Enjoyable wheat-wined IPA proffers lemony peach, pineapple, kiwi and papaya brightness to contrast ascending woody hop-roasted bittering. Wafting floral respite grazes juicy-fruited zest. Creamy caramel malting further sweetens honeyed wheat back end.
LANCASTER / MOUNT JOY, PENNSYLVANIA
Residing in Lancaster’s Central Market at Hager Arcade, SPRING HOUSE TAPROOM serves craft beer originating from nearby Conestoga’s Spring House Brewing – originally a small keg-only barnyard operation started in 2007. Utilizing natural spring water emanating from its basement, the boorish stable’s brew house has grown fast. On my pre-noon stopover, 7 Gates Pale Ale, Spring House’s flagship beer, just started getting bottled for Pennsylvania consumption.
The grand opening of the Taproom on February 3, 2011, allowed brewmaster Matt Keasey to expand beyond any stylistic limitations. A glass-fronted alehouse with ultra-mod orange and black interior, the midsize open-spaced room featured a U-shaped bar (with 3 TV’s), sidling wood-furnished tables, and exposed ductwork. Local patrons have taken advantage of the maroon mug club.
On this sizzling hot Thursday, Van Halen’s “Panama” blares from the speakers as I ingest seven pleasing concoctions that go just past conventional barriers. But before testing the outer limits, I sampled above-mentioned mainstream lager-like mainstay, 7 Gates Pale Ale, a crystal-malted dry body with mildewed orange astringency, lemon mold souring, root vegetable slipstream, and wet cardboard bottom.
Nearly as mainstream accessible but way better, Goofy Foot Summer Wheat retained a moderate fresh-watered citric dalliance and floral-spiced wisp.
Next up, two Belgian-inspired beers showed off Keasey’s broad range. Diabolical Dr. Wit ceded a curious cologne entry enjoining evergreen overtones, herbal rosemary-thyme intensity, floral lavender-lotus-hibiscus accents, and blood orange-peeled kaffir-limed acidity atop sugary maple.
Robot Bastard Belgian IPA spread buttery banana, nectarine, cantaloupe, and pineapple tropicalia over pumpkin-glazed chamomile tea nuances.
Staying on the fruity side, persuasive Mango IPA contrasted cotton-candied mango sweetness against modest grapefruit-peeled bittering, picking up ancillary orange, apricot, and peach enticements.
Mouth-puckering tropical alternative, Two Dudes Wet Paint Guava Ale brought dry lemon-pitted bittering to soft-spiced guava tartness, rotted orange sourness, and subtle perfume notions.
To finalize this eye-opening session, there were two nutty alternative elixirs. Perfectly descriptive Peanut Butter & Jelly maintained a certain jellybean likeness, layering chocolate-y peanut-shelled whimsicality with grape jam, strawberry, and boysenberry illusions.
For dessert, Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout spread creamy peanut-buttered black chocolate richness above vanilla, macadamia, hazelnut and cola undertones.
Inside a freestanding building at Kings Highway Commerce Center just outside Philadelphia in South Jersey’s Maple Shade lies the eighth IRON HILL franchise. Celebrating its second anniversary (July 21, 2011), this capacious red-bricked post with black awning and tinted windows was sojourned prior to crossing the Delaware River into north Philly.
An upscale modern facility with dark wood furnishings, central bar (with 3 TV’s), hanging lamps, back dining, and rear brew tanks succeeds as both a sportsbar and mall eatery. Plus, a newly marketed growler machine, hooked up to each tap line, takes the load of busy bartenders by automatically filling the half-gallon containers and adding carbon dioxide.
Exquisite food, described as ‘new American cuisine,’ truly sufficed. I had the fish soft taco, a delicious catfish dish draped with pineapple, red cabbage, and jalapeno slaw on top of a flour tortilla, while imbibing ten seasonal/ specialty ales (forgoing the five house beers tried at other Iron Hill sites). Lucky patrons may purchase favorite selections in bottled versions to take home.
Brewer Chris La Pierre stopped by to say hi as I quaffed his well-rounded, finely detailed offerings. On cask, subtle medium-bodied English-styled bitter, Anvil Ale, retained a dryer reedy musk, floral-hopped chamomile or green tea sway, mild pumpernickel lick and teensy tangerine twist.
The nitro version of staple Ironbound Ale, known as Kellerbound, brought soft citric-hopped bittering to creamy crystal-caramel malts and tertiary floral herbage.
Though the traditional German Pilsner seemed too mainstream, its dry-bodied maize astringency, citric sharpness, raw-honeyed bittering and buttery milling grains suit long-time lagerheads.
Three expressive Belgian-styled brews competed favorably against two German wheat beers. Light-bodied moderation, Belgian Wit, secured subtle banana-clove-coriander expectancy with candi-sugared Belgian yeast, unripe orange-tangerine tartness and herbal nuances.
More impressive, Belgian IPA coaxed sharp citric-spiced bittering above sweet crystal malting, lacing floral grapefruit-peeled pineapple-pear-apricot fruiting with parched bark-dried kindling to its rye-breaded backend.
