New Year's Eve Around The Small Wonder

New Year's Eve is nearly upon us and there are so many fun ways to ring in 2016 happening around the state this year.

Two Stones Pub Wilmington, Two Stones Pub Newark and Two Stones Pub Kennett Square are accepting reservations for their New Year's Eve three course prixe fix menu. 

Spend New Year's Eve at 33 West Ale House and Grill. They are accepting reservations for a night to include a "special dinner menu, champagne, fireworks." The kitchen will be closing from 4-5pm in preparation for dinner, but don't worry, the bar will still be open.

Dogfish is having 20 Beers for 20 Years! New year's Eve Celebration at the Brewpub (though it's sold out...). Downstairs Tweed will be playing starting at 10pm.  p.s. The Brewery is closing early for New Year's Eve. The last tour of the day will be at 3pm and the Tasting Room and Merchandise Shop will close at 5pm. They'll also be closed on New Year's Day.

Crooked Hammock Brewery is hosting a New Year's Eve Keg Drop to celebrate 2016. The night will include open bar, food stations, and live music from Universal Funk Order. Planning on having dinner at Crooked Hammock before their Keg Drop? Last dinner seating will be at 7pm.

The Town of Georgetown is having their New Year's Eve Celebration at The Circle and will host a variety of vendors, including 16 Mile Brewing. 

Iron Hill Brewery Newark and Wilmington will both have special New Year's Eve menus and reservations are encouraged (thank you, OpenTable!) 

Argilla Brewing Co. is doing a little New Year's Eve Celebrating the Future with Xtra Alltra. 

Stewart's Brewing Co. will have "special dinner features to celebrate the arrival of 2016," plus they'll have their New Year's Day Breakfast Buffet and $1 Stumblin' Monks starting at 9am on New Year's Day.

Trolley Tap House is celebrating New Year's Eve with a Craft Beer Paired Three Course Prix Fixe Dinner. They're also serving Sierra Nevada Celebration for your Midnight toast.

Fin's Fish House & Raw Bar is serving up a New Year's Eve Chef's Max Tasting Menu. 

There are three options for Nage Rehoboth's New Year's Eve Menu: a la carte from 4pm until 5:15pm, reservations for the Four Course Chef's Dinner starting at 5:30pm, and for reservations after 9pm you'll also receive post-meal bites in the wine bar, live music by Bruce Anthony, take home cake truffles and a free glass of bubbly at Midnight.

UPDATED 12.28.15:

Chelsea Tavern is having a New Year's Eve celebration and they're offering three different packages: 
- Everyday Package: cash bar, a la carte menu and the Joe Daphne Band
- Tavern Package: open bar, Joe Daphne Band and champagne toast at Midnight
- Chelsea Package (reservations required): 4-course dinner, open bar, cocktail hour + heavy hors d'oeuvres, Joe Daphne Band and champagne toast at Midnight

Plus, the Doubletree Hotel Downtown Wilmington is offering discounted room rates when you mention Chelsea Tavern when making your reservation. 

Arena's Newark is having a New Year's Eve Kick the Keg with discounted draft beer and a free champagne toast at Midnight.

Check out Grain's No Stress NYE Menu with James-N-Matt Acoustic starting at 9pm.

UPDATED 12.29.15:

Fordham and Dominion is celebrating New Year's Eve at the brewery from 5-9pm on NYE with live music from The Justin McNatt Band.

UPDATED 12.30.15:

2SP Brewing will be open on New Year's Eve from 3-9pm and New Year's Day from 12-9p. 

Ernest & Scott's New Year's Eve Dance Party includes 4 hours open bar, complimentary Midnight champagne toast, 2 hours of heavy hors D'oeuvres, 1 hour midnight dessert bar, balloon prize drop at Midnight and DJ Phatboy spinning all night. You'll also receive a discounted rate at the Double Tree Downtown Wilmington when you mention Ernest & Scott when making your reservation. 

Last Minute Craft Brewery Gifts From Around the State #shoplocal

Christmas may be in a few days, no worries, there’s still plenty of time to get that craft beer lover in your life (or yourself!) something pretty darn awesome, and local, from one of the craft breweries around the state! Here are some of our favorite picks again this year (seems this is becoming an annual thing!) 

16 Mile Brewing has a few new items in stock including this camo logo hat. The brewery has newly redesigned growlers that you can fill with your holiday pal's favorite 16 Mile Brew. The brewery also has their summer t-shirts for $5 and all other t-shirts for $15. Can’t go wrong with a cool beer t-shirt!

Photo credit: 3rd Wave Facebook

3^rd Wave Brewing has a stainless steel growler available, plus tons of cool t-shirts, hats and signage for the craft beer lover you’re still shopping for. Not sure exactly what to get? There’s always a 3^rd Wave gift certificate or a growler full of the brewery's tasty beers!

Argilla Brewing is offering a gift card special through the end of the year (that's next week already, can you believe it?!) Buy a $50 gift card and receive a free $15 gift certificate. It's always a nice bonus when you get a little something extra for yourself! 

