Brooklyn Brewery - Black Chocolate Stout

Today my friend sent me one of those 'funny-mass-email-forwards' with a beer prayer that I thought I'd share with everyone;

Our lager, which art in barrels,

hallowed by thy drink.

Thy will be drunk,

At home, as I am in the tavern.

Give us this day our foamy head, 

and forgive our spillage, 

as we forgive those who spill against us.

And lead us not to incarceration,

but deliver us from hangovers.

For thine is the ale, the pilsner, and the lager,

forever and ever.

-AMEN-

Tonight I'm drinking Black Chocolate Stout from Brooklyn Brewery in Utica, NY.  This is a seasonal Imperial Stout, available from October through March, and it's a monster with 10% alcohol by volume.  For all you foodies out there, Brooklyn recommends strong cheese (especially Stilton) to be paired with this beer.

Limited Bottling - '11-12.  The beer is ink-jet black with a dark tan layer of hearty foam, leaves lots of sticky lacing behind.  The aroma is intense - roasted barley, milk chocolate, faint light coffee and cocoa, and alcohol fumes.  The flavor starts off with a wave of slightly bitter dark chocolate, bittersweet, until the second wave of barley roastyness.  Some smokiness and faint, woody vanilla hang out in the background.  Booze is pronounced, but not overwhelming.  The carbonation is on the heavier side, for the style, but it works well.

Overall Rating:  This is a big, bad, beautiful stout that takes everything about the style to the maximum.  It tastes great in its current state of freshness, and I'm sure it will taste even better in a year or two.  Thick, rich, and warming - definitely a beer for the winter months.  Give this one a try!  A-

Brooklyn Brewery - Winter Ale

Today I'm drinking a Winter Ale from Brooklyn Brewery in Utica, NY.  This is a seasonal Scottish Ale from Brooklyn with 6.1% alcohol and a hefty grain bill, straight-lined with Willamette hops.  I am not a fan of this style - Scottish Ales tend to make me cringe with their intense peaty, smoky malt flavors.  I also had a bad experience with a "heather-hopped" Scottish ale last year that left me with a negative association for all ales Scottish.  Kind of like that one liquor that you drank too much of in college, and just the smell of it now makes you gag....(mine was Captain Morgan).  Hopefully this Brooklyn brew can help break these negative psychological chains.

The beer is a dark amber color, clear, with a fluffy 2 inches of egg-white foam.  Not a whole lot of lacing left behind as it recedes.  The aroma is malt-forward with biscuits and bread dough, combined with a tart, grassy, herbal undertone.  The taste starts off with a nutty, bready malt characteristic.  Some earthy, herbal bitterness comes in almost immediately after that and takes this beer into a strange, farmhouse-ish realm.  Some spiciness comes in towards the end and dries things up a bit.  A hint of raisin also makes itself known, popping in and out randomly.   The texture is medium-bodied, with a higher-than-normal amount of carbonation keeping things bubbly.

Overall Rating:  Winter Ale is a mediocre beer from Brooklyn Brewery.  Certainly very drinkable, smooth, and some nice characteristics of the Scottish Ale style that I actually enjoyed.  But there was an underlying, earthy, almost dirty flavor that I had a hard time accepting.  Not great, but certainly a step in the right direction for me in terms of the style.  B-

Brooklyn Brewery - Pennant Ale '55

I'd like to comment first on the phenomenal football games we've seen this past weekend.  Steve and I both went to Iowa State, and for us, the ISU vs. Iowa game is always the biggest rivalry of the year.  On Saturday these two teams fought an absolute war, and ISU came out on top after THREE overtimes!  It was epic.  Iowa Hawks suck.  I'm also a die-hard Northwestern fan, my cousin is a senior starting at Tight End (they call him a super back - watch for him, #9).  They beat Boston College in Week 1, and just whooped some ass against Eastern Illinois last weekend.  So overall, my teams are doing pretty well.  Let's keep this momentum going!

