Tuesday 12 November 2013

Brooklyn Locals

I'm a fan of Brooklyn beers, so I was delighted to see the big bottles of Local 1 and Local 2 available in Lighthouse Wines. Even better, Local 1 is in the list so another tick as well...

From "1001 Beers..."


186. Brooklyn Local 1. Style: Belgian Strong Ale. ABV: 9%. From: Lighthouse Wines.
Description: Comes in a big 750 ml bottle with a cork and cage. Poured a light golden colour, big white head that lasted, clear, and lots of obvious fizz. Straight off you're hit by funky Belgian yeast aromas, a little citrus, and a little spice. Taste is what you expect from the smell, actually quite subtle, with may be a little more grain flavour. Dry finish, light bodied but very fizzy. You would never guess this is a 9%'er, I'd guess this could be quite dangerous!
Thoughts: A good US version of a Belgian classic. However, I came to this with lots of expectations and was slightly disappointed. This isn't a bad beer, it's not even a mediocre beer, but it's not a great beer. To be honest, I'd be as happy with a bottle of Duvel as I would be with this, and that's no slight as a love Duvel, but I was expecting a wee bit more... Try it for yourself and let me know what you think. Score: 7.5

From outside the List


111. Brooklyn Local 2Style: Belgian Strong Ale. ABV: 9%. From: Lighthouse Wines
Description: Again comes in a big champagne style bottle with a cork and cage. This one pours dark red / brown. Decent beige head, but this time it dissipated quickly. Again that distinct Belgian yeast aroma, this time there's a lot more sugar and spice going on. Taste gives some caramel malt, coffee, and the honey comes through along with some dark fruit and some citrus. A bit boozier feeling than the Local 1, more bitterness  Mid bodied, this coats your mouth a bit (I'm putting this down to the honey).
Thoughts: Very similar feeling on this to the Local 1, again on the upper end of good but not great. While both have the same score, I slightly preferred the Local 2.
Score: 7.5

Reviews of Anchor Brekle's Brown and Big Leaf Maple to follow very soon!

Cheers

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