Exit Series
The Exit Series™ of beers is a multi-year brewing experiment to brew a series of beers as diverse as the great state of New Jersey. These big beers–in size as well as flavor–will celebrate each exit of the state-long artery that connects us. Each beer will focus on a unique aspect of an individual exit. Learn more about this project at ExitSeries.com.
Exit 1 - Bayshore Oyster Stout
The third stop on our multi-year trip to explore New Jersey through its beer and culture takes us to Exit 1.
The southwest bayshore has been supplying oysters to Americans since colonial times. Until the 1950s, hundreds of millions of oysters were harvested annually. Now, thanks to efforts by many organizations, the oyster is coming back.
Oysters and stout had long been associated in the UK, but the tradition was gradually lost. Exit 1, an “export style” stout brewed with oysters, celebrates this tasty combination. The creamy flavor of English chocolate and roasted malts harmonizes with minerals from the oyster shells. Irish ale yeast adds a bit of fruitiness and a dry crispness. This rich stout is perfect for cool weather–and especially delicious when paired with a few Jersey oysters on the half shell.
Learn more about oyster restoration near Exit 1: DelawareEstuary.org.
Beer brewed with oysters.
Alcohol 7.5% by Vol.
Exit 4 - American Trippel
For the first release, we chose Exit 4--right up the street from the Flying Fish brewery. Because we were one of the first craft brewers to embrace Belgian-style beers, we've chosen as our representative beer, a Belgian trippel finished with plenty of American hops.
This inspired Belgian-style Trippel has a hazy golden hue and the aroma of citrus with hints of banana and clove. Predominant Belgian malt flavors give way to a subdued bitterness in the finish. Bottle conditioned, this beer will develop as it ages.
Exit 6 - Wallonian Rye
For our fifth stop, we journey to Exit 6. This part of Burlington County was settled by Dutch Walloons (now Belgians) whose first order of business was to build a fort–and then a tavern. The area has always had a rich agricultural heritage and we’re using locally grown rye as an appreciation of our farmers past and present.
Exit 6 starts out as a deceptively simple recipe–pale malt augmented by 20 percent rye, fermented with a classic Belgian yeast. But then it gets interesting with the hops: English East Kent Goldings, Slovenian Styrian Goldings and Japanese Sorachi Ace.
The result is a rich saffron color with a spicy character from the rye and lemony citrus notes from the unique Sorachi Ace hops.
Exit 11 - Hoppy American Wheat
Exit 11 Hoppy American Wheat Ale is the second in their wildly popular Exit Series of Big Bottle Beers. Exit 11 is a confluence of styles and ingredients, just as Exit 11 is the point in New Jersey where the Garden State Parkway, the New Jersey Turnpike and several other highways come together.
“Exit 11 is the point on the Turnpike where the Garden State Parkway branches off and takes hundreds of thousands of travelers to the renowned Jersey Shore,” says Flying Fish Founder Gene Muller. “Our Exit 11 Wheat Ale is a fresh, citrus-y summer beer perfect for beachgoers and those who only wish they were headed ‘downa shore’.”
Exit 11 is an American-style wheat beer brewed with English ale yeast and three Pacific Northwest hops, Columbus, Palisade and Amarillo. It is brewed with 50% Belgian pale malt and 50% white wheat, and is an ideal summer thirst quencher, with its bouquet of tangerines and apricots. Exit 11 is available only during this one-time release, and only until it sells out across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Exit 16 - Wild Rice Double IPA
Although usually identified with landfills and pipelines, the Hackensack Meadowlands is an amazingly diverse ecosystem providing vital animal and plant habitat. In a nod to a once common food plant here, we’ve brewed this beer with wild rice. We also added organic brown and white rice, as well as pils and pale malts.
Rice helps the beer ferment dry to better showcase the five different hops we added. Lots and lots of them. We then dry-hopped this Double IPA with even more–generous additions of Chinook and Citra hops to create a nose that hints at tangerine, mango, papaya and pine. This beer pairs extremely well with spicy foods and all kinds of seafood. And of course, it’s quite enjoyable all by itself.
If you want to learn more about the restoration of the Meadowlands, visit
www.HackensackRiverkeeper.org
