A stitch in time tastes fine in Wilmington

Wilmington, Delaware, the largest city in the First State (first to ratify the Constitution back in 1787) presents a pleasant downtown, even if retail has been gutted by malls which sell without sales tax to the nearby Jersey and Pennsylvania folk.  Seven or eight blocks from the train station, up Market Street, one can stop at the pub of Stitch House Brewing Co. for a pint.

The Stitch House name is based on a former retail tenant, the Linen Mart; its original use was as an ice-making plant. The brewery opened March 18 this year and was doing a good trade after eight months, on a sunny Sunday afternoon.  Twelve beers were on tap, eleven their own and one a collaboration.  This lineup included three IPAs and two pale ales, and in more adventurous territory, a rauchbier, a kolsch, a shandy, and a pilsner.  I had to sample the Baby Guava Dava, a sour Berliner Weisse made with guava in the boil and kettle-soured, I assumed. A tasty example of the style. 
With a mac and cheese plate I paired one of the pales, Big Stitch Nick, a clean-finishing ale with little aroma (5.6% abv).  The collaboration is called Out and About Oyster Stout, brewed for a recent festival event.  Andrew Rutherford, head brewer at Stitch House, worked with his counterparts at Iron Hill, Two Stones Pub, and Wilmington Brew Works to concoct this delicious black stout with the oyster juices trumping the usual coffee and chocolate notes in a sweet stout. 5.2%.

Stitch House utilizes five seven-barrel fermenters and a brew kettle in the street side window.  Waitstaff said most of the production is consumed here on the premises, with one or two other downtown spots having their kegs on tap. A slow and steady launch seems like a prudent beginning.


(Visited 11/11/18)