Seek Inclusion: Iron Hill and Brew Lounge 5/22/08

Wow. Ya know, i'm just gonna come clean. This blog is probably the closest thing to a confessional i'll come to for a while so the beans are gonna spill around here people.

I used to have a really short sided view of the Iron Hill brewpubs. If you've read much of my blog, you'll know that i now sing their praises pretty regularly...so what happened? Well, i opened up my mind and realized that i don't know everything after all. Full conversion began in Media with their Berliner. Larry Horowitz' lineup for the War of the Worts was just plain ridiculous (and you can't talk about the beer business with a more positive minded guy than Larry). I missed the Belgian event in West Chester, but have been told by a very reliable source that it is something to make a point of catching next year.

They used a tabasco barrel for God's sake. (Sake, not God's Sake)

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I'd always been a fan of the food at Iron Hill and i thought i had them all figured out years back when i first checked them out. I thought they played it safe and just catered to a dinner/family crowd. I thought they didn't have anything to offer to me....Then i met the Quadfather, then i met their Wee Heavy, then i met their Roggenbier, then i met their dry hoppped Iron Bound on cask, then i met Iron Bound on nitro (an APA on Nitro?), then i met their mug club parties.

Tim Stumpf, 'my' Iron Hill brewer is doing a hell of a job in Phoenixville. I have been trying to stop weekly since joining the Mug Club and he has kept things really interesting. The staff is friendly as can be and i've even begun to meet some of the natives.

So to the Mug Club party then? Strap on your boots...here's what they had on tap:

Hefeweizen
Maibock
Pig Iron Porter
Wee Heavy
Bourbon Barrel Wee Heavy
Baltic Porter
Rye IPA
Cannibal

NITRO: Bourbon Barrel Russian Imperial Stout
CASK: West Coast Wheat

Add to that some Cypress Grove goat cheeses and something local (Birch Run?) from the Big Cheese himself, Mike Romando and you've got yourself a party.

Or you've got yourself a party to go to.

The Brew Lounge held a meetup last night at The Drafting Room in Exton. I was a late comer, but there was plenty of hanging out left to be done. TDR had tapped Hop Head Red, so i finally got a taste and as usual, they had a lot of great stuff to try.

Our wounded soldier, Cask Ale Kev was there as was Adam of Beer Bits 2. We talked homebrew with Jeremy and Greg from Exton beverage showed up for a chat. I'm sure Bryan will write the thing up properly so i'm reserving space to link to it right.......here.

Adam is starting a monthly homebrewing blog post, a' la The Session, so i'll definitely be hopping on that train. Check out his blog, its a great read.