How else to make a solid case of the Mondays go away than to drink from our stockpile of good beer? Actually, my Mondays aren't too bad... I get some peace while the child is at school and Nathan is at work, get stuff done around the house, and get in a good run. For the most part, I can't complain about Mondays. But they are still a great excuse to drink beer, don't you agree? Mean Girls is playing in the background while Nathan packages a metric fuckton of beer for an epic beer trade. Actually, this is a pretty great night.
I actually really enjoy Brooklyn's beers, despite us only having reviewed two of them to date. They produce consistently solid brews, right down to their lager. This is their "big" IPA offering, which is brewed with both American and English hops because New York City is halfway between the Pacific Northwest and England. Interesting concept. Coming in at 8.4%, this recently went from being a seasonal brew to being offered year-round.
This pours a beautiful medium golden orange color with a finger or so of white head. The aroma on this is caramel and citrus with some almost grassy notes to round it out. There is also a bang of pineapple in the nose. Taking a sip, it's almost all caramel and it's very malt-forward. The grassy and pineapple notes really come through in the taste, as well as some vague lemon and orange. It is a very well-balanced "big" IPA without a ton of hop bitterness, yet it's not overly sweet. The mouthfeel is well-carbonated and not too sticky.
Overall, I can't decide whether I like this a lot or not. It has been well-documented that I adore hops. But I can also applaud the use of milder English hops to balance out the palate-killers that are most of those from the Pacific Northwest. It's good, but of course, I would prefer it to be a showcase of the hops.
4/5 caps
-Jennie
While Jennie had a mellow day, my day was chaotic and another example of why I need to get out of shipping. For 7 years, I've wasted my life in this position, only to be bombarded at home with packaging 15 twelve-ounce bottles, a sixteen-ounce can, a twelve-ounce can, and 5 twenty-two- ounce bottles thoroughly to survive the long journey of private courier from Columbus, Ohio to Iowa. 39 pounds of beer and packaging, the packaging that represents pain and agony of work. Sigh. At least there's one reward, good beer.
As this has had time to warm up some, there's still a little bit of white head lingering on this golden orange nectar. This has an aroma, at this point, of fresh cut grass, slight caramel with faint hints of citrus and tropical fruits. As I swirl it (FUCK! I'm officially a beer snob!), the caramel comes out more and the other aromas dissipate. The first sip is caramel heavy with some malty stickiness up front, the hops come in about 2-3 seconds later, lending pineapple and citrus flavors. The stickiness fades after the hops come in, and this finishes slightly juicy.
As I listen to the happy bubbling of the fermenting bucket (a soon to be 11%+ ABV Count Chocula Stout), I reflect on the flavor profile of the Blast! It's not the hop bomb I typically adore, but it's not bad. I would happily turn non-IPA drinkers onto this to get them turn to the Hop Side. By the way, do you have a moment to talk about our lord and savior, Hopsus? The 8.4% ABV on this isn't noticed initially, but with each sip, a nice warming sensation comes over you as the constant 'blub blub blub' of the airlock is pounding in your ear, much like the Tell-Tale Heart. Blub blub, blub blub.... I seem to be rambling and apparently as this warms ups, it still has the same flavor profiles that Jennie noticed when this was cold.
4.1/5 caps
-Nathan-
Cheese pairing: Double Gloucester
Food pairing: Chicken vindaloo
Music pairing: Beastie Boys, "No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn"
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