LEWES, Del. — On July 20 2019, America celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Mission where the first humans landed on the moon. What many don’t know is that Delaware played a part in making that mission possible. ILC Dover, a special engineering development and manufacturing company based in Frederica, Delaware, is responsible for the development and creation of the first space suits worn by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969.
Crooked Hammock Brewery, located in Lewes, collaborated with ILC in sharing some of that history. On October 17 the brewery will celebrate and honor the anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission with the release of “One Giant Leap,” a suborbital stout brewed with Apollo hops, chocolate malts, vanilla and space-ice-cream sandwiches.
“One Giant Leap is really meant to bring together and share a piece of the Nation’s history and Delaware’s part in creating it,” shares Crooked Hammock’s Head Brewer Jon Schorah, “All of the advancements that ILC has made in science over the last half of a century, right in our backyard, is pretty incredible — so here’s a beer to cheers for that.”
In 1962, ILC and their team first won the contract to develop and produce the Apollo space suit. The unique suits offered greater mobility compared to others, giving the underdog the longstanding contract with NASA to be the provider of all the extravehicular space suits. Since the Apollo Missions, ILC has continued to create high-performance flexible materials, including the landing impact bags for NASA and JPL, that were used by three of the rovers that landed on Mars between 1997 and 2004.
It just so happens that they are fans of craft beer, too, which makes this beer release a true collaboration of the scientific brains. The idea for the style of “One Giant Leap” actually came from Alex Linsner, one of the engineers in the Aerospace division of ILC, who home brews in his spare time.
“Collaborating with Crooked Hammock’s team has been fun and having them share our story about this unforgettable time in history is humbling. There are so many men and women at ILC Dover that take such pride in the work done then and now,” says Stephanie Arthur, Marketing Communications Associate of the engineering and manufacturing company.
“One Giant Leap” will be released at Crooked Hammock Brewery’s Lewes location on October 17 at 4 pm. On the day of the release a limited number of commemorative glasses will be available. The first 100 people will receive the glass and a pint of the suborbital beer for $12. Members of the ILC team will be present with pieces of their space suits, a moon backdrop for photos and more information on the making of the Apollo space suit.
About Crooked Hammock Brewery
Crooked Hammock Brewery opened its doors for its first location in Lewes, Delaware in October of 2015. After four short years, it extended its reach just north of the original location with a 4,000 square foot space opening in Middletown, Delaware this fall. Newly announced is their third location to open in spring of 2020 in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Crooked Hammock is a craft brewery, restaurant and backyard beer garden that creates an easy-going, approachable environment. The craft beer lineup boasts light and perfectly crushable beers to lie in a hammock with and pairs nicely with the classic backyard cookout inspired menus. Its mission is to provide a place for all ages, incomes, and interests to experience and enjoy the hammock state of mind.