Is Brooklyn in the house? Is lederhosen in the biergarten? Brooklyn was the first beer that, at a young age, made me understand there were more than three beers that existed in the world. I can honestly say that I haven’t had a bad Brooklyn Brewery beer. I’ve had beers that weren’t incredibly interesting, but I couldn’t say that said beer was bad. Everything Brooklyn turns out is quality, even if it is not your style (I’m looking at you, brown ale—often maligned—but still a great malty, mahogany representation of the style).
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Type: Production brewery
Available in DC Market: Yes
Beer #1: Brooklyn Local 2 (Belgian Strong Dark/ 9% ABV)
Notes: The ingredients that comprise this ale include: malt, hops, dark Belgian sugar (candi anyone?) honey and yeast. This beer is much more than the sum of its parts. Part Biere de Miel (but darker/heavier), part Belgian Strong Dark (but lighter, more nuanced) and part unique New York ale (the honey is provided by a NY family farm). Not sure how Local 2 will pair with the grilled flank steak, though I’m sure the steak in itself will be tasty (I recently opened a 2-year-old bottle of Local 2 and it still had some very prominent dark fruit and rum-like notes).
Beer Advocate: A- (402 Reviews)
Rate Beer: 97 overall, 92 styles
Beer #2: Brooklyn Sorachi Ace (Saison/ 6.5% ABV)
Notes: This beer is mighty close to a classic saison (single malt, German pilsner) but it is brewed with a contemporary spin. It is dry-hopped with the rare Sorachi ace hop, a lemony/citrus zest flavor (think of the hop spectrum as a wide array of scents, from grass and earth to fruit, citrus and crisp). While originally shunned by most big-brewers, the Sorachi ace is a much sought-after hop; cross between Czech Saaz and British Brewer’s Gold varieties. The lemon-fresh tang of the Sorachi and the bitter-dry finish of the tasty Belgian yeast provide sexy interplay and accompaniment to smoked salmon. Saison and salmon, in my opinion, typically pair perfectly together.
Beer Advocate: A- (261 Reviews)
Rate Beer: 98 overall, 95 style
Face it: Brewmaster Garrett Oliver and Founder Steve Hindy were homebrewing in New York AND the Middle East when you were still in wet diapers. If Randy Mosher’s definition of a “craft brewery” is producing recipes that were devised from creative, homebrewed minds, Brooklyn is most definitely in that definition. And in the house. If you’ve never tried the Local 2 or the Sorachi Ace do not leave without getting a taste of both.
This profile is a part of the DCBEER.COM SAVOR Brewery Profile series. For more information, follow the link to see profiles of all 2011 SAVOR participants.
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