Iron Hill Imperial Pumpkin Release

We at the Ferment Nation loves us some pumpkin beers!  Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Maple Shade, NJ had released its Great Imperial Pumpkin and the Imperial Bourbon Pumpkin Ale at their release party a few weeks ago.

Now the beers:
Iron Hill's Pumpkin Ale was fresh and delicious... Pumpkin flavor and all the appropriate spices, but very drinkable.  Slightly smaller body and alcohol content make it a groovy session beer.
Great Imperial Pumpkin is bigger and badder.  Definitely comparable with some of the sought-after Imperial Pumpkin Ales out there (like Pumking, Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin, Fegley's Devious...).  If I may be so bold... I think the Iron Hill offering trumps them all.
Bourbon Imperial Pumpkin was magnificent.  The oaky bourbon flavors complemented the autumnal pumpkin pie spices and the earthy gourd essence of the pumpkin in a way that blew my mind.  I tried Avery's Rumpkin ale last year, and I definitely got what they were going for, but it was just a teensy bit too big for me.  Iron Hill's Bourbon Imperial hits the mark!

It's getting closer to those fall holidays Halloween and Thanksgiving, when pumpkin ales are tough to find in the stores and pubs.  Those of us on the ball, however, get out there early and often.  Following are a Storified collection of tweets from the party and a slideshow of some nicer photographs taken with an actual camera (as opposed to my photo-challenged Blackberry).  Enjoy!

Executive Meeting at the Iron Hill

Greetings Citizens!  Today El Presidente and his trusty V.P. had an executive meeting in an undisclosed loca... aw CRAP.   Okay, so we were at the Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Maple Shade, NJ.  Of the eight operating locations, it is my understanding that the South Jersey location is the busiest of the bunch.  That's no child's play considering Iron Hill has never had to close a location and is in fact opening a new restaurant in Chestnut Hill, PA later this year.  Over the years I've had the opportunity to dine and imbibe at many of the locations and I must say that I enjoy the beers more and more every time I go.  Iron Hill focuses on solid sessionable beers like their Ironbound Ale and the impeccable Pig Iron Porter.  Adventure awaits, however.  A rather impressive list of rotating seasonals will challenge your tastebuds if you give them a chance.  We did.

A quick rundown and some first impressions:
Rising Sun IPA: Floral meets bitter as Sorachi Ace hops are featured here.  Not a big fan of Sorachi Ace hops, but if you're into them then don't miss this one.  About 7% abv.
Second Rising: Rising Sun's big brother at about 8.5%.  More hops and a ton of specialty malts.  This brew is very full of body and flavor.  Sweetness from the malt carries the hops through the swallow and the bitterness lingers.  A bit much for me, but well-crafted just the same.
Unassisted Tripel: Belgian style ale made with candi sugar.  It's a big boy at about 9.4%.  Reminds me of Victory's Golden Monkey (one will be sufficient!).
Hopfenweizen: Wheaty and hoppy and very bright.  Nice offering and one of the most drinkable.
Belgian Witbier: Brewed with orange and coriander like a good little wit.  Pretty spicy for a wit.  I enjoyed it  but my fave has yet to be revealed.
Caprice golden American-Belgian ale:  Sweetness and bitterness blend nicely here.  I liked it better than the Rising Sun.
German Pilsner: Representative of the style and very well-made. Clean all the way through 'til the end where the hoppy bitterness lingers.  Wait, it gets better:
Keller Pils:  Unfiltered, cellared version of the German Pils.  Supremely drinkable!  I like it even better than the regular Pilsner, which is pretty darn good.  But check this out:
Scottish Ale:  Rolling in under the radar at less than 4% abv, this ale has roasted flavors, caramel notes, a  medium body and a super-clean finish.  Really, what more could you ask for?  I get into adventurous moods sometimes and like to explore the more extreme and experimental brews that a brewery might have to offer (which is why we opted for the seasonal flight as opposed to the house flight) but this session ale has a lot to offer for pretty much any beer drinker you know.  If you're near the Maple Shade location or if any other Iron Hill has this brew on tap, I'd run out and get it before its season changes.

Speaking of experimental brews:

Iron Hill has collaborated with another South Jersey brewery whose name you probably already know.  Flying Fish of Cherry Hill, NJ has teamed up with Iron Hill to get a little crazy: Iron Fish Imperial Black Belgian IPA (whew! That's a mouthful) is due to be released this coming Saturday, August 27th, 2011.  HOWEVER... The Executive Branch of Ferment Nation was lucky enough to meet Chris LaPierre, Head Brewer of Iron Hill Maple Shade today and ask him a few questions about the upcoming Iron Fish.  Chris was nice enough to grant us a little sneak peak at the brew.  He warned us that the kitchen sink might appear at the bottom of the glass (okay, I made that up) since there was so much going on in the brew.  Chris, along with Casey from Flying Fish, decided to laugh in the face of Belgian-style IPAs and Cascadian Dark Ales by basically knocking their heads together.  The resulting brew was, I must say, pretty darn good.  Iron Fish was supremely interesting and gloriously complicated.  It's still sitting on whole leaf hops and will undoubtedly mellow out before its official outing on Saturday.  The Belgian sweetness and the roasted malts come at you first, but the whole flower hops wrap themselves around your face from the aroma 'til the aftertaste.   It didn't have a huge body, nor did it have a boozy warmth.  I suggested that it would be unbelievable on cask.  Chris agreed, and even thought aloud that it may end up on nitro.  I'm hoping to be around on Saturday to give it a shot in all its glory.  Thanks very much, Chris, for the preview!!

By the way, the food at Iron Hill is pretty delicious.  We had pizza(s) today but I've never had a bad meal at Iron Hill, so feel free to explore the menu to its fullest extent.  The staff at Iron Hill is also very well informed about the brews, especially the bartenders.  Brittany (not sure of the spelling) did a great job of explaining the beers to us and even introduced us to Chris.  Thanks to everyone at Iron Hill for your hospitality!

Iron Hill Brewery Dry Irish Stout on Nitro (Presidential Brief)

What: Iron Hill Dry Irish Stout on Nitro
Where: Iron Hill Brewery, Maple Shade, NJ
When: Saturday, April 2nd, 2011.
What-have-you: Smooth and drinkable at 3.8%. A lil coffee bitterness but mostly mild. Got a little Guinness in there, as well as some Sly Fox O'Reilly's and some Stewart's Highlander.  It's all day.

Dry Irish Nitro from Iron Hill

Iron Hill Maple Shade, NJ

Cask-Conditioned McMaster Scotch Ale from Iron Hill Male Shade, NJ

Malty and sweet with a roasty undertone. Definitely a smooth and creamy cask offering with a jazzy wee-heavy "caramelcohol" tang. Just invented that word, by the way.

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/ 

Iron Hill Brewery Nine of Diamonds Scotch Style Ale (Presidential Brief)

What: Iron Hill Brewery Nine of Diamonds Scotch Style Ale 8.5% abv
Where: Iron Hill Brewery (Maple Shade, NJ)
When: April 1, 2010
What-have-you: "'Nine of diamonds' scotch style ale. Malty and delish! Smooth, drinkable, and frankly kinda dangerous if ur not careful."