Photo l Felicia D’Ambrosio

Flying Fish brewer Casey Hughes doesn’t like wheat beers. The hazy yellow liquids are as popular as a prom queen and almost as insipid, largely owing to their lamentable lack of hops. “I wanted to make a wheat beer that I liked,” said Hughes.

So Hughes, with Flying Fish owner Gene Muller, put enough Columbias, Cascades and Amarillos in their brand new Exit 11, the second offering in their Exit Series of big bottles, to combat the sweetness of wheat and produce a brew to satisfy hopheads. A grain bill split 50/50 between Belgian pale malt and American white wheat is magicked by the multiple hop additions into a light-bodied, citrusy and superdry summer ale.

With only 1,000 cases of the 25-ounce bottles and 40 kegs in the run, Exit 11 will likely sell through just as quickly as the debut beer in the series, the golden Belgian-style Exit 4. Speeding sales is the mini-controversy the Exit Series has sparked — in the wake of a AP video piece, Mothers Against Drunk Driving interpreted the turnpike-themed labeling as promoting drinking and driving. Muller responded to M.A.D.D. in this Courier-Post article:

Gene Muller, who owns the state’s largest craft brewery located in Cherry Hill, said the Exit Series beer was never intended to associate drinking with driving as suggested by an MADD official.“Our families ride on the same roads as everybody else, so we’re all very strongly against drinking and driving,” said Gene Muller.

Visit Flying Fish’s Web site to contribute photos, videos, ideas and testimonials for more Exit Series beers, an interactive brew-development process that Muller is quite excited about. “The ideas that have come through the site are amazing, innovative, and stamped front to back with New Jersey pride. They encompass everything we’re trying to honor with these special beers.”

Look for Exit 11 at local Philadelphia bars, or pick up a bottle at both Foodery locations; 837 N. Second St., 215-238-6077 and 324 S. 10th St., 215-928-1111

PATIO DRINKING: Flying Fish Exit 11

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 16th, 2009 at 3:50 pm and is filed under Booze, Brew Revue, Patio Drinking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.