Hangar 24 is a newer brewery (founded in 2008 by Ben Cook) located in Redlands California. The name comes due to it’s proximity to Redlands airport which is located across the street. I’m pretty sure that Hangar 24 is the closest brewery to an airport and one of the only breweries that you could in theory fly to.
The Hangar 24 Malt Silo can be used as a landmark while flying overhead.
We decided to drive and also found that the large Malt Silo was very helpful in finding the brewery. Once we got a little closer we saw a smaller, but equally informative sign in the grass outside the brewery. It was at this point that we knew we had arrived and should look for parking – which was very easy to obtain in a make your own spot adjacent gravel lot.
It was this sign that identified to us that our journey was just about to start.
The first thing you notice about Hangar 24 is that this is a working brewery. The space inside is small but conducive to good conversations with random strangers who too are in line with you. The signage is at a minimum and only in a few places. The ‘tasting room’ is more of a counter on one wall of the buzzin’ brewery. This isn’t a problem for me, but it could be difficult to bring dogs, cats or even small children to the brewery. The line for the beer was large, and at times it extended past the roll-up doors and into the patio. However, the team working behind the counter was fast and efficient within about 10 minutes of being at the brewery and in line I was rewarded with taster platters for my entire party (1 for each of us).
9 beer sampler from Hangar 24 Brewery
The sampler came with the following beers:
- Helles Lager
- Orange Wheat
- Alt-Bier
- Amarilo Pale Ale
- Gourdgeous
- Chocolate Porter
- Columbus IPA
- Fresh Hop IPA
- Double IPA
The recommend drinking order was 1-9 as listed above, I deviated from this and started at #2 the Orange Wheat. I did this primarily because I am not a hop head and needed the lager to cleanse my pallet. Out of the above beers my favorites were the Gourdgeous, Chocolate Porter and the Double IPA. The Chocolate Porter was amazing when poured over nitrogen.
Hangar 24 Gourdgeous
This beer is part of their local fields series which means that the ingredients for this beer were sourced locally to California and to Hangar 24. The pumpkins were grown half a mile away and needed the help of team of volunteers to cut, seed and roast the over 1,000 pounds of pumpkins necessary. The end result is a delicious spicy pumpkin porter. The beer even with the high alcohol content remains very balanced and smooth. To me, this is what I would image a pumpkin pie would taste like if bottled and booze’d up.
Alcohol Content: 8.5%
IBU: 27
Food Pairing: Thanksgiving Dinner
Hangar 24 Double IPA
I know, I’m not supposed to like this but I do! I don’t know why — maybe I only like the maltier varieties. This is part of the year round beers that Hangar 24 brews meaning it is available all the time.
Alcohol Content: 9.0%
IBU: 118
Food Pairings: Outdoor Wood or Charcoal BBQs.
Overall, I really liked Hangar 24 and plan on visiting it again. This is a brewery that has much to offer and is constantly releasing new beers. I plan on visiting once every quarter and getting into the habit of aging some of their beers. I purchased a case of Gourdgeous and Chocolate Porter to enjoy for years down the road. Latest Events can be found here and the full 2012 beer release schedule can be downloaded here. Below are some pictures of my day at Hangar 24.
