History Matters digs into the Delaware Historical Society’s archives each month to explore connections between key people, places, and events in history and present-day news.
“I’m getting rather hoarse, I fear,
After so much reciting:
So, if you don’t object, my dear,
We’ll try a glass of bitter beer –
I think it looks inviting.”
Phantasmagoria by Lewis Carroll - 1869
Since its creation, beer has been both praised and vilified. But no matter where you stand, it is hard to deny the beverage’s significance.
September’s History Matters examines beer’s role in the First State, past and present.
Delaware’s first European settlers, the Swedes, brought beer with them when they arrived in 1638. Beer was important to Europeans of that era because the boiling of water and growth of yeast, both steps of brewing beer, kills bacteria making it generally safer to drink than European water of the day.
Within a decade, the Swedes set up their first Delaware brewery to serve the area around Fort Christina.
Brewing remained a small, locally focused business for the next two centuries. Taverns and inns brewed dark, thick ales that varied widely in quality due to the instability of supplies. It wasn't until the mid-1800s when a wave of German immigrants brought over a specific strain of yeast used to brew lager beer that the industry began to change.
Delaware beer historian John Medkeff says that the German lager was a smooth and refreshing alternative to the ales of the day and immediately turned brewing into one of Delaware’s most profitable industries.
“Breweries were big business in most large cities and certainly in Delaware, in the large city of Wilmington, it was no different," said Medkeff. "In fact, by the late 1890s brewing was the 6th largest industry in Delaware. It accounted for employing over one hundred men and revenues of over $2 million.”
The success lasted for the over half a decade until public opinion began to shift. The heavily German brewing industry was hit hard by a wave of anti-German sentiment after World War I which, combined with the growing Anti-Saloon League, lead to Prohibition. The enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act outlawed the sale, production, and transportation of alcohol nationwide for 13 years. Even after it was legalized again in 1933, the damage done by Prohibition and the consolidation of the brewing industry forced the last of the Delaware’s big breweries to close its doors in the mid-1950s.
Delaware remained without a major brewery until 1995 when state laws changed to allow commercial brewing back in the First State. Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Al Stewart of Stewart’s Brewing Company took advantage and became the first wave of craft brewers that brought the business back to Delaware.
Stewart says he didn’t foresee the craft beer industry taking off like it has.
“Back then, it was simple, we were just opening and we were going to do four English style ales and we were going to be happy doing them," said Stewart. "Now we make 60 different styles of beer. We can only get to between 30 and 40 a year and people can’t wait for the next one.”
The early success of Dogfish Head and Stewart's inspired a rebirth of Delaware's brewing industry. In 2012, Delaware was ranked 14th in breweries per capita with 10 breweries.
With so many breweries in a state of less than 1 million people, one might expect competition to be fierce. But Stewart says that Delaware's brewing community is tight-knit.
"We are competitors on one level, but on another level it's us against the world," said Stewart. "If someone runs a little low on a certain hop or a grain, they can come on over a get it, I've got extra. When yours comes in, bring it back. There is that camaraderie, that feeling of 'we're in this together' as a movement.'"
Claus Hagelman, Head of Sales and Marketing of Georgetown's 16 Mile Brewery, says that the camaraderie has ultimately lead to success for Delaware's brewers.
"We've got a great reputation for a state that is 27 miles wide and 97 miles long," said Hagelman. "A lot of our breweries have rooms full of trophies. I think that is something for Delaware to be extremely proud of."
History Matters: Beer in the First State
WDDE shares a pint with some of Delaware's beer experts to learn about the history of Delaware's brewing industry. Producer/Videographer/Editor: Ben Szmidt
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This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.