Brooklyn Local 2

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Brooklyn, New York USA

Bottle.

Nice deep brown pour with a light tan head. Dubbel-type flavors, raisins and spice, old-time root beer. Nicely balanced if you don’t mind it running toward the sweet side. Aggressive hopping, kinda peaty --- nice.

Bread yeast, orange, and honey aromas entice the drinker into a deep pour. Local 2 pours a very cloudy dark brown color with durable, fine carbonation and a bit of hop lace. Earthy hops and plenty of orange peel offset honey-sweetened caramel and dark malt. The finish is citrus and alcohol warmth without cloying sweetness.

Sample at the hodgepodge tasting at Blacklick Wine and Spirits on 4.17.09. Dark brown color with a big tan head. Hella yeasty smelling with some fruit and malt. Hella yeasty tasting with some caramel malt, honey and more yeast in the finish.

I had not expected the pour to be this dark, the color of the body was dark brown bordering on black like some fine chocolate, nor had I expected to develop a three finger thick head. The pleasing appearance got me further excited to taste this latest offering from Garrett Oliver. The smell was a mix of floral and orange peel aromas and was wonderful as well. The taste perfectly captured the essence of orange peel and honey used in this construction, and the zesty sweet taste was rapidly followed by a dusty dryness as a result of the judicious use of all consuming Belgian yeast. There was some cherry and apples in the flavor as well, but the taste was fleeting and basically begged to be sipped again. No sign at all of the alcohol. The high carbonation kept the body airy and soft. Just like the darker versions of superheroes, this beer is what Duvel would be in opposite world.

Bottle. Pours turbid deep brown with 4-fingers of tan head. Lots of head here, and lots of carbonation streams. Nose is peaty earthy malt, brown sugar, fig, spicy yeasty. Tastes malty, earthy, with blackberry, fig, brown sugar, mild nut, and spicy yeast coming up the rear. Gets denser as it warms and with the repour. Solid.

Bottle purchased at Rozi’s in Lakewood. Uh oh, this one scared me a little when I first poured it. LOTS of foam, light airy foam like a cola. The good news, the foam went down rather quickly. Then I dived into aromaville, and it was good. Lots of sweet characteristics we all know and love. Yeast, candied sugar, plum, raisins, dried blue berries and some caramel malt are all roaming around there. The flavor was a nice shocker. After a nice loud cork pop, and the Mt. Foam that developed I was expecting a seriously over-carbonated beer. The kind that all you taste is crisp carbonation, like soda water. Not here. This was smooth sailing all the way. I guess it all left with the foam, at least most of it did. The second pour was more gentle, but that left more carbonation in it. The flavor is a near mirror to the aroma. All sorts of those wonderful fruit and caramel and sugary notes mingling around. At $1.00 more than the always pleasing Unibroue Terrible, this is a pretty close substitute. The only down side is the carbonation factor, maybe I should cellar a pair of these....

Don’t remember how it pours. Aroma of cinnamon, raisin, bread, and dry spice. Tastes sweetish with flavors of raisin, brown sugar, and it finishes with chocolate powder, toast, and a dry sensation on the throat. Highish carbonation, creamy, medium bodied. I love a nice abbey, and that’s what this is.

Brooklyn Local 2 fits into my favorite beer category, "imperial belgiian wit"! Amber in color with a very exagerated head. The aroma is sweet with some sour flavors and tons of citrus fruits. This is a very nice beer that can be enjoyed by all beer drinkers. However, if you are not careful, at 9%, this one will sneek up on you!