West Chester Dish

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant, the East Coast’s fastest growing brewery-restaurant enterprise, has been awarded two silver medals at the prestigious World Beer Cup: for its Vienna Red Lager in the “Vienna-Style Lager” category among 25 entrants, and for its Wee Heavy in the “Strong Scotch Ale” category among 43 entrants.

“We are proud of the performance of our beers in this world-class competition,” says Mark Edelson, Iron Hill’s director of brewing operations.  “It’s so rewarding to step up to the plate against some of the best beers the international community has to offer and be recognized for our contributions to brewing, both locally, in the mid-Atlantic, and around the globe.”

The Vienna Red Lager, an amber Austrian lager with a bready malt aroma and flavor and crisp clean finish, was crafted in-house by Head Brewer Brian Finn at Iron Hill’s Wilmington location.  The Media location accepted the medal for its Wee Heavy, a scotch ale which has a distinct, malty-sweet, fruity aroma and a slight smoky flavor derived from the use of peated hops.  The Wee Heavy is brewed seasonally in Media by Bob Barrar, the company’s most award-winning brewer.

This year marks the seventh bi-annual World Beer Cup, which counted 644 participating breweries representing 58 countries and 45 states in the USA.  A total of 2,864 beers were entered in the event’s 91 categories.  The offerings were judged by teams composed of professional brewers and brewing industry experts from 21 countries who used blind tasting to evaluate the beers and determine the medals.

Iron Hill Brewery has consistently been recognized for its outstanding beers and cuisine, accruing an impressive 101 “Best of” awards from regional magazines including “Best Brewpub 2006” from Philadelphia Magazine.  Iron Hill was named “Large Brewpub of the Year (2005)” at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival (GABF), and in total, their award-winning hand-crafted beers have now received 33 medals from the GABF, World Beer Cup and Real Ale Festival.

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant has seven locations, in Newark, DE (147 East Main Street, 302-266-9000); Wilmington, DE (710 South Madison Street, 302-472-2739); Media, PA (30 East State Street, 610-627-9000); West Chester, PA (3 West Gay Street, 610-738-9600); North Wales, PA (1460 Bethlehem Pike, 267-708-2000); Phoenixville, PA (130 East Bridge Street, 610-983-9333) and Lancaster, PA (781 Harrisburg Pike, 717-291-9800).  All seven locations are open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.  For more information about Iron Hill, please call the locations individually or visit their website at www.ironhillbrewery.com.