Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant (Iron Hill) is a scratch brewery and craft restaurant founded in 1996 in Newark, Delaware. The company is recognized for their craft kitchen concept and award-winning beers.

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant

Location	Newark, Delaware, United States
Opened	1996
Key people	Kevin Finn, Mark Edelson, Kevin Davies
Website	https://www.ironhillbrewery.com/

Iron Hill's 2018 King of the Hill membership mugs.

History

Iron Hill was founded in 1996 by Kevin Finn, Mark Edelson, and Kevin Davies. Soccer friends, Finn and Edelson, enjoyed home brewing in the early 1990s; their love of beer inspired the duo to create a business plan for a future brew pub.[1]

Finn and Edelson began raising money, researching the restaurant industry, and visiting location sites for a potential brew pub in the early 1990s. Eventually, the two invited Kevin Davies, a career restaurateur, as a third partner in their venture. Finn acquired money through family and an SBA loan to open the first Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant on Main Street in Newark, Delaware.[1]

The team estimated that the Newark restaurant would produce $2 million in sales within the first year, however their success in the college centric town produced an extra million in revenue, which can be attributed to food sales.[1]

In 1998, Iron Hill opened a second location in West Chester, Pennsylvania.[2] In May 2018, the restaurant opened its first location in the Southern U.S., in Greenville, South Carolina. Iron Hill launched th 20 for 20 initiative, in which it plans to have 20 locations open in 2020, including a restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]

Origin of Iron Hill name and brand

Finn discovered the geographic landmark, Iron Hill, in a Delaware book of maps, which explained the site's rich historical background. Finn, Edelson, and Davies chose the company's name after discovering that Iron Hill is considered the highest hill in Delaware and was the site of a significant battle during the Revolutionary War known as the Battle of Cooch's Bridge.[1]

The company's mark is a bird holding barley and hops, which represents two main ingredients found in beer.[1]

Products

One of Iron Hill Brewery's signature beers, Iron Hill Light Lager.

Iron Hill Brewery exclusively serves its own beers and offers new American cuisine. Each location brews a variety of beers that are influenced by the season. The brewery's goal is to focus on small batches of beer that are creative and in line with desirable styles and flavors.[1] Currently, hop forward session IPAs are trending in America, and according to Edelson, the brewery aims to offer beers in line with this and other trends.[4] The Philly cheesesteak egg roll is a popular item, and the Drunk Monk Burger was praised as "addictive" by the Harrisburg Patriot-News, which described it as "tremendously juicy."[5] The menu also includes vegetarian and vegan options such as a hummus platter, vegetable penne, black bean vegetable burger, and several salads.[6]

Awards

A 4-pack of Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant's most award winning beer, Russian Imperial Stout.

Iron Hill has claimed 47 medals over 21 consecutive years at the Great American Beer Festival, along with several World Beer Cup and restaurant awards.[7] The Great American Beer Festival Awards between 1997-2018 are as follows:[8]

Year	Award	Beer
1997, 2000	Gold, Bronze Munchener-Style Helles Category	Lodestone Lager
1998, 2001	Bronze Scotch Ale Category	Wee Heavy
2008, 2011	Gold, Bronze Vienna-Style Lager Category	Vienna Red Lager
1999	Bronze Vienna-Style Lager Category	Vienna Lager
1999, 2000	Gold, Bronze Bock Category	Maibock
2002, 2003, 2004, 2014	Bronze, Bronze, Bronze, Silver Belgian-Style Abbey Ale Category Belgian-Style Triple Category	Bedotter
2002, 2010	Bronze, Gold Robust Porter Category	Pig Iron Porter
2003	Bronze Munchener-Style Dunkel Category	Munich Dunkel
2003, 2008	Gold Belgian-Style Sour Ale Category	Lambic de Hill
2003, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017	Gold, Gold, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Silver, Silver, Silver Imperial Stout Category	Russian Imperial Stout
2004	Bronze Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer Category	Bourbon Russian
2005	Bronze American-style Pale Ale Category	Ironbound Ale
2005, 2015	Gold, Silver Belgian-Strong Specialty Ale Category	The Cannibal
2005	Gold Belgian-style Sour Ale Category	Kreik de Hill
2006	Bronze Wood and Barrel-Aged Beer Category	Bourbon Ivan
2008	Bronze Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale Category	Cassis de Hill
2008	Silver Medal Wood and Barrel-Aged Sour Beer Category	Cherry Dubbel
2008	Gold French and Belgian-Style Category	Saison
2008, 2012	Bronze Rye Beer Category	Roggenbier
2009	Silver American-Style Sour Ale Category	Raspberry Torte
2009	Gold German-Style Schwarzbier Category	Schwarzbier
2011	Bronze Barrel / Wood Aged Stout Category	Grand Inquisitor
2012	Bronze American-Style Black Ale Category	Black IPA
2012	Silver Smoke Beer Category	Rauchtoberfest
2014	Bronze English-Style IPA Category	Burton IPA
2014	Silver Rye Ale Category	Rye of the Tiger
2016	Bronze Bock Category	Bridge St. Bock
2017, 2018	Silver, Bronze Aged Beer Category	Solzhenitsyn

The company has also won several World Beer Cup and restaurant awards spanning from 2002-2018.[9]

References

1. "Interview with Kevin Finn, 2016 February 2 | Hagley Digital Archives". Digital.hagley.org. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
2. "Our Story". Iron Hill Brewery. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
3. Quinn, Holly (July 24, 2019). "Iron Hill Brewery to expand into Georgia". technical.ly. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
4. "Interview with Mark Edelson, 2016 February 2 | Hagley Digital Archives". Digital.hagley.org. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
5. Brodeur, Mimi (December 15, 2018). "Iron Hill Restaurant & Brewery in Hershey adds layer of excitement: Mimi's Picks". Harrisburg Patriot-News. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
6. Paolino, Tammy (March 30, 2017). "Iron Hill courts vegans, vegetarians". Camden Courier-Post. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
7. "Iron Hill Earns 47th Medal in 21-Year Winning Streak at Great American Beer Festival 2017 | Philly Beer Scene". Beerscenemag.com. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
8. Association, Brewers. "Past Winners - Great American Beer Festival". Great American Beer Festival. Retrieved 2018-12-03.
9. "Awards". Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant. Retrieved 2018-12-03.