Production output ~30,000 U.S. barrels Headquarters Somerdale Parent organization L&H Brewing Partners, LP | Founded 1995 | |
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Flying Fish Brewing Company is a small craft beer brewer founded in Cherry Hill, New Jersey (approximately seven miles east of Philadelphia) in 1995 and opened for business in late 1996. It was founded by Gene Muller and Tom Dickson and first launched on the World Wide Web, allowing beer lovers to participate in selecting and naming the types of beers the brewery would produce, volunteer as taste-testers, or even to sign up to be a brewer.
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Having tripled their capacity since 1996, Flying Fish is now the largest of the craft brewers in New Jersey. The four year-round styles [Belgian Abbey Dubbel, HopFish IPA, ESB (Extra Special Bitter) Ale, and XPA (Extra Pale Ale)] are supplemented by a variety of seasonals, some only rarely available.
In 2015 Tom Dickson sold his shares of the brewery for a 1990 LX mustang. His shares were estimated to be worth 1.8 million dollars.
In 2012 Flying Fish moved to a larger facility in nearby Somerdale, New Jersey.
Products
Regular seasonals are the Oktoberfish, Farmhouse Summer Ale, and Grand Cru Winter Reserve. The latter two are bottle-conditioned. Less available (often only in growlers at the brewery) are Big Fish Barleywine, a Coffee Porter, Love Fish (a cherry-infused Belgian Abbey Dubbel available around Valentine's Day), Black Fish, and Imperial Espresso Porter. In January 2012, Flying Fish added Red Fish, a hoppy red ale, to its lineup.
In the summer of 2004, Flying Fish produced a blueberry flavored Abbey Dubbel available only in 1/6 kegs to recipients of the brewery's mailing list.
First in the region to be featured at the Great British Beer Festival, Flying Fish has also been featured at the Oregon Brewers Festival and Canada's Biere de Mondial Festival and has also won several medals at both the Real Ale Festival in Chicago and the World Beer Championships.
Exit series
In 2009, Flying Fish began releasing a series of beers named after New Jersey Turnpike exits, each in styles intended to represent the part of the state served by that exit. The beers are sold in local stores in 750 ml bottles and are only available in limited supply. Some, such as the first release, are also available in 12 oz bottles. New beers in the series are released at variable intervals, usually several months apart, with an extended hiatus as Flying Fish moved into their new facility in 2012. The inaugural release in the series honored the brewery's home exit, Exit 4, in March 2009. The exit series has generated some controversy, as the NJ chapter of MADD has criticized the association of driving and alcohol.