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Saltwater Brewery - What's Brewing

The October Bag: How to Pick a Saltwater Beach Tote and What to Pack in It

Written by The Saltwater Brewery Team October 07, 2026

A cotton tote is the most honest piece of gear we sell. It does one job, it carries everything, and in Delray Beach it never goes out of season. October is when it earns its keep. NOAA’s 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals for the West Palm Beach station put this month’s average high at 84.7°F, the sand is quieter than it will be by January, and the Delray GreenMarket is back on Oct. 24. Here is how to pick one of the 29 totes in the collection, what to put in it this month, and how to keep it looking right.

Model carrying the natural cotton Frigate large tote over one shoulder, a black frigatebird printed on the side, store product photo — The Frigate large tote, carried. Store product photo.

How to pick: two prices, three looks

Every bag in the beach tote collection is described on its product page the same way underneath the art: a roomy cotton tote with shoulder straps. The pages do not list dimensions or a fabric weight, so we will not either. All 29 were in stock this morning, and the honest split is the price.

The $27.95 totes. Five of them: Frigate Large, SaltWater Large, Sea Cow, Lifestyle and Ocean Blue. The store photos show a natural, unbleached cotton body with handles of the same fabric. The first two are the big ones; the Frigate Large page promises “extra-large cotton capacity that carries a family beach day in one trip.”
The $34.95 totes. The other 24, with black straps and the art printed large, some of it edge to edge. Three looks to choose from: the fish-and-boat crowd (Mahi-Mahi, Dorado, Tuna, Flying Fish, Center Console, Express, Frigate, Diver); sea life and shoreline (Turtle, Starfish, Anchor, Captains Helm, Surfboard, Blue Mirage, Sunset); and the brewery marks (Florida Flag, USA, Grain, LocAle, Jolly Roger, Knot Water, Deadly Pineapple, plus the plain Coastal Beach Tote).

Pick by where the bag spends its weekends. The Center Console page is written for “the offshore run-and-gun set.” The Turtle page calls its bag “an ode to the sea turtles that nest along our coast,” which matters this month for a reason covered below.

Navy Surfboard beach tote with white wave lines and an orange surfboard printed across the whole bag, black straps, store product photo — The Surfboard tote, printed edge to edge. Store product photo.

What goes in it this October

A short list, with the sources attached.

Sunscreen that says broad spectrum and SPF 15 or higher, and the discipline to reapply. The FDA’s sunscreen guidance says to reapply at least every two hours, more often if you are sweating or swimming, and that no sunscreen is “waterproof.” The EPA’s UV Index Scale adds the field test for the worst hours: if your shadow is shorter than you, seek shade.
Water, more than you think. That 84.7°F is the average high. The month’s average low of 72.6°F is a dawn number.
A towel and a dry layer for the walk back. A cotton tote does not mind a wet towel; your car seat does.
No flashlights or phone lights on the sand after dark. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s sea turtle lighting page puts the end of nesting season at Oct. 31, and the nests are in the sand until then.
Pack out what you packed in. Monday’s post followed where the county’s rain goes once it leaves the pavement. Whatever is left on the beach goes the same way.
Room left over for Saturday. See below.

Brand graphic, not a photograph. Every source is linked in this post.

Illustrative generated image of sea oats on a low dune with surf behind at sunrise on a South Florida beach, a lifeguard stand far down the sand; an illustration, not a photograph — Sea oats at first light. Illustrative image generated for this post; coastal Florida, not a photograph and not our address.

The Saturday job: the GreenMarket is back Oct. 24

The Delray Beach Community Redevelopment Agency announced on Sept. 30 that the Delray Beach GreenMarket returns to the Old School Square campus on Saturday, Oct. 24, opening its 31st winter season. It runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through May 22, 2027, with more than 70 local growers, makers and food vendors, and SNAP benefits are accepted. The address is 51 N. Swinton Ave. A cotton tote is the bag for it; almost every product page in the collection lists “market runs” as one of the jobs the bag was made for. Fill it there, then drive five minutes west to us.

Brand graphic, not a photograph. Figures from NOAA NCEI, the Delray Beach CRA, FWC and NOAA’s National Hurricane Center.

How to look after a cotton tote

The product pages do not carry care instructions, so read this as a routine for a printed cotton bag, not as a care label.

Shake it out at the car, every time. Sand that rides home grinds the fibers and the print.
Spot-clean sunscreen the same day with a damp cloth and a drop of dish soap. Left in, it sets.
Wash it rarely, and cold. When it truly needs it, a cold, gentle cycle with the bag turned inside out, away from anything with a zipper that can scuff the print.
Air dry, flat or hung. Heat is the fastest way to age a print, and a dryer is heat.
Put it away dry, with nothing left in the bottom.

The Ocean Blue cotton tote, one of the five at $27.95. Store product photo.

Ordering, and where to carry it first

Totes run $27.95 and $34.95. We offer free U.S. shipping on orders over $75, so three of the $27.95 bags clear that line, or two of the printed ones with a pair of Saltwater socks at $19.99. We ship merch within the USA only, and we do not sell or ship beer online.

After the beach, the taproom is at 1701 W. Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach, the first building off the I-95 Atlantic Ave exit. On Wednesdays we are open 12 to 10, and food on site comes from the rotating food trucks out front. The events page lists what is on this week.