-Shirt.' It's one of those super worn in looking, super comfy tees. Old Dominion has some pretty cool goodies too. Have an art collecting, beer-loving someone on your holiday list? How about give them a collection of the Limited Edition Bomber Girls Posters? They're available in GiGi's Farmhouse, Double D, and Morning Glory! I could easily see these great prints framed and hanging in someone's kitchen or bar area. They rock! 


Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant
Source: ironhillbrewery.com
Remember the westchesterdish.com post about the Iron Hill Holiday Bottled Reserves Gift Pack? It features Iron Hill's Bottled Reserve seasonal beers, brewed in small batches. You even get a complimentary beer tote gift packaging when you purchase the gift pack! With beers like Senor Chocolatoro and Winter Wheat Wine Ale, you can't go wrong. If you're thinking about purchasing a gift card or two for the holiday gift giving season, don't forget, for every $75.00 of gift cards you purchase, you get a $20 gift for yourself! You can always give someone a gift certificate for a King of the Hill Loyalty Program too!

Stewart's Brewing Company
Source: stewartsbrewingcompany.com
There are a few things in life that I know for sure. One of them is that the purchase of a growler from Stewart's Brewing Company is definitely a good holiday present! Pair it with a gift card from the brew pub and I'm pretty sure any beer lover on your holiday list will be thrilled. Bonus: right now Stewart's has a gift card special - buy a $50 gift card, get a $5 gift card for free; or purchase a $100 gift card and get a $20 gift card for free. Plus, your gift recipient can use that gift cards towards Stewart's Mug Club or towards Stewart's New Year's Eve dinner!


Twin Lake's Brewing Company
Source: twinlakesbrewingcompany.com
When talking to someone about Twin Lakes, I can't tell you how many times I've heard the response, "I've never done the tour at Twin Lakes before." Well, that, my dear friends, is suggested gift #1 from Twin Lakes! The tours, held Wednesdays at 5pm and Saturday at 1pm, are $22 per person and include a pint glass, a fantastic tour of the brewery and tastings of the beers. A Twin Lakes growler (filled of course) is also a great gift idea! You can go crazy and purchase one of the uber-cool one-gallon ceramic growlers ($250) or a glass growler, which will set you back $12, $17 filled. We're a little partial to the very cool Twin Lakes Bike Jersey. We love seeing all the craft beer jerseys along the road when we're out for a small supply of the 225th Delaware Day Commemorative Mugs left too! 

The best Delaware craft beer related gift ever? Something from each and every one of the awesome, kick a*s, crazy cool breweries in our state. Or a road trip weekend filled with visits and tours to each of the 8 breweries! Buying local and supporting our local breweries is about as cool as a Christmas gift can get! Cheers! And Happy Holidays!