Dela We Are

The original 2021 DelaWeAre Collab

The pandemic was a really tricky time for a lot of brewers, especially in Delaware where most brewers are small and strongly rely on taproom sales. Obviously, when restaurants were forced to shutter so were brewery taprooms. I distinctly remember (in both awe and terror) April 2020: Autumn Arch had barely been open a year, we were inexperienced business owners facing an enormous revenue loss, and the future was far from certain.

We marched through that spring and limped into fall which was when a few Delaware brewers got together (virtually, of course) with an idea for a collaboration beer supporting the Delaware Brewer’s Guild, our non-profit advocacy group that does work advancing (and sometimes defending) craft beer initiatives in Delaware. The Guild was instrumental in working with the governor’s office in early 2020 to secure take-out sales and then later helping to craft clear guidance for breweries to open in a limited way. This was huge for small brewers.

Adding the ‘Delaware River Mud Pie’

The original 2021 version of DelaWeAre was a take on the classic IPA and individual brewers put their personal spin on the recipes. We canned our DelaWeAre IPA that year (and it had a totally rad label).

This year, we are putting a new twist on the state-wide collab. Brewers are creating beers under the DelaWeAre name that personifies what Delaware beer means to them. For Autumn Arch, this meant: (1) something strongly tied to the seasons (autumn is our namesake after all), (2) linked to something in Delaware that had an impact on us (both Dan and I are UofD grads), and (3) spending some time on oak.

Is there anything that screams fall more than a stout? Pumpkin spice fans, put your hands down.

Enter our DelaWeAre Beer: a decadent imperial stout, barrel-aged in a Painted Stave bourbon barrel (Smyrna, DE), and loaded with ‘Delaware River Mudpie’ ice cream from the UDairy Creamery. Truly, a winning combination of stout, oak, bourbon, and ice cream. It’s one of the loveliest beers we have on tap at the moment. And it’s only at the Autumn Arch taproom.

Drop by soon and tell us what you think about our DelaWeAre beer and all the others around the state!

Justin finishing up the brew day…

Why Don't You Make More Hazy IPAs?

It’s what the people want! But is it?

The financial bottom line of thousands of breweries across the country would say ‘yes, this is definitely what the people want’. But I would follow this pithy statement with a short addendum - “For now”.

Sure, lots of people love a turbid IPA. So does the Autumn Arch brew crew and our stellar staff. But we typically only have one hazy IPA on tap at any given time (or maybe two on a rare occasion), and this is in alignment with our two beer menu principles.

First, let’s acknowledge that we’re living in the GOLDEN AGE OF CRAFT BEER! It makes zero sense for us to stack the menu with a bunch of hazy IPAs and ignore dozens of other highly interesting (and tasty) ales and lagers. It is fun for us to brew all these different styles and by extension, we think it’s fun to consume these as well. Thus:

Beer Menu Principle 1:
High Quality + Deep Variety

Plenty of local breweries are making plenty of fantastic hazy IPAs, and you should definitely check those out if you’re into that sort of thing. Personally, I think hazy IPAs will always have a good following due to their very approachable nature, but I think the craft beer industry as a whole will eventually move onto another trendy style. It’s inevitable. Our tastes change with the times. Just like Tevas and Nickelback, what seems like a slamdunk now will not always be.

And that leads to:

Beer Menu Principle 2:
Always be on the interesting side of new things.

Because that’s where unknown flavors and complex relationships meet adventurous tastes.

And we think that sounds a lot like you.

ps. Check out both of these principles in action at Autumn Arch on August 4th (National IPA Day). We have six new IPAs on tap plus a firkin and a new can release….it’s a style you rarely see in cans - black IPA.