Iron Hill Brewery and Flying Fish

We at The Ferment Nation first heard of this event from our buddies at BeerTapTV.com.
 BeerTapTV breakin' the news to Ferment Nation

Now I suppose we should check it out for ourselves, since it's in our own backyard.


First off, any event is made extra special by the folks who share the beer with you.  Special how-do-ya-dos go out to Sherry (the Ithaca chick) and Tom, whom I see at every geeky beer event in South Jersey/Philadelphia area.  It was a pleasure to meet Steve as well.


My associates Mike and Kelly were there with their friend Anthony (who is looking forward to being a contributor to the Ferment Nation Citizen Reviews, by the way), as was my "industry" insider friend Chris.  A good time was had by all, of course, but mainly because the beer was so good!  Let's go over some of the selections:

Luca Brasi: 
Serious coffee flavor. Perhaps the boldest coffee brew out there that won't make you squish up your face. Bitter but in a coffee kind of way. Mixed it up with Flying Fish Exit 13 to create something wonderful... Makes me regret missing the official 
"Jersey's Finest" collaboration (which includes vanilla beans).

Iron Hill India Black Ale:

Twist on the ipa: floral hops accompanied by a different kind of bitterness... Toasted malt and some coffee notes wrap this IBA up nicely. Dan Weitz from Boulder Beer (beer geek and fellow English major) would approve of this description, noting that there's no such thing as black india PALE ale...

Overall, I really enjoyed the selections from Iron Hill, and the pairings with Flying Fish (mainly the Exit 13 Chocolate Stout and the Grand Cru) that tag-teamed with Iron Hill this time around.  Notable to try from Iron Hill as well is the Orange Truffle brew, which is kinda like an orange truffle candy from Toblerone or the dead bottom of an orange Tootsie Pop (description courtesy of Tom).  Not "fruity" but certainly has an orange tinge to it.  It's a real beer, like a serious porter with a fruity twist.


Thanks to the guys from the Barley Legal Brewclub, who get together every month at Iron Hill.  Their recipes won a contest at Iron Hill and have been presented as the Luca Brasi and the Half-Caff.  Shoutouts go to Tom, Devin, and  Vince.  Check out their website:
http://barleylegal.ning.com/