Some people say that when you choose a job that you love, you will never work a day in your life. If this is true, Flying Fish Brewing Company’s Head Brewer, Casey Hughes, has not worked a day since he was 18.
When Casey graduated from high school in 1995, he and a few friends spent the summer in key West, Florida. It was on this vacation he took a job at a local brewery to make ends meet for the summer. Little did he know that this simple summer job would turn into a full time brewing gig within six months. Prior to this, he had only made wine with his parents as a child. He had never experimented with home brewed beer whatsoever. The job quickly grew into a passion and you guessed it, he stayed in key West and brewed for nearly seven years until he found his current home at Flying Fish in 2002.
It was at Flying Fish where Casey came into his own as a brewer. He continued to brew in the fashion that was laid by owner Gene Muller, but he also created some of his own masterpieces. In 2008, they received a silver medal at Th e Great American Beer Festival for the Belgian Abbey Dubbel. This was their best beer until a new creation was formed.
“Why not make a beer for all of the exits on the New Jersey Turnpike?” This was the idea that Casey had conjured up after a night of drinking with Gene, which plays off of an ongoing New Jersey greeting. “Oh, you’re from Jersey? What exit are you from?”
The idea eventually turned into what is now known as The Exit Series. It all began in early 2009 with the Exit 4 American Trippel. This exit was chosen to represent the first beer of the series, because Flying Fish is located right off of Exit 4 on the turnpike. It is a Belgian trippel by nature, but it is finished with American hops as opposed to Belgian hops. Exit 4 was the beer that took over the reigns at Flying Fish when it won a gold medal at The Great American Beer Festival earlier this year.
However, once and Exit Series beer runs its course, it will no longer be produced. So unlike the Belgian Abbey Dubbel, the Exit 4 will not be around long. Exit 11 Hoppy American Wheat soon followed as the summer offering in the series. It is made with three different hops and an equal mix of Belgian pale malt and white wheat. This is how the name Hoppy Wheat was coined. As a summer beer, Exit 11 was chosen due to the fact that it is the exit from the turnpike that leads into the Garden State Parkway. It is one of the best known ways to get to the Jersey Shore points.
The third and current beer released in the series is the Exit 1 Bayside Oyster Stout. Casey was influenced by Tom Kehoe, owner of Yards Brewing Company. Before Yards had moved to their current location, they used to brew their Love Stout with oysters. This intrigued Casey to read up on some style descriptions from Michael Jackson, no not the king of Pop, but the world renowned beer critic, who is also no longer with us. Casey took these ideas and decided to use oysters straight from the southwest bayshore area of New Jersey to brew this beer. It is a perfect marriage of English chocolate and roasted malts, Irish ale yeasts, and local flavor.
You will probably not see another addition to the series until late January or early February. Right now there are no ideas that Casey could elaborate on, but he did mention to keep your eyes open for a hoppy red ale and a cranberry Berliner Weisse for sometime in the future of the series. If there is anything that he is sure of right now, it is that you will never see a Wit or Pumpkin Exit beer. They are two of his least favorite beers.
With the Exit Series in full swing, things could not be better for Flying Fish. Despite this economy, they are actually growing and looking to expand in the near future. They are going to nearly double in size and bring in more tanks and packaging equipment to service more accounts throughout the U.S. Also, the Farmhouse Summer Ale, which is currently a contracted brew, will now be brewed in-house. There will also be more firkins available to distribute to local bars for events. This is something that makes Gene and Casey very proud. When asked about his job, Casey responded, “I love it. I make beer for a living. I make people happy!”