Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, the popular food and drink destination with seven area locations, announce the bottled release of four lambic-style beers: Kreik de Hill, Lambic de Hill, Framboise de Hill, and Cassis de Hill. Iron Hill will host two release parties, at the Wilmington and Media locations, to give beer enthusiasts an opportunity to sample the different styles, speak with the brewers who created them and purchase the award-winning beers.
“It takes 3 to 4 years to make one batch of lambic beer. In the past, we’ve only offered these beers at special events,” says Director of Brewing Operations Mark Edelson, “We are excited to now be able to make them available to everyone who appreciates these great beers.”
To kick off the release and sale of these beers, Iron Hill will hold two Kick-Off Tastings. On Saturday, December 6, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Iron Hill Wilmington (710 South Madison Street, 302.472.2739), Brewer Brian Finn will have all four of the lambic style beers available for sale in 750 mL bottles; on Saturday, December 13, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Iron Hill Media (30 East State Street, 610.627.9000), Brewer Bob Barrar will have the Lambic available for sale in 750 mL bottles and Kreik and Framboise in a smaller, 375 mL size. The 750 mL bottles will cost $24.50, while the 375 mL bottles will cost $13. The lambics will only be available in these sizes, and will be sold ONLY at these two locations, while supplies last. Supplies of these beers are limited.
Iron Hill’s four lambic-style beers are their most awarded varieties. The Lambic has won two gold medals in 2008 and 2003 from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), the Kreik one gold in 2005 and one bronze in 2007, the Cassis one bronze in 2008 and the Framboise a bronze in 2004 from the World Beer Cup (WBC).
Iron Hill Lambic is a traditional Belgian-style lambic beer made with wild yeast and bacteria and aged in oak barrels for at least two years. It is golden-yellow in color and unfiltered, with a complex aroma of bananas, oak and hay and a nutty flavor that gives way to intense sour notes. Cassis is a lambic-style beer that is aged in oak barrels with black currants, which lend the beer a violet color and berry aroma. Framboise ages in oak barrels with fresh raspberries; it is ruby red in color and balanced between lambic sourness and sweet raspberry notes. Kreik is aged in oak barrels with sour cherries, light red in color and also delicately balanced between sour and fruity-sweet.
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 Great American Beer Festival, 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. 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 www.ironhillbrewery.com.
