Hellbender Brewing Company Opens, First Beer at Iron Horse Tonight

The DC beer scene is about to get slightly more crowded. Tonight Hellbender Brewing Company launches at Chinatown’s Iron Horse Tap Room with $5 pints of their red ale. On November 11th, the brewery will release Bare Bones Kolsch-style ale, “Beer stripped down to it’s absolute roots,” says co-founder and head brewer Ben Evans, at Churchkey. An IPA will follow, and the first seasonal will most likely be a brown ale made with smoked malt from Virginia’s Copper Fox Distilling. Like Bluejacket and Right Proper, they also have an open fermenter. 

We had a chance to sample the red ale and IPA, and think you’ll be pleased. The former is hopped with Cascade and Willamette, and has tangerine and toffee on the nose, followed by grapefruit and pine notes. It’s slightly sticky, and gives way to a moderate dryness at the end. Though it’s 6 percent alcohol by volume, it’s easy drinking and refreshing. The Eft IPA is massively bitter, smelling of flowers, oranges, and lemons, and tasting of bruleed gr