Cherry Hill-based Flying Fish Brewing Company recently kicked off its Exit Series, a line of brews which its Web site describes as "a multi-year brewing experiment to brew a series of beers as diverse as the great state of New Jersey." (Check out our interview with Flying Fish founder and general manager Gene Muller here.)
The inaugural brew in the Exit Series is Exit 4, a Belgian-style American Trippel named for the Mount Laurel Township exit near the Flying Fish brewery in Cherry Hill, and our expert beer drinkers here at Metromix Jersey Shore have recently put the ale to the test. Here's what they had to say:
Alex Biese: While I'm not usually one to get behind beers that go heavy on the hops, "hoppiness" was only one of the many flavors which informed Exit 4, an American trippel bottle-conditioned ale.
This limited-edition brew is simultaneously sweet, bitter and light, an interesting and refreshing combination. Put quite simply, this concoction doesn't mess around; instead, here we have a beer which aggressively pursues all of the flavors that are going on here, and its earnestness is a sign of good things to come from Flying Fish's Exit Series. Cheers!
Graelyn Brashear: On first taste, this rich, golden beer comes across like Magic Hat Number 9 on steroids. It packs a walloping fruity punch, and the flavor of the hops is almost overwhelming. Flying Fish claims Exit 4 carries "hints of banana and clove," and has "predominant malt flavors." Sorry, all I get is citrus and hops - which isn't to say it's not tasty. I love a good dry brew, and this is one I'll make an effort to hunt down again. It's definitely a warm-weather beer, one to savor ice-cold after a long, humid summer day in the Garden State.
Renee Ernst: Exit 4 in the new Flying Fish series had a full, robust flavor. When I took the first sip, it reminded me of another beer but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I did some research (tried a few other beers, this is for work people) and found it had a very similar taste to Magic Hat's Lucky Kat pale ale. Hops were very prominent and, although Exit 4 had a strong smell of the banana ingredient they use, it did not come through in the taste. Overall the beer was worth trying, but I don't know if I could do more than two.
Steve Bove: It sounds elementary. Banana-flavored beer is one of those concoctions that just should't be.
And it certainly shouldn't be good.
I've never been a fan of fruit-flavored ales ... and wasn't expecting this beer to shed light down any new avenues.
Surprisingly however, Exit 4 came at me strong with a bitter, robust flavor that, while jarring at first, earned my respect and certainly demands a second sitting. It packs a little extra punch, which is nice, as I've always admired a beverage with the stones to bite back.
While I probably wouldn't recruit Exit 4 for my next night on the town, it's certainly an ideal accompaniment for a swank dinner with the lady, an ideal substitute for that overpriced bottle of wine any night of the week.
Flying Fish's Exit 4 can be found at several Shore-area liquor stores, including Buy Rite and and Wineworld in Brick, Jonathan Ron Liquors in Brielle and Matawan, Max's in Freehold and Toms River, Lacey Liquors in Lanoka Harbor, Spirit of '76 and Wine King in Manasquan, and Spirits Unlimited and Whole Foods in Red Bank.
