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.