Some quick tasting notes

Brooklyn Local 1: — This beer is kind of mysterious in that it doesn’t explicitly say what the style is on the bottle. I had to look online to see that it was a Belgian style blond ale. Of course, after tasting it, it’s pretty obvious. The color is gold with a hazy orange tint and the head faded somewhat quickly without much lacing. It has a candy sugar, alcoholy taste up front and moves into a slightly spicy dry finish. Someone on Rate Beer said it has a pear taste throughout — I would buy that, although I can’t quite pinpoint if that was what I was tasting. It really is a delicious beer; I’m definitely going to seek it out again. 9% ABV. 750 ml bought at The Good Beer Store. The Brooklyn website is a bit of a flash mess. Here’s an alternate link.

Avery Anniversary Ale Fourteen — Another somewhat mysterious beer if you’re just looking at the label. Here’s an excerpt:

Here is yet another quirky brew: a very dark and different, dry-hopped ale. Stye? hard to say, you decide. Just expect massive molasses maltiness, limitless fruits on the nose and an imposing floral & zesty dry-hop finish.

The smell on this one is really crazy — I don’t think I’ve ever smelled a beer with such a singular hop aroma. No alcohol or malt mixed in; just hops. It’s like sticking your nose in a hop bag. The strange thing is, the hops don’t dominate the flavor.  It’s a nicely balanced, complex beer with smoky malts and hints of chocolate. The beer pours a very dark brown with a strong tan head, which sticks around.  Definitely another winner.  9.46% ABV.

I also tasted the Great Divide Hot Shot ESB, but that was after the first two, so uh, my tasting notes are incomplete. I’ve been trying to explore ESBs a little bit more lately because I feel like I’ve neglected them. I’ll try this one again soon (I have five more) and write some proper notes.