Brooklyn Blast

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Brooklyn, New York USA

GABF -pours an offwhite head with gold color. Taste is citrus with bite, not far from an IPA, faint malt.

Draft at drafting room. Yellow with fruity hop aroma. The taste was very interesting, grapefruit,pine,champage grapes and mildy sweet. Good lacing. Dry finish.

Draft at the Blue Dog. Awesome arome. Hints of champagne grapes with a blood orange feel. Orange look with thin head. Very smooth and good flavor that goes down quick. Almost a grapefruit taste but not quite. Good balance. Good brew. Cheers!

Any first impressions?
-A lofty head stays forever atop the hazy blond shine.
-A talkative grapefruity, herbal hop perfume announces an elegant hop celebration.
-Juicy citrus fruit and wooden firmness seep through the biscuity maltiness.
-Comfortable, cushiony maltiness remains drinkable throughout.

What if you dig deeper?
-Hop bitterness is not portentous at all, quite easy-going as a matter of fact, which is surprising considering its festive name.
-Simple cereal sweetness ably supports the intricate hoppiness, creating balance.
-This is an intelligent, flavorful strong ale, which tastes like a balanced, relaxed double IPA.

On cask at The Brazen Head, Brooklyn.

Draught at Cole’s in Buffalo, NY. Pours a clear bubbly golden-yellow with a small diminishing white head. Very nice aroma with lots of citrus hops, nicely balanced by sweet malt and some fruit. Flavour of piney and citrusy hops with just enough sweet malt to balance it out and a nice bitter finish. Can’t taste the alcohol at all but you can feel it. Medium bodied. Wow, this was a very nice surprise -- I loved it!

Draught. At Cole’s in Buffalo. Goiden pour, average off-white head. Nice resin and lemon pith bitter hop aroma, herbal and dry, with dusty malt and alcohol. Taste - well yes, it’s bitter all right, all sorts of bitter - citrus zest, herbal UK almost sour hop character, strong booze burn, dusty floral sweet malt - long bitter finish - I really liked it. Average body, astringency and carbonation, some acidity crept in as it warmed - it seemed strangely balanced considering it had a very long bitter herbal/hoppy linger. I enjoyed this quite a bit, but it’s not one to gulp.

On tap, Cole’s, Buffalo. Dark yellow, small white head. Neat strong grapefruit aroma - I don’t care for grapefruit, but this was awesome. Unfortunately, the taste shared the same fresh biting into a grapefruit taste, and that really turned me off. I like grapefruit characteristics in my hops as a compliment, but not when the entire beer tastes like it. Burning alcohol backs that up in what became not terrible enjoyable. Decent beer, just not for me.

GABF 2006: Clear light golden color with off-white head. Hop foward aroma of pine and citrus with a good malt base. Again flavor pine and citrus with a malt back bone stiff enough to balnce the beer.