Fordham & Dominion Brewery

As I posted on Facebook, you know it's going to be a good day when you crack open your first beer before 10:00 in the morning.

The place that has kept the wolves from the door over the past year, Bethany Blues, ran a contest. Those who sold the most Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout won a trip to the Fordham & Dominion brewery. Jen won; I was second. We were joined by a group of our colleagues and we set off with Brittani at 10:00, beers in hand. I started with Beach House, a really drinkable pilsner. Highly recommended.

After a quick stop at Lewes to pick up some more of our Blues compatriots, we headed up to Dover to the brewery. Upon arrival, we were greeted with beermosas. Now, I must admit that I was skeptical. Orange juice and beer? Yuck. Oh no, they are delicious and may just have become my brunch drink of choice.

We were treated to a tour of the brewery by Lauren who started the tour by warning us that the brewery is haunted. As if on cue, a picture fell off the wall. Honestly, you can't make stuff like that up. We were all quickly convinced that the building is, indeed, haunted.

My favorite part of the tour was the fact that the hops all come from Bamberg, Germany. Back in the day, Matt and I spent a weekend there drinking beer, walking, and just relaxing. It was a lovely reminder of that time.

But, back to Dover. We spent the rest of the day being spoiled rotten by the staff at the brewery. Pizza for lunch, golf and bowling tournaments, a glass of beer that never seemed to dip below about half filled all took place in brilliant sunshine.

The best part of the day, obviously, was trying the wide variety of beers this relatively small brewery makes. The Rams Head IPA is hoppy with a fantastic finish. The Route 1 Pale Ale is light, low in alcohol, and very drinkable. The Summer Shandy was a bit sweet for me, but others raved about it. I settled on the Rams Head, drinking much more than my fair share of it.

Eventually, it was time to return home. We piled into the van for the ride home, more beer in a cooler and a stop at a store to stock up on even more. Returning to Bethany, we all opted for (you guessed it) more beer at the Blues bar. It had been a while since I drank beer all day, so I had forgotten. There really can be too much of a good thing.

Thanks to Nate, Jim, Kevin, Dickie, and Monty for (a) keeping the wolves from the door and (b) reminding me why I am too old to start drinking at 10:00 in the morning. It was a fantastic day!