At Pub 27 in Pompeii
Surprising Wilmington: Iron Hill Wilmington Irish Stout (Cask)
Date: April 10, 2019
The Story— The definitive Irish Stout is Guinness, but almost every brewpub feels the need to come up with an Irish entry for St. Patrick’s Day and that’s pretty much either Red of Stout…or both. For a huge production beer, Guinness remains a world classic and the ease of comparison means most of the American efforts, umm… pale.
Iron Hill, however, put their own spin on the style. Even lower in alcohol than Guinness, but just as fulfilling, you never think twice about walking down the street to the Irish Pub.
The caveat below applies especially to out choice here. Iron Hill plays musical chairs with their brewers and seasonal beers can vary from year to year. The Wilmington brewery has been a “home” brewery for a sort, brewing bottled specialties for the entire chain. A visit to the Wilmington Iron Hill, however, will reward you with a range of god beers.
The Beer— Roasty sweet and malty. More creamy then watery, which is a neat trick for a 3.5% beer. Even the draft version is softly satisfying. Chocolate flavors hold up well.
Value — Good to very good. Iron Hill does not gouge.
About these posts: We taste and evaluate over a thousand beers every year. The beers posted here rank in the top quarter of those tastings. Values: “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.
For the next several weeks we’ll feature fun places to explore beer — and much more–a different destination each week. Our beers of the day will feature beers from this wonderfully wet destinations. For the first week of April, we’re featuring some of the gems we’ve found in Virginia Beach breweries. A caveat as always: the vast majorities of craft breweries may have a few beers that are usually available, but their most interesting beers are usual season or one-off brews that we may rave about, but you can’t find. Our specific beer descriptions, can tell you what sorts of beers the brewery does well; if you don’t find the exact beer on tap, you’ll probably find something similar.
Leave a Reply