Crooked Hammock hosts Beer Drinkers Choice Awards
Every brewery in Delaware made its way to Crooked Hammock in Lewes April 3 for the Beer Drinkers Choice Awards, a celebration of the state’s craft brewing scene.
The championship belt this year went to Wilmington Brew Works for its Luau Punch fruited sour, that brewery’s second consecutive victory. Wilmington Brew Works won the 2020 edition with another sour, Par Avion. The event was canceled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was the fifth Beer Drinkers Choice Awards, which originally started with 11 breweries taking part. Crooked Hammock owner Rich Garrahan said all 27 of Delaware’s breweries took part this year.
“It’s really exciting to have everyone back,” Garrahan said. “The whole idea for this festival came from when we were the young, new brewery and would go to festivals, and the best part for us was spending time with other breweries. We thought, ‘Why not invite everyone down, spend some time at the beach and have a big party together?’”
He said one of the things he looks forward to is the Brewer’s Brunch, where before doors open, the brewers come together for a meal and to sample each other’s product. Doors officially opened at 1 p.m., but a line could be seen snaking through the Crooked Hammock parking lot as people got checked in until 1:30.
The way the event works is each brewery brings two beers that the audience can sample. Guests are then allowed to vote for who has the best beer; sours have traditionally been popular winners, with both Wilmington Brew Works and Mispillion River Brewing of Milford winning twice with that style.
The event also encourages brewers and the audience to wear their most outrageous costumes, usually of a pop culture variety. For example, the staff of Crooked Hammock wore “Caddyshack” inspired outfits; Revelation Craft Brewing in Rehoboth Beach went with “The Big Lebowski”; Volunteer Brewing of Middletown went with “Squid Game” tracksuits; and the Best Brewery Costume award winners, Mispillion, wore “Ghostbusters” outfits complete with proton packs to promote the brewery’s Ecto Cooler beer. In addition to costumes, an award was given out for Best Brewery Booth, with that award going to First State Brewing Company of Middletown for their mad scientist theme.
Everyone was represented, whether it was the OG Delaware brewery, Dogfish Head, or one of the most recent, JAKL Beer Works in Middletown, which started up 10 months ago.
JAKL co-founder Justin Lovuolo, who started the brewery with his friend Andrew Kulp, said, “The opportunity to come down here, meet the other local brewers and the exposure to everyone else, it’s fantastic.”
Rob Boyle, CEO of Bellefonte Brewing Company in Wilmington, said, “It’s a great event. It gets everyone together under one roof. It’s just a lot of fun to hang out and share each other’s beers.”
The event demonstrated the growth of Delaware’s beer industry, as the number of breweries nearly doubled from the last time the awards were held, particularly impressive in light of the pandemic, which wreaked havoc on the hospitality industry.
Gar Bercury of Dewey Beer Company said, “It’s really showing that brewing is really catching some momentum in this state, and the quality of the products is really exciting. Not only is the volume going up in the number of breweries, but there’s some impressive stuff going on.”
