On Saturday, May 14, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant’s 11th annual Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers’ Festival welcomed 27 local craft brewers—including all eight Iron Hill breweries—to their Media, PA location for a day of beer, food and music in the outdoor space next to the restaurant. The event, which also spilled over into a blocked-off section of Media’s State Street, rain or shine and donate the proceeds to the Media Youth Center, for which it has raised over $100,000 since the fest’s inception.
Iron Hill opened the gates at 1 p.m. to lines of fans waiting to get in, and the party didn’t let up until closing time four hours later. Despite the on-and-off rain, the crowd stayed strong, huddling together with anyone who had the foresight to bring an umbrella. Even in the rain-dampened atmosphere, the smells of beer, food from the Iron Hill kitchen staff, and cigars being sold by Fegley’s Brew Works permeated the air, keeping everyone excited with the promise of what may be around the corner at the next tent or table.
The most exciting, of course, was Iron Hill’s “secret stash” of specialty and rare beers for Mug Club members. The beers included a bourbon weizenbock, a barrel-aged version of Caprice, Maple Shade’s tripel, and the best beer of the festival—a batch of Maple Shade’s “Fred” Flemish red ale that had been sitting in a barrel for four years, forgotten until it was recently found.
In addition to the secret stash, Iron Hill’s Media brewer Bob Barrar made two appearances to pour specially brewed beers from a large, six-liter bottle. At the designated time, he would march out to a small platform in the middle of the promenade and uncork the specialty beer for the eagerly awaiting crowd, pouring what he could into their outstretched cups but just as often pouring down arms and on faces. No one seemed to mind as long as they got a taste of the rare beers—for this year’s fest, they included a version of Iron Hill’s Ironbound Ale brewed with Brettanomyces, a special strain of yeast that imparts a sour flavor, and a bourbon-aged Russian Imperial Stout.
In addition to Iron Hill’s special selection of ales and a regular selection from each of their eight locations, many other breweries brought their A-games as well. Leading the charge was Manayunk Brewing Co., who arrived with four delicious beers, highlighted by their dark and smoky Smokehouse Porter and their excellent double IPA, California Dreaming. Just around the corner from Manayunk was Nodding Head Brewery, who had their Ich Bin Ein Berliner Weisse, the best in the area, as well as their black IPA Marauder and a cask of Old Sot barley wine, the only cask at the festival.
Labeled by many as the best beer festival in the area, the Brandywine Valley Craft Brewers’ Festival did not suffer from too much hype. To be so many peoples’ favorite festival, and to keep going strong for 11 years, means Iron Hill is doing something right, and it shows. And if the great food, excellent breweries and wide range of beer aren’t enough to bring people back, the promise of rare beer pours and more specials for Mug Club members certainly will. So get to an Iron Hill, get your membership, and keep your eyes peeled for tickets to next year’s fest, because you will not want to miss it.
View more scenes from last weekend’s beer fest by clicking here.
