With the absence of sales tax, Delaware is a great destination for shopping. Shopping is nice and all, but this tiny state is also the home of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. If you are a beer connoisseur, this is a perfect way to get a behind the scenes look at one of the best microbreweries in the United States.  (Well, that is for you to decide after you taste test.)

Settled in Milton, Delaware, Dogfish Head Brewery is a perfect stop if you are heading to the beaches or if you are just driving through the state and need a pit stop. Open Monday through Saturday, from 10:45am-7pm, the place offers free taste testings, free tours, and a fully stocked brew shop.

When you arrive, you should definitely take a tour first. All you have to do is sign up at the front desk when you walk in. The tour will give you a better idea of the history of the company and the way that the company functions. For around an hour, bartenders/tour guides lead groups on a journey through the facility which includes seeing fermentation, bottling, storing, and more.

Do not be surprised if there are several people in your tour group who are home brewers. Dogfish Head Brewery was actually started by a home brewer who eventually became very successful.  

After the tour, you have a chance to taste five different types of beer. This is the daunting part. What beer will you choose out of the 15-20 or so listed on the wall? You should at least try one IPA and one seasonal brew. If you are adventurous, check out that famous 120 Minute IPA with 15-20% alcohol content. Be careful while taste testing though, Dogfish Head Brewery has an average alcohol content for their beers of 9%. They are not messing around.

If you are working up an appetite, try Bunyan's Lunchbox. Located next to the tasting room, they serve food cooked using Dogfish Head beer including beer-infused sausage, hardtack chowder, and hop pickles that are made with 60 Minute IPA. The sausages are delicious. Try the greek feta sausage made with spinach, cheese, cumin, and a special variety of Midas touch which has beer, wine and mead mixed in.

Do not worry, your fun does not have to end at the Milton brewery. Rehoboth beach, not too far away, has a Dogfish Head brewpub. The brewpub is a small restaurant that serves food and of course beer. The beer is unique here because the brewers will experiment with beer in small batches in the brewing stations behind the restaurant. You can taste test something that might one day become as famous as the Pumpkin Ale.