Iron Hill Brewery - Pennsylvania

So i came back to PA to visit family and during my trip i had the opertunity to go to Iron Hill Brewery restaurant. For those that dont know it its essentially like BJ's restaurant. Anyway i was talking with the head brewer about Treberbrot (thanks kaiser!!!) and various other brewing stuff and was envited into the "brew room" in the midst of a batch. I had to vent somewhere but it was the coolest thing ever. We bull****ted about beers on the west coast and brewing techniques and they gave me free beer which hadnt been released. It was sweet!! Just wanted to share the experience!! Kaiser you rock

Which one? My wife and I often go to the one in Lancaster. :rockin:

I can't stand Iron Hill. I think their food is decent at best and very overpriced. I was not impressed by their beer at all either. I go there once a year for an AHA rally and dont even drink their beer and thats it.

Definitely_NOT_dataz722 said:

I can't stand Iron Hill. I think their food is decent at best and very overpriced. I was not impressed by their beer at all either. I go there once a year for an AHA rally and dont even drink their beer and thats it.

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If you are an AHA member, you get 20% off. Just sayin'....

The Pig Iron Porter on cask is badass....they've done a Bourbon-Barrel version as well. Tasty.

I know about the 20% and its still not worth it. I've heard they do have a couple select beers that are pretty good but it really isn't worth it to me. They are about 15-20 minutes away from me. One is in Wilmington and I hate going there and the other is in the middle of U of D and I hate drinking there because of all the cops. Plus I have another brewpub about a mile from me that I think is 100 times better.

Bummer - sorry they don't jive with you.

I've met the head brewer at Iron Hill Lancaster (Paul Rutherford) a couple of times; he's doing some really tremendous things with local brewers.

If you are ever down in this area you really need to check out stewarts. Its awesome. I should try a different Iron Hill though. I do have family in Lancaster and may try that sometime.

Definitely_NOT_dataz722 said:

If you are ever down in this area you really need to check out stewarts. Its awesome. I should try a different Iron Hill though. I do have family in Lancaster and may try that sometime.

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Drop me a PM if you come up this way. :rockin:

I really need to soon. I have needed to for about 15 months now and never have. I pretty much grew up in Lancaster.

Iron Hill North Wales rocks! Their Belgian Trippel was amazing!

i went to the one in media. Honesly the brews they let me try were great. I had the best wee heavy i have tried as of yet and they had a killer dunkelweizen. The head guy was realy chill. Tried the trippel and it was pretty good. its 9% but the sweetness covers that up quite nice. I would go back. Food was pretty good....cute waitresses also.

Definitely_NOT_dataz722 said:

I really need to soon. I have needed to for about 15 months now and never have. I pretty much grew up in Lancaster.

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you have DFH in delaware....there also pretty badass although i havent had a chance to go yet. Cant wait. Amish country is a bit different than where you live now i assume....

I frequent the iron hill in both media and west chester, both are less that 15 minutes from me. The mug club deal there is fantastic, which helps the wallet. I find the standard 5 or 6 beers to be good, but the rotating specials are fantastic in most cases. Its also fun to get the same style beers in different locations, but the difference is noticeable as each branch has a different brewer.

Cauldron7 said:

I frequent the iron hill in both media and west chester, both are less that 15 minutes from me. The mug club deal there is fantastic, which helps the wallet. I find the standard 5 or 6 beers to be good, but the rotating specials are fantastic in most cases. Its also fun to get the same style beers in different locations, but the difference is noticeable as each branch has a different brewer.

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Hmm.......You must live in Newtown Square, then.

flyangler18 said:

The Pig Iron Porter on cask is badass....they've done a Bourbon-Barrel version as well. Tasty.

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The pig iron porter is the one beer from their standard lineup that I really like in general...though, I don't go there for the standard line as their seasonal selections are typically very good.

I can only speak of the North Wales location but the food is almost always decent or better, the prices are reasonable and they are supportive when it comes to homebrewing and hosting events.

The pig iron porter is the one beer from their standard lineup that I really like in general...though, I don't go there for the standard line as their seasonal selections are typically very good.

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Yeah, I pretty much do the same although sometimes one from the standard lineup just calls out to me.

I've always enjoyed the food at the Lancaster location.

They're building an Iron Hill in southern DE (Lewes). (Which I posted in the Delaware Brewers Group, ya bunch o' no-group-checkin' jerks!:cross

At least it's on the site plan, which could change, I guess. But they're pretty far along now with development. They already started building construction on the site. I'm looking forward to it. Two brew pubs are better than one (only other is DFH).

I've been to the North Wales, PA and Newark, DE ones. The food is a bit expensive, but the beer I think is above average. Better than Appalachian BC or Lancaster BC, anyway, two other competing PA brewpub chains.

menschmaschine said:

They're building an Iron Hill in southern DE (Lewes). (Which I posted in the Delaware Brewers Group, ya bunch o' no-group-checkin' jerks!:cross

At least it's on the site plan, which could change, I guess. But they're pretty far along now with development. They already started building construction on the site. I'm looking forward to it. Two brew pubs are better than one (only other is DFH).

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I check it every few days. When did you do that?

Evets said:

Hmm.......You must live in Newtown Square, then.

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Well, im right on the edge of newtown square and West Chester. I have a WC mailing address, but its arguable if I am a chester county resident.

Iron Hill is cool. I have to agree though, being as I am about as far from Stewarts as I am from Iron Hill, I would go Stewart's 9 out of 10 times.

Iron Hill had a real nice berliner on tap last summer.

Stewarts, all the way down at 40 & 7? Do we have a closer one to the PA/MD/DE tri-zone?

