Flamingo [fluh–ming-goh] noun 1. A type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae. There are four flamingo species in the Americas and two species in Afro-Eurasia. Often, they are pink in color.
Iron Flamingo [ahy-ern fluh–ming-goh] noun 1. A microbrewery in Corning New York. Iron Flamingos do not wade nor are they pink. Iron Flamingos make a well brewed beer and run a welcoming and fun tasting room.
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Just down the street from the Corning Museum of Glass is a little industrial looking building that is the home to the Iron Flamingo Brewery. The name, Iron Flamingo (IF), is a tribute to a longstanding friendship, and pink plastic flamingo battle, between the McClellan family (owners of Market Street Brewing) and the Mauer Family, the founders of IF. There is even a pink flamingo hidden in Market Street Brewing; however, we did not spot it. The building was once a fruit market and still has some of the fruit coolers in use today.
IF was founded in 2013 and is run by the Mauer brothers. Ben is the brew master and Adam runs the business side of things and was manning the bar the night we paid them a visit. Adam greeted us as we came through the door and instantly made us feel welcome. Adam had help in the greeting department by his dog. This little guy was a rescue and is part chihuahua but calling him a chihuahua was not acceptable to Adam so a new breed was coined to describe him, the “iron chihuahua”.
The main room is dominated by a curved bar that runs nearly the length of the room. The bar is wrapped in brushed metal and has a solid surface top. The walls throughout are painted a deep purple which
contrasts nicely with the bar. On your right as you enter are windows that look out to the brewing operation. On your left you will find a second room with tall tables and a huge Jenga game made from 2x4s. Also to the left is a nicely maintained unisex restroom. The bar was lined with patrons on the Tuesday night that we visited but we were able to get a comfortable spot there anyway.
Adam walked us through our choices. They had five beers on tap that night and you can get flights of three, four, or five samples, as well as pints and growlers. To get a flight of all five and a souvenir tasting glass with the IF logo on it, the price was only $6.00. Pints will run $4.00 in the tasting room and a six pack to go is $9.00. To purchase a 64 oz logo growler and have it filled with Dark Ale will set you back $17.00 (bring your own growler and get it filled for $13). In general we found these prices to be very reasonable. The beers they had on tap that night were the following:
| Dark | English Strong Ale | 6.2% ABV | 28 IBU |
| Red | American Red Ale | 4.6% ABV | 16 IBU |
| Blond | Blonde Ale | 4.8% ABV | 20 IBU |
| IPA | American IPA | 6.7% ABV | 68 IBU |
| Mocha Coffee Porter | American Porter | 5.8% ABV | 36 IBU |
IF serves their flights on a printed place mat with the beer name and key stats like ABV and IBU printed under each tasting glass. This is a nice way to present the samples and we wish more tasting rooms and brew pubs would take this method on. The beers in the list above are their standard offering with the exception of the Porter which is seasonal and will be replaced shortly with a beer called SPS (sweet potato stout). The beers we were able to try were well crafted and refined. Too often, new breweries create beer that tastes like they are new at the game, we did not feel that way at IF, this was a professional endeavor.
We had the opportunity to tour the brewing operation. IF uses a 15 barrel system for their batches (15 barrels is around 5000 bottles). Right now, they distribute through their tasting room and distributors and have a decent little keg business going with regional bars. The impression we got from Adam’s tour was that these are some hard working folks and they have a dream to get big. There was talk of planned brewing equipment expansions and increased distribution networks. We could see from Adam’s vision, that the future is bright for IF.
It’s a Wrap
There are big dreams in this little brewery in Corning, New York, and from what we saw, we expect them to come to fruition. Adam was a fun and welcoming host that kept us laughing and having a good time. Our mid-week visit showed that they have quite a following. We enjoyed our stay and the beer was really quite good. We do plan to stop back again and sample the new creations from IF and encourage others to do the same.
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| Quality and Selection of Food | N/A |
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The Details
| Address196 Baker St Corning, NY 14830 (607) 936-4766 ironflamingobrewery.com |
HoursMonday Closed Tuesday 3:00 – 8:00 PM Wednesday 3:00 – 8:00 PM Thursday 3:00 – 8:00 PM Friday 3:00 – 8:00 PM Saturday 12:00 – 8:00 PM Sunday 12:00 – 5:00 PM |