After a nice visit to Dogfish Head Brewery and some relax time at Rehoboth Beach, it was time to head west back to the home front. Just by chance there were a few breweries to visit on the way home. My plans were to visit Evolution Brewery in Salisbury, MD. As I was zipping along U.S. Route 50, thinking of the evolution Brews that are just ahead, the beer wife yells "you just passed a brewery". After a brief discussion that no way in hell I passed a brewery, I made the u-turn and to my surprise the beer wife was correct ( there's hope yet) and just off of RT.50 in the woods sat Tall Tales Brewery. Thank god I could get to the beer quickly to help wash down the crow I had to eat. Tall Tales Brewery: located on the outskirts of Salisbury, MD, in the town of Parsonsburg, MD. The brewery has a very warm woodsy atmosphere, with a nice bar area for tasting and a restaurant area. There is also a very large outdoor area, that was being decorated for a wedding that was to take place that evening. Now that is what I call the perfect wedding in a brewery. During our visit there were only 4 Tall Tale Brews on tap, along with a few guest taps. I enjoyed the Tall Tales Bonnie & Clyde Imperial IPA, Back Draft Red Ale and the Red Headed Step Child Irish Red Ale. I'm not a fruit beer fan, however, the beer wife enjoyed the Evil Apple Ale more than I did. We also had a very nice conversation with Carpenter, the owner and brewer. A very nice stop, the food menu looked good, so be sure to slow down and stop if your cruising along RT. 50. | |
Evolution Brewery: I first discovered this brewery at the Savor Beer Festival in Washington DC. They were brewing some very nice stouts and coffee stouts and at that time were located in Delaware. As with most brewery's that become popular and in demand, they out grew their space and needed to expand. Evolutions expansion resulted in relocating the brewery to Salisbury, MD. The Brewery is very large building with a tasting room and bar area on one side and a nice brewpub on the other side. Between the Tasting room and Brewpub there is a large room that is used for party's and private events. During our visit the party area was hosting a Bachelor Party. Some celebrity WWE wrestler was entertaining the guys with displays of his strength and wrestling stories. Wow what happened to the Bachelor parties that had strippers, poker and cigars. Well let's get back to the brewery and whats on tap. My dilemma too many brews to choice from, I'm not complaining, I just didn't have the time to taste them all. I could not pass up the Rise Up Stout and the Russian Imperial Stout, they did not disappoint. I also enjoyed the LOT 6 Imperial IPA and the Spring Rum Barrel Golden Ale which is part of their Migration Series. The Lucky 7 Porter and the Seacrets TropicAle Blonde were also very good. Since we were in the fall season I tasted the Jacques Au Lantern Pumpkin Ale which was surprisingly good for a guy who is not that crazy about pumpkin beer. Great stop and I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to visit the brewery..........I look forward to seeing them at Savor next year.
3rd Wave Brewing Co.- Just north of Salisbury across the state line in Delmar , DE, yopu will find 3rd Wave Brewery located in the former Evolution Brewery building. 3rd Wave not only took over the location, but also bought the entire brew works from evolution. The tasting room is very small and keeping in theme with their name it has a beach like atmosphere. THe tasting room was packed during our visit, we were lucky to find a small high top table. THe beer selection was heavy on the IPA's and Pale Ales.........good beach beers. My favorite was the Bombora DIPA, I also enjoyed the 1st Wave IPA, Barrel Aged Imperial IPA and the Paddle Out #136 Belgian Strong Pale ale. Oh yes the beer wife enjoyed the SunSet Peach Wheat, a beer for everyone on this visit. If you are visiting Evolution I highly recommend that you make the very short drive to into Delaware and enjoy 3rd Wave Brewery.