Tonight I'm going to drink a bottle of Pennant Ale '55 from Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, NY.  Back in July, Steve raved about their Local 2 Belgian Dark Strong, and in April he enjoyed the Local 1.  Since we're approaching the end of the summer, I figured it's a good time to try this summer baseball themed brew.  This is a year-round English-style pale Ale from Brooklyn, and it commemorates the 1955 World Champion Dodgers baseball team.  It's a session, at 5% alcohol, and recommended to be paired with 'Robust Fish" and crabcakes.  What the hell is a robust fish?

This bottle is sporting a baseball-themed label, and states that this beer is best by Sept. 2011.  The beer is ever-so-slightly hazy, pure copper color with a creamy off-white layer of head the has no interest in receding.  The aroma is malty, buttery, with a decent amount of sweet fruity esters in there - mainly fresh plums.  Just a brilliant aroma, I keep coming back for more.  The flavor begins some mild fruits - apricots, apples, plums?  Some combination of those fruits comes to mind.  Then we move to more of a buttery toasted malt back that balances things nicely.  Buttery is a theme that I keep coming back to, both in the nose and the flavor.  The finish is clean and crisp, super refreshing.

Overall Rating:  My only regret is not trying this beer earlier in the summer.....if I had, this would have been a staple in my fridge!  Smooth, wonderful flavors, super refreshing - great beer.  Definitely recommend you pick this up while there's still some summer (and baseball) left.  A-

Brooklyn - Local 2

To our dear readers, fellow beer lovers and brewers, I have some wonderful news to share.  Tonight marks The World of BeerCraft's 200th review!!!  I cant believe that we are already at 200.  It feels like just a few short months ago that we started this blog and wrote our first review.  Looking back at it today we have certainly come a long way in just seven months of daily beer reviewing.  Our readership has exponentially increased throughout this time as well.  If it weren't for you readers and fellow craft beer enthusiasts it may have spelled an end to The World... of BeerCraft as we know it.  We have nothing but appreciation and admiration for others who share the same passion as Dunz and I do and we hope to continue to share our experiences with you for another 200 reviews!  Cheers!

I'm going to stick with the Belgian theme so far this week and review Brooklyn Brewery's Local 2.  A while back I reviewed their Local 1 and found it to be a great domestic example of a Belgian Golden Strong.  I have high hopes for Local 2.  Brooklyn Brewing just recently started distributing in MN a few months ago and they have already amassed a large following in a market notorious for its adoration of locally brewed beer.  Its an impressive feat for a brewery that advertises its origin on the center of every bottle it sells.

Local 2 is a Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  Essentially the opposite side of the spectrum from Local 1.  The bottle is the exact same style as its lighter colored brother with a green label and a big '2' smack dab in the middle.  The bottom of the front label lets us know that this ale is brewed with honey and citrus peal, 100% bottle refermented and a robust 9.0% ABV.  On the back label you will find serving suggestions directly from the brewmaster.  Belgian dark sugar, raw wildflower honey and Brooklyn's special Belgian yeast are highlighted within the brewmasters notes to help you create a welcoming mental picture even before you unwrap the cage and pop the cork.

The aforementioned cork pops off with ease and a cool white mist billows from the bottles opening.  Pouring this into my pilsner glass I immediately notice this ales frothy tan head and clear deep brown body.  Brooklyn has really nailed down this brews presentation.  The head lingers all the way through to a finish and actually adds a creaminess to each sip.  Lots of dark candied fruits with hints of caramel and a faint citrus create a complex aroma similar to other Belgian Darks I've had in the past.  My first sip is heavily carbonated.  You will want to let this one breathe a bit before diving in.  Once the excess carbonation is released you are treated to a full bouquet of Belgian love.  Sweet candied plums, raisins and figs blend together with a mild Belgian spice and subdued floral flavor.  The once strong carbonation is now a soothing accent to an overall smooth and complex experience.

