Iron Hill – Beers from the Barrell Feb

WILMINGTON, DE – Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, the popular food and drink destination with seven area locations, announces Beers from the Barrel, a celebration of Bourbon Barrel-aged Beers, throughout February. All month, each Iron Hill location will spotlight two house brewed beers that celebrate this uniquely American style of beer.

“In the past, our bourbon barrel aged beers have only been available sporadically, in small quantities,” says Director of Brewing Operations Mark Edelson. “With this month-long event, guests will experience a variety of these special beers, on draught – as long as supplies last!”

Featured bourbon barrel aged beers will include: Bourbon Porter, Iron Hill’s award-winning Pig Iron Porter has roasty malt and pronounced bourbon flavors with a nice vanilla aroma, served on nitrogen and sometimes described as ‘dessert in a glass’; Bourbon Russian Imperial Stout, a Great American Beer Festival medalist has a complex malt character and balanced, distinct bourbon and vanilla flavors; Bourbon Barley wine, with intense caramel-malt sweetness and aroma balanced with distinct bourbon and vanilla flavors; Bourbon Tripel, a traditional Belgian-style strong ale with complex aroma and flavor of plums, spice and bananas with a refreshing, balanced bitterness; and well as Bourbon Wee Heavy; Bourbon Baltic Porter; and Bourbon Dubbel.

American brewers such as Iron Hill started aging beers in bourbon barrels in the early 1990s. Law specifies that bourbon can only be aged in new oak barrels, meaning that after one batch of bourbon is aged, the barrel must be put to other use or destroyed. Often, other alcohol producers, including brewers, use the barrels to add a special character to their products. This aging process gives beer a distinct flavor of bourbon, oak and vanilla and is ideal for adding depth of character to heavier brews.

Critics and readers alike have heaped praise on Iron Hill; since 1996, they have consistently been recognized for their outstanding beers and cuisine, accruing more than 100 “Best of” awards from regional magazines. Their hand-crafted beers have also won acclaim and in total, they have received 39 medals from the three most prestigious beer events, the GABF, World Beer Cup and Real Ale Festival.

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant has seven locations, in Newark, DE; Wilmington, DE; Media, PA; West Chester, PA; North Wales, PA; Phoenixville, PA and Lancaster, PA. An eighth location is planned for Maple Shade, NJ in 2009. All seven locations are open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. For more information about Iron Hill, or to make a reservation at any of their locations, please visit their website at http://www.ironhillbrewery.com/.