If you were creating a beer to capture the essence of Secaucus, what would it taste like?

That’s the question facing Flying Fish Brewery, which continues its Turnpike exit-branded beer offerings with Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA due out on March 15.

The label marks Turnpike exits 16E and 16W in Secaucus and East Rutherford. It is the fourth beer in the brewery’s exit series and will include information about Hackensack Riverkeeper on the label.

The brew packs a punch at 8.2% alcohol by volume and the brewery said its citrusy taste will be a good compliment to spicy foods or seafood. It will begin showing up this month on tap and in big 750 ML  bottles.

“Although usually identified with landfills and pipelines, the Hackensack Meadowlands is an amazingly diverse ecosystem providing vital animal and plant habitat,” the brewery said in a statement. “In a nod to a once common food plant here, we’ve brewed this beer with wild rice. We also added organic brown and white rice, as well as pils and pale malts.”

[The Jersey City Independent was on the scene for the launch at Coopper Mine pub in North Arlington this week.]

You may recall that the Turnpike Authority brought a legal challenge to Flying Fish, arguing that the series suggested an endorsement from the authority. But FF agreed to change the label and the series continues.

Flying Fish (disclosure: we like their beer a lot) published several suggestions it received from customers on how to properly honor the Secaucus area with a brew. Ideas ranged from dark, heavy beers to more lighter fare more akin to building a buzz before a game at the Meadowlands.

“Exit 16W needs to be a very big beer. Something with very high alcohol, maybe 18-20%. It needs to be loud and pronounced to match the personalities the exit represents,” wrote one commenter.

Another said: “For exit 16W you should make it a light beer because you can use the tailgating idea as a base and when you are tailgating you want something light so you can drink a lot of them and be good for the game and for all the food you are going to eat.”

FF’s Exit 17 beer will be a full tribute to Secaucus. Here’s the brewery’s web page where you can leave suggestions for what that beer should taste like.

What do you think?