Flying Fish's Exit 11 - Beer of the Week

by Joshua M. Bernstein, Posted Aug 3rd 2009 @ 3:00PM

Photo: Flying Fish Brewing Co.

Joshua M. Bernstein, Gourmet.com's beer columnist, has written about brews, bars and booze for New York Magazine, Imbibe Magazine, Time Out New York, ForbesTraveler.com and The New York Times.

Everyone knows drinking and driving do not mix, so it was sort of strange that Mothers Against Drunk Driving decried Flying Fish's latest limited-edition seasonal, Exit 11.

"The combination of a roadway and advertising for any kind of a beer doesn't make any kind of sense," said Mindy Lazar, executive director of New Jersey's MADD chapter.

For serious? The New Jersey-based brewery's Exit Series does not champion boozing and cruising; Exit Series is a celebration of the state's traffic-clogged turnpike in liquid form. The first release, Exit 4, was a Belgian-style Trippel kicked up with copious hops.

Exit 11, the spaghetti-like juncture where drivers steer toward the Jersey shore, takes a turn toward the land of wheat ales: "[It's] a fresh, citrus-y summer beer perfect for beachgoers and those who only wish they were headed 'downa shore,'" explains Flying Fish head brewer Casey Hughes.

That bit we'll disagree with.

When broiling on the beach, we crave light domestic beers about as refreshing and flavorful as water. Exit 11, capped in a 750 ml bottle at 6.2 percent ABV, is instead an ace accompaniment to a picnic or smoky barbecue. Here's why: Exit discharges hazy and heady, with a gobsmack of apricots and Florida grapefruits commingling with caramel. Though you'd expect a tongue-scraping hop bomb, the tart, yeasty wheat sands down any harsh piney flavors. The outcome is a fresh as an ocean breeze, and as drinkable as cool lemonade.

You'll never think of Jersey the same way again.

What other wheat beers are wonderful? Spill it in the comments.

Filed Under: Drink Recipes
Tags: beer, beer of the week, BeerOfTheWeek, exit 11, Exit11, flying fish brewing company, FlyingFishBrewingCompany, joshua m bernstein, JoshuaMBernstein, mothers against drunk driving, MothersAgainstDrunkDriving, new jersey, NewJersey

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

8-03-2009 @9:19PM XDXJX said... Exit 4 is better, but if this is how the series is starting its gonna be awesome.
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8-17-2009 @7:59AM SallijaneG said... As a lifelong New Jersey resident, I was really irritated with MADD's comments—talk about overreaction! Flying Fish is a great little company with a wonderful start-up story, and I think naming the beers after NJ Turnpike Exits is really clever. (Although the traditional answer to "What exit?" when locating a place in the state is in my experience, a Garden State Parkway exit, there are just too many of them.) the Road Warrior in The Record (Bergen County, NJ, newspaper; htttp://www.northjersey.com) picked up on this and suggested a reverse plan that wouldn't bum out MADD: giving exits logos based on their biggest tourist attraction: a Giants helmet for Exit 15, to Secaucus and the Meadowlands' Giants Stadium, a casino chip for the Atlantic City exit, a light bulb for the Edison, NJ, exit (Yes, Thomas A. had a lab there.), etc. Good luck, Flying Fish!
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