Brooklyn Brewery

On our second day we awoke to weather that would be better fitting to London than NYC. It was pissing down. For the missus, that means shopping! First though we had breakfast American style. This took the form of a 'Lumber Jack' which is pancakes with bacon and eggs at the uber hip venue "Good Enough to Eat". Stuffed to the gullet, I erected my umbrella and braved the weather managing to dodge the nutters while navigating from Gap to Banana Republic via Abercrombie and Finch and just about every other US high street brand you can think of! We arrived at the new Whole Foods at Columbus Circle and I decided to check the beer section out. Plenty of good beers on offer, actually an even better selection that Whole Foods in London which I have raved about before. Anyhow at this stage we decided to brave the subway and head over to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This trip was eventful with one colourful nutter working himself into a rage pacing the aisle, frothing at the mouth and then pulling a knife out. The train couldn't pull into the platform fast enough and the whole carriage surged towards the doors like a bunch of teenage girls outside Primark at the start of the Christmas sales.

We walked the three blocks to the Brooklyn Brewery in one piece but slightly shaken and I was carded once more upon arrival! Yes, apparently I look underage in the USA. We actually arrived just as a tour was starting and we joined the throng of punters into the main brewery room passing big sacks of malt, hops and empty kegs. The Brooklyn setup is quite small (about 500L or 0.5 5hL) as all of their 12 oz. bottles are brewed under licence somewhere in upstate New York. Only their seasonal kegs, one offs and cork bottled beers are brewed at the Brooklyn site. The tour was a bit token and I was a little bit disappointed that Garrett Oliver was not there, but the beer was still good. First up I had a pint of Intensified Coffee Stout (8.5% abv) which was rich and roasty with an almost over the top coffee taste. Being quite thirsty after being dragged around shopping all morning I drank it a little bit too quickly! I followed this up with a pint of the Brooklyn Winter Ale (6% abv) which was good, but nothing to really jump up and down about. This is apparently a Scottish style ale, but in reality it is a pretty robust porter. They actually had it on special and you could buy a case of it (24 bottles) for $15 - bargain. The missus had, had enough buy this stage so we left to find ourselves some massive NYC pizza.

I really like the setup they have going on at Brooklyn Brewery. Basically they have an informal 'tasting room' where you can bring board games and your own food and just sit around drinking and hanging out with your mates. A cool alternative to a pub, and I wish the licensing laws were flexible enough to allow such a venue in Australia.

Conclusion: Brooklyn Brewery make some damn fine examples of Proper Real Keg. Sausage would like it there. And no, I didn't complain about the size of the head on my Winter Ale. No need to 'Take it to the Top'...