REHOBOTH BEACH, DELAWARE

Celebrating Coastal Delaware lifestyle, Rehoboth Beach-bound THOMPSON ISLAND BREWING COMPANY is a fantastic fun adventure for family, friends and beer lovers alike. Specializing not only in a fine selection of well-balanced rotating beers, but also award-winning fried chicken and wood-grilled steaks, this copious grain-siloed Route 1 landmark (one mile off the beach) features a turf-floored partially covered front deck and barn-walled back deck beer garden (with 10-seat fire pit, bocce board and ping pong tables) that surround a spacious high ceiling interior.

Inside Thompson Island Brewing, a U-shaped bar centers the large dining space that includes an open kitchen partly covered by a center-walled US flag, enormous right side aluminum brew tanks and extra back dining area.

My wife and I get warmed by the heated and enclosed back deck patio next to the beer garden on this mild January ’20 evening.

The fried chicken dish went well with the five rangy beers I imbibed.

Lemony mandarin orange and coriander brightened Wave Check, a snazzy light-bodied witbier with lemongrass herbage, light vanilla creaming and white wheat spine.

Ambitious New England IPA, Fresh: Passionfruit, Mango, Tangerine regaled pulpy mango, grapefruit and tangerine juicing for its lactose-aided passionfruit yogurt souring and mild oats base, sporting latent orange-peeled nectarine, peach, pineapple and papaya sweetness.

Perfumed floral fruiting contrasted dankly resinous piney hops for copper-hued Maximum Effort Triple IPA, leaving grapefruit rind, orange peel, pineapple and peach tones upon the spiced-up pale malt bottom.

Mildly creamed dark chocolate syruping drapes milk-sugared coffee and toffee-candied sweetness for Cosmic Cow Milk Stout, but its tarry wood-charred dried fruiting goes beyond stylish resolve in a good way.

Lovely digestif, Canyons Imperial Stout, brought Blackstrap molasses sapping to milked coffee and dark cocoa tones over its maple oats bottom.

Crisply clean Little Friday Helles Lager, easy drinkin’ Loblolly Blonde Ale and two sour ales were also available this calm winter night.

During early June ’20 dinnertime trek, discovered five more enjoyable libations, three of which were truly divine India Pale Ales.

Novel crushed ice grenadine-like cocktail, Fresh Double Caribbean Frozen Slushee (a nifty Caribbean Punch Fruited Sour knockoff), gathered zestfully tart lemon-limed pomegranate juicing and tangy pineapple-passionfruit-guava sweetness for its lactic vanilla yogurt milking in a dazzling frozen setting.

Just as unique, cookie-buttered maple honey pastry treat, Magnificos Belgian Waffle Stout, brought light-roast coffee-bound cinnamon, vanilla and anise illusions as well as Black Forest-caked bruised cherry, toffee and chocolate brownie snips to the accommodating surface.

As for the trio of IPA’s, briskly approachable Daybreak Hazy Double IPA retained cleanly crisp summertime sunshine, bringing tropical fruited Azacca-El Dorado hop zesting to the fore. Lemony grapefruit zesting gains peachy mango tang, snappy orange-candied tartness, sweet floral respite, mild pine bluff and zippy vodka nip above dry pale malting.

Norwegian Kveik farmhouse yeast and sharply bitter citric-pined hop resilience dealt bolder tropical fruiting to Clawback Hazy Double IPA, regaling mildly lemon-juiced grapefruit rind and orange pith bitterness as well as lactose-soured guava, mango, pineapple and passionfruit tartness to peppery juniper-spiced herbage atop rye-whiskeyed oats.

Lemony grapefruit zest and orange-candied pineapple tartness consumed dryly pale-malted New England-styled Good Times Double IPA, a more conventional stylistic pleasantry with underlying honeyed wheat sweetness.

I gobbled fried chicken and my wife enjoyed the hummus dish while consuming seven lucky suds during early January ’21.

Easygoing blonde ale, Loblolly, placed pale malt-sugared orange zesting next to lemony peach tones above dank grassy hop astringency – proving to be a fine, semi-sharp, assertive moderation.

Sea-salted Three Day Weekend Peach + Pear Gose engaged prickly pear tartness with fuzzy peach tones for sour-candied euphoria, leaving wispy mango, guava and kiwi tropicalia upon the light coriander-spiced pilsner malt spine.

‘Fluffy’ tropical fruited Delirious Hazy Double IPA let brisk orange-peeled grapefruit and pineapple tanginess pick up mildly creamed Pina Colada-like rummy coconut-pineapple cocktail likeness in a lactic-soured yogurt setting.

“Intense” Fabulous Tropical IPA stayed crisply clean as lemony pineapple, passionfruit and mandarin orange zesting gained herbal hop resin and a mild vodka whim.

Juicy tropical fruited masterpiece, Escapades Double Pineapple + Peach,  unleashed the tangiest pineapple-peach flurry upon polite pale malt sugaring in a smoothly clean-watered setting (with wispy mango, grapefruit and orange snips).

Luxurious holiday-seasoned brown ale, Comfy Pants Gingerbread Ale, doused ground cinnamon-smoked gingerbread cookie sugaring with dark chocolate-spiced cumin, cardamom and allspice notions.

Richly complex Imperial Stout, The Shoals, conditioned on cocoa nibs, plied nutty Guatemalan coffee-embittered dark chocolate intensity to wood-singed hop charring as glazed pecan, tart cherry, coniferous fern and tarry Blackstrap molasses illusions emboldened its back end.       

During fruitful November ’21 trip, sat in enclosed patio where newly installed L-shaped slate top bar (with 3 TV’s on NFL Sunday) was packed early evening. Enjoyed ten delightful (previously untried) elixirs.

Classic autumnal amber lager, Thompsonfest, allowed crisp sweet tea-leafed honey malts to engage herbal hops and spiced apple notions.

Dry golden lager, No Bad Days, let mild maize musk and perfumed herbal hops pick up a spritzy lemon fizz in light-bodied fashion.

Mellow pumpkin ale, Boooooo!!!, provoked its autumnal cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and clove seasoning with squash-like pumpkin meatiness, sharp citrus latency and leafy hop astringency.

Candi-sugared lemony orange tang lacquered honey-spiced peach, pear and apricot whims for Delaware Devil, an herbal-tinged, white peppered, fungi-cellared Belgian golden ale.

Tart kettle-soured Escapades Lingonberry Cherry, conditioned on brown sugar, maintained a sweet cherry pie piquancy and wispy lingonberry pucker.

Tarter kettle-soured Escapades Passionfruit Raspberry, conditioned on cane-sugar, brought raspberry-seeded passionfruit tang to oaken cherry tannins.   

Peachy mango and pineapple tanginess brightened lightly pine-toned IPA, Shoptalk: Door, a zestful tropical fruited delight.

More ‘intense’ IPA, Shoptalk: First Cut, let lime-peeled pineapple salting reach lemon meringued coconut sweetness and pleasant tangerine tang secured by herbal pining in gummy wheated oats setting.

Yet another IPA, Shoptalk: In The Weeds, contrasted peachy mango tanginess and creamy vanilla sugaring with steadily lingered resinous pine bittering over a biscuity wheat base, gaining orange-peeled grapefruit zesting.

Dry whiskey-toned Scotch peating (from Makers Mark aging), port-barreled wining and oaken vanilla tartness combined for Once Around The Sun, a second anniversary Imperial Stout with relegated roasted chocolate base.

thompsonislandbrewing.com