Brooklyn Local 1

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Brooklyn, New York USA

Purchased at the NYC Whole Foods and shipped back to SD, 750ml poured into Duvel tulip glass. Appearance is a translucent golden hue, soapy suds-like white head has dollops of big sparkling cream, moderate lacing. Smell is dominated by mild lemons and bananas, yeast, cloves, spices, grapefruit and pine, great potpourri of scents. Taste follows close suit to the aroma and is overall quite fruity and spicey, bananas/cloves/lemons are reminiscent of a weisse, floral, spices, and slight sourness enter midway with a slight alcohol presence, finishes dry and sweet. Mouthfeel is medium/full-bodied, watery thin texture, mild carbonation. Drinkability is moderate and the alcohol is well-masked at 9%, flavorful and fragrant version of a Belgian Strong PA, lacking in complexity and boldness but solid for the style.

Bottle corked and caged. Pours a hazy strawish yellow with orange highligts. The head is white, quite substantial, and laces down the glass. Nose is truly a belgian yeast smell with other small hints citrus. Taste is very well rounded, the yeast is most pronounced as with many belgian styled strong ales. A nice beer from a great american brewery.

[bottle] Spicy, woody aroma with fresh green grapes, dried apricots and a hint of tobacco. Hazy orange-yellow with just a little patch of white fuzz. Almost gingerale-like, vinous, woody, spicy flavour that tastes like there was some sugar used as well as plenty of cork. Medium to light body and lasting spiciness, almost like a tiny bit of hot pepper somehow got in there.

Bottle pours a golden honey color with a dense white foam head. Sweet spiced aroma. Fruit and yeast flavor with a slight bitter finish. Lively carbonation on the tongue. The alcohol is fairly hidden considering the 9%.

I’ve been wanting to try Brooklyn Local 1 for quite a while now. I’ve noticed that its become more widely available and the price has dropped a dollar or two a bottle in recent months. Full bodied Belgian Strong Ale with alcohol sweetness, grainy mouthfeel and spiced finish. II should have tried Brooklyn Local 1 a year ago.

Poured a nice hazy orange with a decent thin white head. Aroma was very complex; a bit of hops, a bit of Belgian flair, some citrus, there was a lot going on here. Flavor was more of the same. I caught some orange juice notes, some Belgian undertones, a hint of hoppiness and something else I couldn’t quite pin down. Very unique and enjoyable flavor on this one. Good beer.

Poured a semi hazy golden color with a medium sized, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of floral hops, toasted dough, citrus fruits, light spices, and a bit of banana. Taste was sweeter, pils malt, some honey, citrus, light hops, and a little alcohol in the finish.

(750 ml bottle from Bootleggers, cellared for 8 mos. after purchase) Pours fairly cloudy gold/amber with two fingers of soft, fluffy off-white head. Aroma is sweet and fruity with some caramel and yeast. Mouthfeel is fairly smooth but a touch pebbly. Lightly sticky. Doesn’t have a particularly refined feel or that really nice Belgian bottle-conditioned fine-bubble carbonation. Fairly heavy weepy rings and sheets of lacing. Flavor is sweet and fruity not dissimilar to the Duvel I had last night but more dense. A little hot but not detracting. Sweetness, fruit, yeast and caramel. Fairly bitter towards finish. A bit heavy-handed but good.