Better still, tropical-fruited Cannibal, a strong Belgian pale ale, imparted a ripe banana-peach-pear conflux supplemented by white-peppered clove spicing, herbaceous splendor and sudden licorice notes.
On the Bavarian tip, delicate Hefeweizen melded clove spicing to lemony orange-banana tartness.
Softly perfume-hopped Hopfenweizen benefited from its mild summery effervescence, enhancing the expectant banana-clove-coriander theme with candied pineapple and tangy orange.
A complex double IPA, crafted to celebrate Iron Hill’s anniversary, totally ignited the early afternoon crowd. Brewed with citric Japanese-bred Sorachi Ace hops, the illustrious Second Rising plied sweet whiskey warmth to mild mocha malts, picking up sugared fig, fried banana, red grape, date, almondine, and lemony coconut illusions along the way.
Nearly as good, Kryptonite coerced a full-thrust hop-embittered assault out of brisk wood-seared fruit spicing, contrasting amiable caramel, butterscotch, marzipan and vanilla sweetening.
My wife and I left her parents’ ocean front Long Beach Island domicile to pick up her mother at Philadelphia International Airport, February 2012. Along the way, we ate ultimate nachos at Maple Shade’s Iron Hill while I consumed three previously untried dark ales plus one tantalizing Belgian-styled beaut.
Luca Brasi Milk Stout really killed! Its dark-roasted Sumatran coffee bean bittering perfectly contrasted the chewy burnt caramel sweetness and ancillary black chocolate, vanilla, Kahlua and raspberry notions seeping through the charred hop roast.
Nearly as great, Belgo Black (placing flagship Pig Iron Porter in Belgian yeast) brought smoked molasses malting to Belgian chocolate spicing and fig-sugared raisin-prune nuances.
India Black IPA competed favorably with its earthen peat malts gaining cappuccino, espresso and dark chocolate tendencies above dark-fruited cherry, blackberry and fig illusions as well as ashen wood smoke.
Buttery sweet Unassisted Tripel Strong Ale gathered plum-sugared fig spicing for bubble-gummy banana-clove pleasantries.
On tap, fabulous Imperial India Pale Ale shows off tamer stylistic intrigue, fusing exquisite soft-toned citric zest to mild dry-hopped pine-needled grapefruit peel bittering. Diffuse mandarin orange, navel orange, orange blossom, tangerine, and blood orange illusions pique wispy floral nicety above buttery caramel-crystal malting, adding tart hard-candied sourness to rounded mouthfeel.
On tap, smoked helles lager efficiently re-creates German-styled rauchbier styling. Hop-charred beechwood-smoked cedar staining picks up soft mocha creaming above briny meat-cured salami, pastrami, and beef jerky wisps.
On tap, soft-textured dry porter relies more on soy-sauced dried fruiting than expected mocha malting. Sun-dried fig, plum, and pomegranate illusions inundate soured frontage. Mossy peat-smoked earthen dewing nabs stove-burnt coffee and flaked chocolate subsidy.
On tap, engaging dried-fruited mocha spicing fronts soft-toned summer seasonal. Phenol fig-spiced date-breaded banana tartness envelops subtle cocoa nibs chalking above tobacco-leafed toasted breading.
Approachable fig-spiced sugar plum entry picks up diffuse burgundy-wined raisin-prune continuance and ginger-breaded cinnamon-coriander-allspice upsweep. Tertiary orange-bruised black cherry, purple grape and brown banana ripeness seeps into well-balanced winter seasonal. Mild phenol astringency at dried fruited finish lowers appeal a fraction.
‘Pernicious’ adjunct stout drapes viscous dark chocolate entry with oak-aged anise thickness, retaining a pronounced black licorice finish that seeps into the tongue. Oats-charred black currant acridity, pungent vanilla-coffee bean insistence, and smoked chocolate continuance register alongside dark-roasted hop bittering.
Barren light-bodied ale not far removed from Busch Lager. Negligible citric mildness and papery white bread backdrop falter. Mandarin orange, kaffir lime and green apple hints barely register. Serve to neophyte lawn mowers on hot summer day as smoothly vacuous refreshment.
Decisive dark browned full body raises peat-smoked mocha malting and cappuccino coffee creaming above viscous anise motif. Soured Belgian yeast funk picks up surging molasses-soaked dark chocolate, cocoa nibs and vanilla illusions, heightening dried-fruited black cherry, prune, raisin and fig nip. Midriff black currant bittering sidles massive mocha indulgence.
Hardened hop-heads will delight in sharp citric-spiced bittering and resinous hop pining as lemony orange-peeled grapefruit prickle stays firm. But caramelized rye profile and sugary caraway-seeded Vienna malting lack resolve and get washed out. Tertiary pineapple, tangerine and citron illusions undone by minor metal astringency. 2012 version retained dry-spiced citric hop perfuming and fresher piney spruce crispness.