Photo credit: www.dogfish.com

Dogfish Head partnered with Woolrich earlier this year.  We are loving the Woolrich + DFH Blanket. It’s a great  gift for those on your holiday list that aren’t into craft beer too. We love anything with dual functionality, like this Dogfish Head Belt – a belt and bottle opener in one.

Photo credit: FoDo's website

Looking to decorate your man (or woman) cave? How about picking up one of each of the Bomber Girls posters from Fordham and Dominion Brewing? Need something for the kiddies? Shoot the brewery an email to place your order for Dominion Handcrafted Soda.  

Photo credit: ironhillbrewery.com

Iron Hill Brewing put together a whole Holiday Gift Menu for you to check out (http://bit.ly/1wCjITV) with picks like a King of the Hill Membership, gift card or the Bedotter Belgian- Style Tripel, now available in cans!

Photo credit: Mispillion's FB

Mispillion River Brewing has a cool sterling silver necklace for the craft beer loving lady in your life. (Check out the pur-ty lady modeling the necklace...hi, Lauren!) Stop by the brewery for t-shirts, growler fills or pick up a gift certificate for the hard to buy for folks on your list.  

Photo credit: PBE's Facebook

Visiting with a craft beer lover for the holidays? Stop by Pizza by Elizabeth's to pick up a growler of their Frozen Toes brews and a pizza to go for a great night in with your holiday pal. 

Stewart’s Brewing Co. has growlers and gift cards that

Photo credit: Stewart's FB page

make the perfect Christmas gift for the craft beer lovers in your life. Suggest using the gift card for Stewart’s New Year’s Day celebration – when they will have $1 Stumblin’ Monk Abbey Tripel (for the 1^st 150 servings) - and if you're lucky they'll take you along with them!

Photo credit: Twin Lakes' website

Growlers, bike jerseys, t-shirts and more, stop by the Twin Lakes Brewing Co. tasting room to pick up some goodies to check off a few more peeps off your list! 

Photo credit: Warlock's FB page

Warlock Brewing Company may not be open yet, how about giving someone an I.O.U. for an afternoon at the brewery with a tasting and a growler fill?

Want a little throwback Delaware beer gift? Take a look at the Blue Hen Beer t-shirts now available!

Now Open: Trolley Tap House!

Walking up to Trolley Tap House, it's hard to believe that just two months ago this spot was CR Hooligans. The yellow and blue exterior is gone, leading way to a toned down gray exterior (though you may notice the baseball bat door handles that once belonged to Hooligans are still there). 

As we stepped into the doors of the Tap House, we were welcomed into a warm and comfortable, super inviting area, filled with a collection of high and low top tables, a bar and the two signature garage doors leading to the outdoor seating. Deciding to take full advantage of such a gorgeous night last night, we opted to sit outside on the patio where our wonderful server, Joel, took care of us. Right off the bat it was tricky narrowing down what we wanted to try on our first visit to the Tap House. General Manager Patrick Jones did a fantastic job at creating a nice balance of options available on tap. It's not too heavy on one style, offering some nice options for the craft beer novice that might wander in off of Delaware Avenue. 

After mulling the menu over a few (dozen!) times, I landed on the Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Extra and Eric went with Evolution Lot #3. Our friends Sam and Jackie sipped on two local brews, 16 Mile Soulful Ginger and Twin Lakes Route 52 Pilsner. 

Once we settled in on the drinks, we needed to pick what was going to be our post-work day snack. The menu is extremely tempting, and it was pretty darn hard landing on what we went with! We ended up trying their Pub Fries, topped with Porter onions, grated sharp cheese, fresh herbs and a malt aioli. On Jackie's suggestion (who had already been to the Tap House on Tuesday night during their quiet soft opening) Sam went with the Fried Green Bean, which are served with a lemon herb aioli. Both were so, so tasty! 

For round two we opted to take advantage of the smaller, 6-ounce pours that Trolley Tap House offers. This time around I went with cask-conditioned Mispillion Double Chin and Eric went with Brooklyn Blast. By this time our friend Erika joined us for a drink. She picked a big one, Sierra Nevada Narwhal! 

To tell the bartenders what's on tap, the Tap House has hand written in what's pouring from each tap. We loved seeing that the glass type for each beer was written below each name as well. Such a great training tool! 

As Trolley Tap House is looking at day # 3 of service, we have a feeling this spot is going to make a great impact on the craft beer scene in the state. Before the doors even opened yesterday, there were a few people waiting for them to open for the evening. Patrick mentioned the crowds on Tuesday night were exciting and they were pretty full not long after opening the doors at 6:30pm. Last night they opened at 5:00pm for dinner and it's pretty easy to say that within the hour they had another full house. The enthusiasm and excitement behind the staff is easy to see. We're looking forward to another visit to Trolley Tap House - it's so great to have another strong craft beer location to throw into the mix in Delaware! 

Here are some more (beer!) shots from around Trolley Tap House!