My wife & I are pretty close to WC, and I enjoy their fare pretty universally...a little uppity, perhaps, but not bad. I wouldn't mind most of it being about 10% cheaper, but they are upscale places in generally upscale locales, so you take what you can get. Their 'regular' beers are all good, and as mentioned, their seasonals are very adventurous, even if I don't always like 'em.

I'm sorry you don't care for IH...I definitely prefer it to another Bennigans/TGIF/Red Lobster. And downtown WC is fine people-watchin', too!

As far as I know there is only one Stewart's, the one in Bear. That is a solid place. Whenever I am not in the mood to go out or too cheap to spring for a dinner, the wife uses Stewart's to get me in gear.

(sorry to hijack the IH thread)

Not to continue the hijack, but i just had a meeting with a new client this morning. THey have branch offices in wilmington, bear, and rehoboth that I will be spending considerable time in. Ill have nice options for happy hour with Iron Hill, Stewarts, and DFH respectively! :rockin:

Cauldron7 said:

Well, im right on the edge of newtown square and West Chester. I have a WC mailing address, but its arguable if I am a chester county resident.

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what are some good places near west chester to go visit? i fly in atleast 2x per year and it would be nice to know. I had looked at nottinghead but ive never been. Atleast i believe thats what its called....Any ideas?

scinerd3000 said:

what are some good places near west chester to go visit? i fly in atleast 2x per year and it would be nice to know. I had looked at nottinghead but ive never been. Atleast i believe thats what its called....Any ideas?

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Dont miss Victory in Downingtown. There are hundreds of places downtown, breweries, and great beer bars. Monks, standard Tap, the list goes on.

scinerd3000 said:

what are some good places near west chester to go visit? i fly in atleast 2x per year and it would be nice to know. I had looked at nottinghead but ive never been. Atleast i believe thats what its called....Any ideas?

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There is another Iron hill in WC, also, TJ's everyday is in Paoli, amazing beer selection.

As far as breweries/brewpubs, you have a lot to pick from. I would advise against going to McKenzies Bre Pub, both locations. Within 30-45 minutes of WC you have Victory, Earth and Bread, Notting Head, Yards, and if you are up for a little more of a drive there is Lancaster Brewing, Stoudts and Troegs. Each about 45m - 1 hour from WC, Troegs being the furthest.

Ryan_PA said:

As far as breweries/brewpubs, you have a lot to pick from. I would advise against going to McKenzies Bre Pub, both locations. Within 30-45 minutes of WC you have Victory, Earth and Bread, Notting Head, Yards, and if you are up for a little more of a drive there is Lancaster Brewing, Stoudts and Troegs. Each about 45m - 1 hour from WC, Troegs being the furthest.

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+1 on skipping Mckenzies.

Personally, I'd even consider passing on LBC. There's always an odd flavor in every one of their beers. Tried to choke down a pint of Hop Hog at my local last night - it was horribly metallic and medicinal. Seems they're fighting an infection in the brewery.

The bartender (who I've known for years) said they're dropping LBC beers from their line-up because the quality has degraded so severely.

flyangler18 said:

Personally, I'd even consider passing on LBC. There's always an odd flavor in every one of their beers. Tried to choke down a pint of Hop Hog at my local last night - it was horribly metallic and medicinal. Seems they're fighting an infection in the brewery.

The bartender (who I've known for years) said they're dropping LBC beers from their line-up because the quality has degraded so severely.

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Aye! I even sent them an email about the issues I've encountered with their beer....no response. So, I don't respond with my wallet anymore.

brewt00l said:

Aye! I even sent them an email about the issues I've encountered with their beer....no response. So, I don't respond with my wallet anymore.

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Yeah, I used to enjoy their Milk Stout and Rare Rooster Rye.....not so much, anymore.

Sucks, because they host the Lancaster Homebrewers.

I have not had LBC in at least a year. The Milk Stout used to be killer in the bottle and on draft. Its a shame to hear they have dropped off.

flyangler18 said:

If you are an AHA member, you get 20% off. Just sayin'....

The Pig Iron Porter on cask is badass....they've done a Bourbon-Barrel version as well. Tasty.

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Sorry for bumping an old thread, but is the 20% off just for beers and entrees?

I went to Iron Hill two days ago, presented my AHA card and got 20% off my beers and my entree and that was it. I ordered an appetizer (not shared) and a dessert (shared with SWMBO) and didn't get anything off those.

Ryan_PA said:

As far as breweries/brewpubs, you have a lot to pick from. I would advise against going to McKenzies Bre Pub, both locations. Within 30-45 minutes of WC you have Victory, Earth and Bread, Notting Head, Yards, and if you are up for a little more of a drive there is Lancaster Brewing, Stoudts and Troegs. Each about 45m - 1 hour from WC, Troegs being the furthest.

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Since this was bumped, I am amending the comment I made here. McK's has improved greatly in recent years. My comment was based off of experiences 2-3 years prior to posting. The year-round beers are so-so, but the special releases and seasonals are usually very good. They have 3 Golds from GABF in saison in 4 years.

yes you should get 20 off both food and beers....

scinerd3000 said:

yes you should get 20 off both food and beers....

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I guess I'm still confused. Which one should I be getting?

1. 20% off all food and beers for everyone in my party
2. 20% off all food and beers for only the cardholder
3. 20% off just the entree and beers for only the cardholder.

I got #3. Going into Iron Hill, I thought it was #1, but the website says, "Benefits only apply to the card-carrying AHA member, unless otherwise noted." So that makes me assume #2...so I'm scratching my head why they just took the discount off the entree and not my other food.

alot of places dont know how do do that discount. Triumph in the city is listed and I actually had to explain how to do it and what bennefits they were supposed to be giving me..... For all I know they made a mistake but it happens. I always thought it was #2...it is for me usually.