Quick Takes: Brooklyn Blast

Well, Brooklyn Brewery's brewer extraordinaire, Garrett Oliver, has done it again. He's created a new series of beers called "Brewmaster's Special Reserve" - limited edition beers that are brewed in small amounts and are being released to select establishments.

One of these "Brewmaster's Special Reserve" beers that we've seen in the Capital Region is Brooklyn Blast, described on the Brooklyn website as a "San Diego Strong Pale Ale," made with malts from Scotland and Germany and a variety of hops (most notably, from Yakima Valley in Washington state and from the Kent Valley of England).

The Brooklyn Blast is more realistically a double IPA - it's an incredibly hoppy beer that measures in at 8.2% alcohol by volume. And, my god, it is good.

The Blast smells wonderful - a great rush of hops, complimented with a tinge of citrus. It's got solid hop bitterness, but with a faint yet deft touch of fruit and sugar sweetness that separates this from other Imperial/Double IPA-type beers. It's hit or miss - if you're big into the hoppiness of the beer, you might get distracted by the sweetness. I enjoyed this; I'm not as much of a hop purist and liked the complexity added by the additional flavoring.

A tip of the hat to the Brooklyn folks for a job well done.

[The other beers in this initial run of "Brewmaster's Special Reserve" series are the Blanche du Brooklyn (a Belgian-style witbier), Brooklyn Abbey Singel (a Trappist style ale), and Antwerpen Ale (a Belgian style pale ale). In the Capital Region, we have seen most of these beers on tap at Mahar's and the Lionheart Tavern, as well as available in growler fills from Glenville Beverage. As for the Blast - it's currently on in all three places, including - intriguingly - on a nitrous pour at Mahar's. ]