Crooked Hammock brewpub building online fan base

The Crooked Hammock may still be months away from opening, but the new Lewes brewpub is already making waves on social media.

As a way to promote the new restaurant, a contest was created to name a beer at the pub. The winner will have a hand in creating the beer, and the finished product will be one of the brews featured when the restaurant opens, tentatively anticipated for late August.

The contest has well exceeded the expectations of co-owner and general manager Rich Garrahan.

“We're trying to use social media to get feedback from the local community – what they're looking for,” he said. “We want them to feel invested in our business from the beginning.”

The Crooked Hammock's Facebook page saw its most activity last week when Tony Kornheiser, co-host of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption, made a public plea for votes for his entry “Wilbon,” a nod to his co-host Michael Wilbon. The appeal came after his first-round opponent Greg Plummer with the entry Suns Out Suds Out  posted a video online starring himself running on the beach and training to the song “No Easy Way Out,” a parody of a montage sequence from 1985's Rocky IV.

Garrahan says the epic battle won by Kornheiser spiked with 160,000 visits to the Crooked Hammock Facebook page.

“We were hoping for [a reaction] like that,” Garrahan said. “The response we got was way bigger than we expected. Just getting that kind of exposure before we open is awesome. It extended out our social media network and [told] everyone what we're all about and what we're doing.”

The contest is set up like a March Madness-style bracket with 16 names competing for the ultimate prize. First round name winners include Beach Plum Blonde, #bahbahblacksheep, Drive On, Actively Fishing, Wilbon, Beach Donkey, Tipsy Gypsy and Heaving Melons. Second-round matchups begin this weekend, and Garrahan says the winner should be crowned Fourth of July weekend.

When the restaurant opens, Garrahan said, the winner's beer will likely be brewed in a smaller quantity. If it's well received, he said, it could be brewed in the pub's much larger seven-barrel brewhouse. The restaurant will feature 12 beers on tap. Crooked Hammock will have four year-round staples – a pale ale, blonde, saison and brown – to go along with a few original seasonals and some one-off brews. The rest of the taps will be filled in with other local breweries.

Garrahan said the Crooked Hammock is not out to compete with the region's other breweries, but is seeking more of a collaborative relationship. The brewpub has already worked with Georgetown's 16 Mile to create Moonlight ESB, which is on tap at Nage and The Big Chill Surf Cantina on Route 1 in Rehoboth.

“Strengthening the beer community in this area is a benefit to all breweries,” he said. “We want to be an integral part of building that community. There's an opportunity for everyone to be successful.”

Construction at the Crooked Hammock site, on Kings Highway near the intersection with Dartmouth Drive, will continue through much of the summer. Without any unforeseen problems, Garrahan said, he hopes they can begin work on the interior in July. Once all the brewing equipment is installed, he said, he'd like at least three weeks to brew in order to have enough beer for the grand opening.

In anticipation of a late summer opening, the Crooked Hammock is accepting applications on its website. Go to www.crookedhammock.com for more information. To vote in the ongoing beer-naming contest go to www.facebook.com/CrookedHammockBrewpub.