REVIEW 35: BROOKLYN SUMMER ALE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Brooklyn Brewery

STYLE:  English Pale Ale

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack (12-oz. bottles), $11.99.

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. My first pour, always my "standard" 20-second dispensation, resulted in a crown of roughly two inches, with average retention. The slower 30-second, and faster 10-second, seemed to produce the same result, with slight variance. 

APPEARANCE:  Rusty gold with your everyday white head. Transparent with slight translucence. Sporadic lacing.

BOUQUET:  Sports what I call a "50/50" aroma: Roughly equal parts hops and malt. Elusive spice and citrus notes, primarily lemon zest, round things out. Hop factor is floral on the whole.

PALATE:  Fairly light body with sneaky, but ultimately benign, carbonation. Has the mouthfeel of a mild ale. Very English. Unassertive, even dormant, front and mid-palate. Then, a yeasty crescendo characterizes the back and finish. Light hops are evident throughout, "light" being the operative word; perhaps "meek" is more like it. The aftertaste is by far the most intriguing feature of this brew: The yeast factor is retained with the added touch of lemon and subtle essences of coriander; on the flip side, it is also slightly seltzerish. A saving grace? Depends how one defines "saving." "Salvaging" grace, perhaps. What is here seems thrown together, instead of expertly brewed. What is more is that the beer doesn't hold well once poured; it becomes somewhat watery after sitting just ten to fifteen minutes. In an air-conditioned room. Keeps a little better if you leave it in the bottle.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  It's Brooklyn Summer Ale. Yet it's an English-style beer. Come again?

It's a summer ale. Yet it's an English-style beer. Come again?

It just doesn't seem to fit. Yes, I know they have summers in England. But the imagery doesn't compute for me. The only thing truly "summer-like" about this beer is its reclusive citrus quality. But that doesn't matter so much. What matters is that, while agreeable enough, this was a truly underwhelming brew. The best part of the drinking experience comes after swallowing. Should one drink a beer simply for its aftertaste? Hmmm . . .

I should also add that getting through a six-pack of these is a cinch. Bonus points, I guess. They should change the name of this to "Brooklyn Sufficient Ale," because on the whole, sufficient is all it really was.




GRADE:  C