  

Checking Out The Dogfish Inn

After making our way through four days of Firefly, we hopped in the car as soon as we saw Jack Johnson finish his set and, rather than head north on Route 1 towards home, we took it south to Lewes so we could wake up bright and early the next day to see Dogfish Head's Sam Calagione and his son Sammy off on their 10-day, 5-stop boat trip aboard the S.S. Dogfish. Each stop included a beer dinner raising $10,000 for The Nature Conservancy. 
Sam's goal for the journey was to not only raise awareness of the beauty of coastal Delaware (which we are already quite familiar with, right?!) but to tell folks about the important work of The Nature Conservancy. Along the way Sam also wanted to share how easy it is to get to the Dogfish Inn, the brewpub and the brewery. Boy are we thankful for how easy it is!

After seeing the S.S. Dogfish on its way we made our way back to for the ribbon cutting of the much anticipated Dogfish Inn, which officially opened over 4th of July weekend. 

Here's Dogfish Head's VP Mariah Calagione, Off-Centered Innkeeper Andrew Greeley and Dogfish Head's Chief Operator Officer Nick Benz doing the honors!

From the moment we step into the Inn it is quite apparent that Dogfish is taking on the hotel industry a little differently than most might be used to. The first introduction to the Inn is the simply and perfectly designed lobby. It's welcoming, fun and exactly what we would expect from Dogfish. We could totally see hanging on the couch in front of the fire with a book from the Inn's Vusuvio Library, an ode to what was once the Vesuvio Motel, stocked by City Lights Books.

While you're wandering around the lobby area, you can pick up some Dogfish goodies to take back to your friends, family, yourself (of course!) and even your fellow pooch, who you know will be awaiting your arrival back at the homestead! 

Don't forget about Fido! Pick up some Dog Bark! and a Frisbee!

Try the Chicory Coffee, a locally-roasted  blend of Colombian coffee, chicory and dark malted brewers barley.

Items from the Dogfish/Woolrich collaboration are  available in the lobby, along with Dogfish soap and shampoo (we use this and love it!), and the Dogfish Apolis Market Bags (which you'll also find in the rooms). 

Now let's head to the rooms! 

Upon entering we quickly notice several of the Inn's partners featured throughout each of the 16 rooms, which we love. Our eye is first drawn to the inclusion of the latest collaboration with Woolrich, who Dogfish originally worked with a few years back on the wallpaper when they redesigned the tasting room. Most recently Dogfish and the outdoor gear manufacturer collaborated on not only a line of womens, mens and home gear, they also worked together on Pennsylvania Tuxedo, a spruce-infused Pale Ale (did you get a chance to try it?! So good!) The Woolrich + DFH blanket is featured in all of the rooms, perfect to keep you toasty on cool nights down at the beach! 

Other partners you'll find include the rooms are One Man Gathers Studio who framed Steve Rogers' Lightship Overfalls paintings. The paintings are showcased in each room of the Inn, with frames made from wood salvaged from an 1840's barn in Warren County, NJ. You can see one of the pictures in the picture to right (hung above the table).

The detail of every room is simple, clean, yet extremely clever. The Douglas Collection desks are perfect for writing home about your latest adventures in Lewes!

This is our kind of Mini Bar - Duke's Jerky, Brooklyn Brine Dogfish Hop Pickles and Kettle Chips!

We totally dig this Jermaine Rogers Primus print in one of the rooms!

The Inn offers two room types: a room with two double beds and a room with a king size bed. Great options for a getaway with your honey or your fellow craft beer drinking cohorts! You're easily within walking distance of Lewes' restaurants, bars, pubs, liquor stores, galleries and so much more! 

As cool as the traditional rooms are, you have to see the SWEET! As soon as we walked in we pretty much wanted to call in sick and forget about heading back to our day jobs and just spend all day here!

Heading into the SWEET!

The sitting area is a great common room.

Digging the kitchen area of the Sweet!

We loved the simplicity of the bedrooms - there are two of them in the Sweet. Sweet!

You have to love the fun details in the loo! 

We love the randomness of the wood burning pieces by Brian Kolakowski in the stairway up to the SWEET! Which one is your favorite?

The firepit is the perfect spot to enjoy the brews you picked up at the Brewery or the Brewpub.

Spend the day at the beach? No worries? Rinse off in the outdoor shower before heading up to your room. Cause let's face it, one of the best parts of being at the beach is the outdoor shower! Just make sure you keep your skives on! 

Take Time Magazine's advice and add their top summer beer trend to your to-do list: stay at Delaware's own craft beer motel, The Dogfish Inn. The rooms are cozy, the folks are great and you won't be banished to your room. Unless you're drinking bad beer while listening to bad music! 

Our favorite time down at the beach is the off-season - I know, we're weird like that! We can't wait to book a weekend down at the Dogfish Inn exploring Lewes. With all the time we've spent at the Delaware beaches over the years, Lewes is one area we haven't had much of an opportunity to visit. We're excited for a pretty darn good excuse for that to change!