Brooklyn Brewery

   Well I'm back on the blog saddle and my first post in a long time is about my wonderful trip to an industry party at the Brooklyn Brewery.  The tap list for the night included all of the delicious beers in Brooklyn's year-round line, as well as, three brewmasters reserve beers, Detonation Ale, little brother Blast, and the newest beer of the line, Cuveé Noire.  Also included were Brooklyn's large bottle offerings.  The brewery itself is tucked into an industrial area, but is more than worth the treasure hunt.  When you arrive you open a large barn door to reveal a scaled down version of a brewing and bottling setup(most Brooklyn beers are produced upstate, but Brewmaster's Reserve beers are brewed and bottled in house).  As you walk past the brewing equipment you walk into a small but adequate tasting room with 8 taps.  There are a few benches and a few communal picnic table, true beer hall style, and on this night there was a small food spread set up on the side of the room.  
    The first beer I tried on the night was the newly-released Brooklyn Cuveé Noire.  Every description I read about this beer defined it as undefinable.  And they were all 100% correct.  This beer pours out a deep dark black with a nice creamy, foamy head.  To a casual observer the first thing that comes to mind is stout.  There is a nice roasted malt smell, but also a good hoppy smell that confuses you.  Upon the first sip you're completely dumbfounded.  It has a rich hop profile of the best imperial IPA, the roasted malty flavor of a nut brown ale, the sweetness of a belgian, and the creamy smoothness of a stout.  This beer is incredibly complex and dangerously drinkable at 8.7% ABV.  This beer is an absolute 5 Pints out of 5 along with the brewery itself.  
     Also try the Detonation Ale and the Blast if you have the chance.  The Detonation is an imperial English style IPA and the Blast is a flowery west coast style Imperial IPA.  The Detonation can currently be found on tap at The Shepherd and the Knucklehead so none of you, my readers, have an excuse to not try it.  Blast is produced in small batches every year so keep an eye out for it.  
       I want to give special thanks for making this night possible to my new colleague Sean from Beekman's Wine in Glen Rock(look for much better beer selection there soon) and Mike from Brooklyn Brewery.  I'd also like to thank Garrett Oliver, brewmaster for Brooklyn Brewery for hosting an amazing evening of beer.  I will certainly be returning to Brooklyn Brewery soon.

Harpoon India Pale Ale

Name: Harpoon IPA

Brewery: Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 5.9%

IBU: 42

Date: October 11

Price: $8.99 for a 6 pack at Shop Rite Wines & Spirits of Emerson (shameless plug, I manage the beer in that particular store)

So, I'm Josh, co-writer on this here blog for hopheads. As mentioned above, I work with beer all day every day and, with Aaron's help, have experienced and love microbrews, the hoppier the better! But enough introductions...on to my first review!

So Aaron started off this blog with a palate-destroying Triple IPA, so whaddya say we back up a few steps and delve into something more of a crowd-pleaser? Allow me to introduce you to, Harpoon Brewery's flagship beer, their India Pale Ale. Now don't let the name 'India Pale Ale' scare you away and think this is a super hopped up unapproachable brew for the serious hopheads only. Quite the contrary. Harpoon's IPA is definitely a "beginner's IPA".

Into a generic pint glass, it pours a very nice orange-amber and is relatively transparent. There is a very thin line of pasty-white head that hovers and lingers at the edges of the glass with sticky lacing. The hops reach the nose quickly but they aren't very strong. No cringing in fear from overt bitterness. The aroma is both floral and has hints of pine with a subtle sweetness hiding just below the surface. It smells as light as it is, particularly light for an IPA.

The first sip grants a fantastic hop-forward, pine-like taste that quickly fades behind the malt sweetness. The hops return to linger and dance softly on the tongue in a long, dry finish but is actually quite refreshing. Gloriously non-existent is any hint of alcohol even though it pushes 6%; it's hidden very well underneath the malt and hops. A crazy hop-head might feel cheated due to the beer's thinness and easy drinkability but it's not a bad choice for a regular macro-drinker wanting to try something different without going overboard. As previously mentioned, it's a crowd-pleaser. It's not a bad beer to kick back with while watching some football on a Sunday or BBQing with friends. So drinkable for an IPA, you could put down two or three without leaving your tongue decimated or your head too woozy.

My rating: 3.75 pints out of 5. I, myself, do like a hoppier beer, but this is a very nice, smooth, easy to drink IPA that is sure to keep people coming back (like me!) or help newbies get started on the road to some of the crazier brews out there (i.e. the Devil Dancer that Aaron reviewed in July). Affordable, approachable...it's no wonder it's Harpoon's number one selling beer.