Overall - I realized after I finished my tasting notes that I never mentioned the alcohol.  That's because it was nowhere to be found!  Brooklyn's Local 2 certainly lives up to expectations.  Its an easy drinking, complex, flavorful, smooth experience that is hard to replicate.  If you have the opportunity, grab a bottle of Local 1 and 2.  Brooklyn Brewing has made it easy to enjoy two well made examples of Belgian style brew right here in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Brooklyn - Lager

Tonights brew is of another from Brooklyn Brewery.  After having a very enjoyable experience with their Local 1 I was excited to get back on the Brooklyn bandwagon and give their flagship lager a go.  Brooklyn's website, which is quite nice I must say, gives me some solid information about the roots of this brew.  Aside from learning that this is their original beer the brewery was based on, I also found they use a Vienna style base for their lager. These tend to be very malt forward and silky smooth.  However, reading further into their description I find they dry hop with a mixture of European and American hops; Hallertauer and Cascade as an example.  Brooklyn also accentuates the bitterness as well.  The good news is that they aren't fooling themselves which what this beer actually is - an American Amber Lager.

My glass fills with a brilliantly clear amber color, who would have thunk?  An egg shell white foam lingers around after settling into my pint.  A sweet malt supported by subtle floral and citrus notes create a very inviting aroma.  I had to take a few sips before I was able to figure out how to describe this lager.  The best I can do is a slightly sweet, slightly bitter, smooth finisher. Some bready notes mix in with a subdued citrus flavor put forth by the hops.  Medium carbonation smooths out the finish.  Alcohol is hiding in here somewhere but I cant find it.

Overall - I don't think I've tasted a lager quite like this before.  I definitely like it.  I wouldn't mind going back to the fridge for another.  Although, I was hoping to experience a little more of the Vienna lager characteristics of the bready, toasty malt and I ended up getting more hop bitterness than I wanted.  Now that I know what to expect I think the other five left in my six pack will be more enjoyable than the first.  Certainly worth a try and something I can see myself purchasing again.

Brooklyn - Local 1

Tonights review is of a brew from yet another new brewery distributing to the Midwest.  However, this brewery is from the East!  New York to be precise.  Brooklyn Brewery has a long history behind their name.  In fact, you can read all about it in their book, Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery.  In short, the brewery was incepted in 1987 by a news correspondent and a banker.  Two years later, they were distributing their first brew, Brooklyn Lager.  Today, their lager is one of the top selling beers in New York and one of the top 40 breweries in the country.  I'm excited to be tasting their beer for the first time.  Of the brief research I've done so far, Brooklyn Brewery is a very reputable maker of fine craft beer.

The brew I was able to get my hands on is their Local 1.  I wasn't sure what to expect as the bottle only hints at the fact this is a Belgian inspired beer.  But hey, I'm a fan of Belgians (the beers, not the people, although Ive never met a Belgian person so Ill reserve judgement until then.  I'm sure they are nice and smell pretty) so I didn't feel like I was going out on a limb purchasing this fine looking bottle.  Digging around on the breweries website tells me this is a Belgian inspired Golden Strong Ale.

After letting the intense amount of foam settle I was able to discern the clear signs of a golden strong.  Pale straw in color, frothy white foam and an intense sweet malt and floral yeast.  From the looks, this is already a great example.  The flavor doesn't fall short either.  Sweet malt and fruity, almost tropical flavors from the yeast are abundant.  Hints of pineapple and mango mix in with a grainy, malty body.  An alcohol warmth comes through towards the end.  The finish is smooth and dry.

Overall A/6.0 - This is a great example of what a Belgian Golden Strong can be.  Brooklyn brewery went to great lengths to craft this treat.  Bottle conditioned with an extra spritz of yeast, thick bottle and sturdy cork are all signs of attention to detail.  The beer itself is great.  Brooklyn also releases a Local 2 which is a Belgian Strong Dark.  I'll be picking up another bottle of Local 1, along with Local 2 next time I'm out on the beer prowl.