Iron Duke’s newest beer has outlaw German roots

Date: 4/14/2016

SPRINGFIELD – While the weather might suggest otherwise, make no mistake, spring is upon us in Western Massachusetts.

It’s a season to celebrate all things new again and in that spirit, Iron Duke Brewing Company has revived an old German recipe with its Honey Wheat Ale, which debuted at The Student Prince on April 7.

“We were looking for something new, something different, on the lighter side with spring coming up and we wanted to do something kind of outside the box,” Iron Duke’s Mike Marcoux told Reminder Publications.

The Honey Wheat Ale is a Kottbusser ale brewed with honey produced by the Hampden County Beekeepers Association and molasses and would certainly qualify as an outside-the-box addition to the Iron Duke lineup.

“We’re limited on how many lagers we can do, so an ale made sense,” Brewmaster Nick Morin explained. “We were trying to do something light and summery, so honey was a natural ingredient that fits with the season and makes a nice light body for a drinkable beer.”

If finding a German-style ale that would work wasn’t a tough enough task, finding one that incorporated ingredients like honey required some real digging.

“You can’t find German recipes with honey in them because it’s not true to the German Purity Law,” Morin said.

Adding honey violated the Reinheitsgebot, the German Beer Purity Law, which dictated beer should only contain four main ingredients – water, hops, barley and yeast.

“This was one of those beers that was banned, if you will, because it’s not the true Purity Law German Style because we add honey and molasses to it,” Marcoux said.

Morin said he incorporated elements of some wheat beer recipes he had used in the past and the beer eventually evolved into the non-traditional German style ale.

“It was a bit of an experiment. It was drawing on some things we did before, but not exactly. It’s a fun thing we get to do; we can do a small enough batch where we’re not taking too huge of a risk, but in this case, I’m super pleased with it,” he said.

The result is what the two believe is the perfect beer to help people shake off the winter chills and get ready for summer.

“It came out great. You get that clean, crisp start, almost like a pilsner, and then that honey at the end makes it nice and dry with a slight bitterness to it. It’s a nice, light drinking beer,” Marcoux said.

“It’s got a sweetness, but it’s still super dry and finishes nice and clean so you can drink a couple if you can handle the [6.4 percent] alcohol,” Morin added.

The Honey Wheat Ale will be available at the Iron Duke taproom in Stockhouse 122 at the Ludlow Mills and select accounts, but debuting the beer at The Student Prince was a no-brainer, according to Marcoux.

“It makes sense to start it here. Is there a better place in Western Massachusetts to have a German-style beer?” he said. “We released our Octoberfest here back in September and it was a great event, so we’ve been trying to get back together again. They’re great to us. They always keep us on tap and here they are helping us spread the word on a new beer.”

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