Burnished copper Holiday seasonal placates strong sherry influence, hefty barley-oats surge, and sweet butterscotch tinge with ripe fruited malt nosing. Unsettling opulent malt liquor coarseness drastically usurps fig, tangerine, and dried cherry notes consuming austere finish, deterring dessert serving.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
BROOKLYN MONSTER ALE BARLEYWINE STYLE 2001
Behind sharp hop char lies creamy caramel malting fortifying mellow maple syrup sweetness. As subtle grain finish descends, unexpected sherry elixir dissolves into barleywine effervescence.
BROOKLYN MONSTER ALE 2000
Blustery black cherry tang dominates thick-headed, though less filling, specialty ale. Musty wine sweetness, neat floral bouquet, and fruity adjuncts animate rich barleymalts for heady feast.
BROOKLYN LOCAL 1 ALE
Bottle fermented pale straw hazed saison with fluffy pearl head brings hefeweizen-like banana-clove-coriander intricacy to candied Belgian-like yeast epoxy. Mint-y tongue tingle shelters lemony orange-tangerine-pineapple payoff.
BROOKLYN LAGER
Succinct amber-browned lager with pervasive mineral grain frontage, lively fruit-spiced insistence, and muted chocolate-vanilla trace coalescing grassy Saaz hop bittering, finishing smooth, crisp, and richly full-bodied. Apple-candied apricot-orange subsidy pleats caramelized Vienna malting. A formidable winner!
BROOKLYN EAST INDIA PALE ALE
Reputed re-creation of British brewer George Hodgson’s 1820 ale deemed worthy successor to Ballantine IPA lacks grain-y charisma and customary wood-smoked presence. Toasted hops and caramelized oats expire before insubstantial finish lessens hazy bronze body.
BROOKLYN BROWN ALE
Rich coffee hue and nose pervade toasted-hopped brown ale bursting with mocha bitterness, barley-roasted sweetness, and honeyed maple viscosity. Pleasant finish retains bitter grain edge. A welcome choice, indeed.
(BROOKLYN) BLANCHE DE BROOKLYN
Dry, light-bodied, pale-hazed Belgian-style white beer retains lively peppery hop spritz, unripe banana periphery, sedate coriander-clove hub, and orange rind-pineapple tinge as constrained wheat husk fortifies club soda finish. Herbal-floral backup diminishes too quickly. Serve with lemon wedge.
BROOKLYN BLACK CHOCOLATE STOUT
Boozy 10% alcohol Russian Imperial pours like mud. Tarry pine char and sticky anise nearly overwhelm bittersweet hop-roasted black chocolate expectancy and smoky black-malted coffee roast. Penetrating vanilla creaminess, pervasive tar-like molasses sinew and cocoa-chalked burnt caramel richness given coarsely nutty imminence. Strong port-dried bourbon-burgundy-sherry finish increases its compact complexity.
BROK PREMIUM LAGER
Fine pale-bodied mainstream middleweight gains tender wheat-cracked barley sweetness as chalky mocha malt dryness subsides. Serve as alternative to Bud.
BROK MARTIN LAGER
After somewhat promising sweet malt salvo, pearly white-headed fluff depletes unassuming 7.8% alcohol burn for desolate mineral-grained tizzy. Abated oily hops dull herbal nuances consuming slick cloying finish that fails to reach full-bodied potential.
BROKEN HILL LAGER
Fresh berry aromatics and fresh water flow usurp sharp hop bitterness tethering peculiar dry citric sourness. Honeyed Scotch whir and creamy Drambuie (though not as thickly sweet) illumination wait in the wings. Unassertive lager will please amateurs without discouraging experienced drinkers.