Brooklyn Brewery - Brooklyn Brown Ale

Brooklyn Brown Ale is modeled after the famous brown ales of Britain, but with a more robust hop character than its British counterparts. This beer was first brewed back in 1990 as a holiday beer, but has since found its way onto the year-round menu. The nose presents a fantastic blend of malty sweetness and citrusy hops, almost like a watered-down Barleywine. This beer is remarkably smooth, and slightly vinous, with hints of chocolate and coffee in the flavor and finish and the slightest possible note of a clean, mint-like character. This beer is particular good with steaks, burgers, stews and barbeque, where it can put its caramel flavors to work with the caramelized flavors in the meat. Also great with well-aged cheddar, Gouda and Gruyere cheeses.

Great food, culture, fashion, Broadway, not to mention America's pastime—baseball—and of course, attitude. New York City has a lot to offer. But as far as top notch brew? Well, it hasn't exactly been known as a homestead for great beers until fairly recently, when the Brooklyn Brewery hit the scene. True, Brooklyn was once a great place for beer—but from the mid-70s through the mid-90s, there weren't many outfits dedicated to brewing distinctive ales and lagers. Enter the Brooklyn Brewery, founded in 1987 upon the laurels of Brooklyn's past brewing glory. One hundred years ago, there were approximately 50 breweries operating in Brooklyn. A large component of the immigrant population was German, and we all know of the German zeal for great beer. Taverns were places of civic decision-making, and brewers themselves were civic and social leaders. Sadly, this era ended in 1976 when the last of the Brooklyn-based brewing families, Schaefer and Liebman, closed down, succumbing to the competition imposed by the massive Midwest macrobreweries. So then, whom do we have to thank for bringing the brew back to Brooklyn? In 1978, Associated Press correspondent Steve Hindy traveled to the Middle East on assignment where he befriended a few diplomats who homebrewed in such countries as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait where Islamic law forbade the sale of alcohol. He picked up a few tricks of the homebrewing trade and upon his return to the states, where he settled in Brooklyn's Park Slope neighborhood, he continued to hone his craft. His downstairs neighbor Tom Potter, a former loan officer at Chemical Bank became very interested in Steve's brews and, while watching Mets ball games together, came to appreciate the beers in Steve's repertoire which were brewed in authentic, German, pre-prohibition style once found throughout Brooklyn. Tom became convinced that there was a market for this sort of beer and together with Steve they founded the Brooklyn Brewery in 1987. With the help of fourth-generation German-American brewmaster William M. Moeller, their first official beer was brewed: Brooklyn Lager. For the next nine years, their brews were contract brewed up in Utica, NY. In 1994 they hired highly respected New York brewmaster Garret Oliver to design their own Brooklyn plant and oversee production at the Utica facility. On a momentous day in 1996, mayor Rudy Giuliani cut the ribbon in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and their new plant was opened. Since then, Oliver has created some of the most well-known, well respected brews to come out of the east coast. There's much more to be said of Tom's and Steve's success story (and the many hardships along the way)—all of which can be read about in their book BEER SCHOOL—Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery, published by John Wiley & Sons. It's a book we recommend—after all, this is one of our favorite breweries! And check out the brewery web site for updates on where their brewmaster Garret Oliver will appear next—he regularly conducts gourmet beer and food tastings to educate consumers on the virtues of good beer with good food (www.brooklynbrewery.com). In fact, his book, The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food is a must have for those interested in making beer a prominent part of their culinary fare. For more information about the brewery and scheduled tours, call (718) 486-7422 or check out their web site.