Driving down the Eastern Shore

I'd definitely recommend checking out Burley Oak which is about 30 minutes east of Salisbury. More on your direct route (all north of Salisbury in Delaware) are 16 Mile, Mispillion, and 3rd Wave Brewing Company. All three are worth a look but Burley Oak is a cut above.

I'll be heading to the OBX in late July and plan on stopping at Williamsburg Alewerks. Could be a good stop for you halfway between Salisbury and the final destination!

Have fun!

 

Burley Oak is out of the way, but such an awesome place with a variety of good beers.

 

Let me just "third" the two above me and say, you need to stop at Burley Oak.

 

You do; they're extremely mediocre in my opinion. But you're right, they're on your way.

 

Burley Oaks definitely worth the detour. Tall Tales not worth the stop. EVO brewing has very good food. Do not stay in the Holiday Inn across the street from EVO.

 

I just moved from Salisbury. Microtel should be fine. It's right on 13 fairly decent area. As previously stated by others Burley Oak is a definite must to go to, they have an amazing selection. You will not be disappointed. I'm going to miss having easy access to them. Anyway, Cheers is probably the best beer store in the area... they have a good selection and growlers station. Specific Gravity is a little pizza shop/bar/bottle shop about a mile or 2 away from Cheers. They are owned by the same people who own EVO and they have a good selection as well, but not as much as Cheers. Other than that there aren't too many quality bottle shops in the area. Cheers was my go to place.

Tall Tales is okay. I wouldn't stop unless you have time to kill. They had an imperial stout once that was pretty good other than that nothing special. Third Wave in Delmar (where EVO used to be) is okay as well. They have some good sours on draft but again, nothing to go out of your way for. Rubber Soul is in Salisbury, they were just getting their permits to open when I was leaving so I don't' know if they are operational or not.

There are a ton of Breweries in Ocean City, but I wouldn't bother with all the other options available to you

 

As others have said, Burley Oak, EVO, and Cheers are the way to go. Tall Tales is not good and Rubber Soul is not open yet.

 

Not sure your route through Jersey but if you take the GSP the entire way you csn take the Cape May/Lewes ferry across to DE. In Jersey you can hit Kane and Carton, both about 15 minutes off the GSP give or take a little. Check their hours though as they are a little limited. Cape May brewing is under 10 minutes away from the ferry and open 7 days a week noon to 8.

 

Yes you can buy tickets for the ferry online. It's actually pretty cool and you can BYOB and drink on the deck while you sail across the bay.

 

I was just at Burley Oak, EVO and Rubber Soul (yup, not open) this week.

I like EVO a lot. The tab always ends up being a lot more than I expect, but they have some very good food to go with their very good beer. I stop there at least a few times a year and am never disappointed. Burley Oak is a somewhat different story. I think they have some great beer, but I find the place itself to be OK at best. I usually just grab a growler or two and leave. It is not as spartan as it used to be, but it is relatively small and most of the time when I go there no seats available inside - even at relatively off hours.

FWIW, if I can sit down I will usually just buy a pint or two and decide on my growler fills, but as is often the case they were crowded when I got there so I just asked for a sample. I got a tiny cup with maybe a half ounce in the bottom of it. It was the smallest taste I have ever had. I realize some people get out of line with multiple taste requests, but that was dangerously close to no taste at all. It made me wish I had filled up at EVO instead.

 

this time of year they both may take a bit longer to get to from the parkway haha. Another two NJ shore area options are Belford, which you pass by on the way to carton from the gsp, and little dog which is just done 35 a little more past kane. both are small but make some good stuff too.

 

Rubber Soul I think just opened in Salisbury but I don't know anything about them.

Definitely Burley Oak, eVo for dinner and Cheers are your must stops. I actually don't mind 3rd Wave (it's about 5 minutes north of Salisbury right off 13) They have been getting better each time I go. But I don't know how your detour would be from Burley Oak to eVo.