May: The month of burgers and beer

It's been at least a month since my last visit to the Iron Hill Brewery. The last mug club email I received from the brewery was about May being National Cheeseburger month and to celebrate they were creating a new burger each day. Definitely an awesome concept since I love burgers.

The main reason I love drinking at breweries is that the beer is fresh, and depending on the season and what the brewmaster wants to brew the beers can vary and always seem to rotate. If I go to the Iron Hill in Maple Shade I might have different choices than if I go to the Iron Hill in Media.

During my Sunday night visit, I saw two beers on their rotating list that intrigued me: The Situation, which is a double IPA named after the Jersey's Shore star, and the Saizanne, a Belgian-style farmhouse ale recommended by my friend Steve. Since I wasn't sure if I wanted a full draft, I asked for a sample of each. Because the Situation was a double IPA, I sampled the Saizanne first which Steve mentioned being the "Champagne of Belgians." The beer was light but had a spicy aftertaste that I enjoyed but didn't think I could drink a full draft. I tried the Situation and realized this was a strong beer that had me feeling buzzed after the sample. Although I could find myself drinking this beer, I felt I would be drunk off one draft with an alcohol content of over 10%.

Instead of going with a beer from their seasonal list and something I never had, I made the safe choice and ordered an Inbound Ale, which is an Iron Hill staple. I've had this beer before, and think this might have been the first beer I ever tried at the Iron Hill. The Inbound Ale is your typical Pale Ale, which pairs well with many of the foods they serve.

For my second draft, I decided to try a beer I've never had: Raspberry Wheat, which tastes exactly like it's name. The fruit taste was present in each sip, however this wasn't overwhelming. Thinking about this beer now, I can't stop thinking about the Blueberry Wheat Manayunk Brewery brews. Although one tastes like blueberries and the other raspberries it's great to see brewers take risks and use ingredients you wouldn't think you could use to brew beer.



Note: I've been trying to get this posted the past week however the blog site was down a few days, and I actually thought I lost my saved draft.