Iron Hill 'Star Wars' party to offer new Chewbocka beer
Ryan CormierIt seems like a match made in Cloud City.
For the past two winters' worth of "Star Wars" releases — 2015's "The Force Awakens" and last year's "Rogue One" — Sean Jones has found himself at Wilmington's Iron Hill Brewery for its Dark Side party.
The annual celebration of dark beers, which dates back to 2009, doubles as a "Star Wars" fan gathering with the upstairs bar transformed into a George Lucas dreamscape, complete with employees and customers in costume, the "Star Wars" soundtrack playing over the sound system and "Star Wars" films playing on TVs that usually show sports.
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Last year, Jones went straight from the party to the nearby Penn Cinema Riverfront IMAX theater to see "Rogue One" with the tickets he had won there. And after an afternoon of high-octane brews, he jokes that deciding on the 3D experience might have been a bad idea.
"I stumbled over there and watched it for free, but I don't know if I should have worn the 3D glasses. I got a little motion sick," says Jones, 30, who works in the banking industry and is also the guitarist for Wilmington rock band Cologne.
For this year's party — the ninth annual — the brewery will debut a new brew from its sister location in Voorhees, New Jersey: Chewbocka.
The German bock with cocoa and caramel flavors (6.9 percent ABV) will be joined by 11 other Iron Hill dark beers, all of which have had a run at the Riverfront brewery in the past.
Rob Fox, master brewer at Iron Hill's Vorhees location, is the "Star Wars" fan behind Chewbocka.
“This was something that was in the works for two years. I don’t have to jump through hoops, but I have to develop the idea, develop the recipe and submit it to my senior head brewer," Fox says. “As a brewer and like most in this industry, we have ‘Star Wars’ in our culture. It’s something we have grown up on, it’s a part of our group culture.’’
Dark Side will double as a retirement party for the brewery's Millennium Falcon. Brewed in 2015 as the location's 1,000th batch since opening on Sept. 24, 2003, the limited edition Belgian dark ale (7.8 percent ABV) will be on tap for the final time.
"We saved some, so this is the last Millennium Falcon that there will ever be," says Dorian LoBato, general manager of Wilmington's Iron Hill.
Iron Hill's Dark Side bash was initially a nod to both "Star Wars" and Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" tied to the release of a German-style lager they dubbed The Dark Side. But now that the "Star Wars" franchise is spitting out winter films quicker that shots from a Blaster rifle, Iron Hill has gone all in for Friday's release of "The Last Jedi."
Expect T-shirt and movie ticket giveaways throughout the day as craft beer fans and "Star Wars" fanatics co-mingle.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's plenty of crossover when it comes to craft drinkers and pop culture nerds — something that local breweries and distilleries have jumped on, offering pop culture-themed events such as Saturday's "Game of Thrones"-themed party at Painted Stave Distillery in Smyrna.
"It brings everyone together in the same room to bond," says Jones, who also attended Mispillion River Brewing's "Harry Potter"-themed party last fall.
With the beer set, what does Fox say are the top five films in the “Star Wars’’ franchise?
“Let’s go down the list,’’ he says without hesitation. “I just had this conversation! Top five would have to be: 'Return of the Jedi,' 'The Empire Strikes Back,’' 'Rogue One,' 'The Force Awakens' and 'Revenge of the Sith.'"
Will "The Last Jedi" squeeze itself in there?
With a 95 percent rating on movie review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, fans are hoping they have another instant classic on their hands.
Tammy Paolino of the Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based Courier Post contributed to this report. Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Ninth annual Dark Side party
WHEN: Saturday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Iron Hill Brewery, 620 Justison St., Wilmington
THE BEERS: Chewbocka, Millennium Falcon, Schwarzbier, Coffee Stout, Bourbon Porter, Russian Imperial Stout, Hot Shokolad, Oatmeal Stout, Black IPA, Overload Stout, Bourbon Winter Warmer and Bourbon Russian Imperial Stout
INFORMATION: ironhillbrewery.com