OUR BEER SAVIORS (Brooklyn Brewery)

It’s hard to imagine that there were once 48 breweries in Brooklyn. Even harder to imagine that by 1976, the well had run dry and with the exit of Schaeffer and Rhinegold, there were zero breweries in Brooklyn. Zero!!

It wasn’t until 1996 when Brooklyn Brewery opened their facility in Williamsburg that craft beer became a reality again in NYC. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter (with brewmaster Garrett Oliver coming on board a little later) really became our beer saviors and now, thanks partly to their trailblazing, we have a growing number of locally produced craft breweries in and around NYC.

I’ve been to Brooklyn Brewery and have told this story many times on the Brewed in Brooklyn tour I lead for Urban Oyster. Brewmaster Garrett Oliver even co-starred in my beer video giving insight in to NY beer culture.

So I had to make an official visit to the brewery on my search for the best beer in NY. I visited both on Friday night, when there are less crowds and more of a chill atmosphere, and Sunday afternoon when it’s not unusual to see strollers and puppy dogs hanging out with their owners sipping on some craft beer. And on Saturdays and Sundays, you can take a tour of the facility!

The tap room is large with lots of picnic benches and round fold out tables. And there’s still plenty of room to stand and stretch out. In order to get a drink at the bar (which offer eight rotating Brooklyn beers on tap), you first have to buy a token ($5 or 5 for $20), decide what you want, and don’t forget to tip the bartenders.

I only bought two tokens (I was by myself and anybody who reads this site knows I’m a lightweight) so I was sure to choose wisely.

When choosing my beers, I favored the more obscure brews. The lager and brown ale are available at most bars and bodegas around the city, but the Brewmaster’s Reserve line and the special exclusive brewer’s choice beers are much more difficult to find. So when something exciting like these are on tap here, you can most certainly guess what I’ll be drinking.

I started with one of the recent Brewmaster’s Reserve. Gold Standard is not the first kellerbier I’ve tasted, although I didn’t realize it at the time of tasting Kelso’s version. Both are unfiltered golden lagers in an old German style. Gold Standard had a bit of transparency and some small active bubbles.

Sweet malt was the predominant aroma with some funky yeast notes. Tasting it was not too different from the nose with a touch of cereal sweetness up front finishing with a lingering crisp hoppiness. The body was surprisingly strong and heavy with a bracing carbonation. Somehow this beer makes me want to sit outside, especially on a cool spring day.

The next beer was really exclusive and in fact wasn’t on the tap list when I returned the following Sunday. It’s the Centerfold, which is part of the Worshipful Company of Brewers. Every few months Brooklyn is letting one of their brewers concoct a specialty beer to be served only at the brewhouse. Exciting stuff.

I tried the hoppy Oishi a while back when I was giving a tour. And now this was the second, brewed by cellerman Rob Lemery. It’s a west coast style IPA with the addition of rose hips. Hm.

The beer was a transparent pale golden color, just a few shades lighter than the hazy Gold Standard, but with more aggressive bubbles. It had a surprising smell of toffee and biscuits with a few scents of fresh hops. The nutty notes revealed themselves at first and then opened up to some mild piney hops. There was an unusual and refreshing floral quality throughout (I’m sure from those rose hips). It was all balanced and incredibly drinkable.

Although I drank more beers on Friday night, most of the action happened on Sunday when I joined Tim for a tour of the brewhouse. When giving the Urban Oyster tours, I send the group off with one of the brewery’s tour guides while I set up the beer tastings. So it had been a while (before their expansion) since I had been on one of these tours here.

Tim did a great job explaining the brewing process, talking about the expansion, and the history of Brooklyn’s current oldest brewery, while maintaining a sense of humor and passion for the product. The group was a little large and there was no actual movement on the tour, but for most people, I’m sure it’s exciting to see some of the rooms where the beer magic happens. And it’s a free tour, what more could you want???

Of course, they encourage bringing a beer on the tour with you so I got my hands on another elusive beer. The Radius is only available in Brooklyn (within a few miles from the brewery) and it’s one delicious farmhouse ale.

I’ve been drinking a lot of Belgian-style beers lately, which are revealing themselves to be unique and refreshing. This saison was no exception with a bright peach color in an unfiltered body topped with a foamy head. It smelled like Belgian yeast: bready, spicy, and funky. Yum. The body was very light with barely any trace of alcohol or hops. The fruity flavors came through with banana and ginger mingled with honey, cloves and yeast. It was a little too easy to drink (although at a low 4.8% ABV, I think I’m ok) and had an interesting creamy, but light texture at the end.

Every time I’ve been to this brewery, I’ve had a grand old time. Although it’s not al fresco, it’s a throwback to the days of yore when this neighborhood of Brooklyn was chock full of local breweries and beer gardens and families would congregate there for social hour and a few delicious, full-flavored beers. In my mind, that’s what Brooklyn is still all about.

Is Brooklyn Brewery the best brewery in NY? Although the space is no-frills, it’s a large, social gathering and they have a wide variety of their beers for purchase, not to mention a free tour. 9 out of 10 since I sort of wish they offered a tasting or sampler option.

Is Brooklyn Brewery’s Gold Standard the best beer in NY? The limited edition kellerbier is a throwback to the times of crisp, unfiltered German lagers. I give it an 8 out of 10 since I like the even balance of malt and hops.

Is Brooklyn Brewery’s Centerfold the best beer in NY? It’s very unusual with biscuit notes, hoppy notes, and a floral backbone. Yet it all works and earns an 8 out of 10.

Is Brooklyn Brewery’s Radius the best beer in NY? 9 out of 10 for this light, creamy beer with plenty of farm-fresh flavors and the ability to drink multiple cups in one session.