Something wonderful has happened.
Saturday night found me behind the bar, slinging beers and the odd Toasted Almond (the smell of which gives me a hangover). I was all by my lonesome back there, so things were moving at a feverish clip when the Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter (fabulous beer, btw) kicked. Pretty hard, too. It nearly hit the ceiling and splashed merrily across the bar. Anyway, this prompted the old run to the beer cooler for a keg change, my first such foray of the shift.
Down the stairs I trot, fellow waitress Chelsea in tow (she was desirous of a Keg Changing 101 refresher course). I pull open the door, and what is nestled among the Harpoons, Pennichucks, and Magic Hats?
That's right. A whole keg of delicious Brooklyn Lager. Brewed, if my two times on the brewery "tour" serves me, in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Lager! From Brooklyn! In the beer refrigerator at my place of employ (while I'm not exactly a bar-hopper here in the great state of NH, I have yet to see my beloved Brooklyn beer anywhere on tap or in a store)!Scaling back my hours at the bar has meant that I'm a wee mite out of the loop as far as what's coming on tap, what's leaving, what bands are playing, etc. So, when I do work, keg changes are kind of like Christmas morning.
On Saturday evening in the beer refrigerator, my excitement could only have been greater by walking into the beer cooler to discover Clive Owen, shirtless (naked would be just weird... I mean, it's a giant refrigerator), sitting atop the keg of Brooklyn Lager, clutching a giant bag of money with which to pay off my student loans.
Chelsea patiently watched as I hopped up and down, screeched, and then hunkered down to awkwardly hug the keg like a lost twin.
Then, ever the professional, I recovered myself and we transformed that Otter Creek Stovepipe Porter into Magic Hat's Circus Boy (a MH that I actually like...such that I've...*gasp* purchased it!). So the Brooklyn Lager is waiting in the wings for its big moment. We have the nice weighty tap handle and everything.
Happy Beermas to me!
15 comments:
can someone explain to me the appeal of brooklyn lager? (i ask sincerely, not incredulously) it's not that i dislike it, but rather, that it just seemed kind of like an average beer to me... no better or worse than a stella. is it sentimentality of your old 'hood that draws you to it or am i just missing something...?
oh you're missing something.
stella is nice, in a "i want to drink beer that vaguely tastes like beer but not really, is more like beer soda, but is nice in the summer if you can't find a heffeweisen" kind of way.
brooklyn lager is a great, reliable, beer-tasting beer. oh is it good. after ten days of Efes, the Turkish "beer" that tastes actually a lot like Stella, I'm excited to drink beer that tastes like beer.
hooray beer!
Yeah, Will, I'm afraid you're missing something. Which is a shame for you, because that something is especially tasty.
While there is nothing especially wrong with pilsnery lagers like Stella or Harp (as Claire says, they are serviceable summertime beers when you can't find a good Weiss), I find the further I advance in age and beer-snobbery, the more likely I am to eschew those styles of lager for the amber-colored complexly-flavored Vienna style lagers like Brooklyn.
I'm generally into dark or bitter beers. Give me some of that yummy hops! Brooklyn's Lager, as a Vienna-style lager, has a nice bitter hoppy finish without being heavy, but it can stand up throughout the cold months as well. It's an absolutely fantastic year-round choice. Also it's great with Vindaloo.
At this juncture, I'm hoping Phil of Pennichuck will stop by and perhaps give us a little lesson in the lagering technique and the difference between lagers, as I'm sure my rudimentary knowledge is insufficient.
But, yes, I concur Claire. Bklyn Lager is beery, while Stella is beer soda-y like Rolling Rock.
That said, Stella may well be fabulous in Belgium.
I'm not really a fan of hoppy bitterosity, which may be why it never really stood out to me. Well, you know what that means... more for you. Drink and be merry.
A.) That is awesome, Mozel tov Sheena.
Ok, no more letter after a. but I agree. I really like Brooklyn lager despite it's hoppyness, I'm not the biggest fans of hoppy beers.
I understand that Stella is not really a bad beer, just here in the states, though never having had it in Belgium, I don't know.
I generally prefer darker beers, though I really like Victory Lager a lot. I love Brooklyn Brown ale also, though some brown ales are kind of weak tasting. It just depends.
My favorite beers are porters and stouts, though in the summer, a nice crisp pilsner is great, as long as it's American bottled or on tap-they taste skunky otherwise.
Now you know everything about me.
Fin.
More for me, indeed. A bar patron told me that getting really excited about a new keg of something doesn't indicate alcoholism so much as beer-snobbery, which is a huge relief. :-)
Josh, I also like Victory Lager. And, while we're at it, their Pilsner is amazing.
My affinity for hops has slowly developed in my beer-drinking career. Remember the Hop Harvest at Portsmouth Brewery? Delish.
let me tell you something about something. here's the something. something the first: stella is a pile of garbage. harp is far better than stella. harp is far more flavorful and has a nicer body than stella (not unlike how i have a nicer body than most belgian dudes). but that aside, i think folks who spent time in brooklyn like the lager because it is so distinctive a lager. it is one of a few beers that is really unmistakable, and therefore is evocative of a particular time and place (i.e. when i was happy and rich and didn't have creditors leaving messages on my voicemail).
it thus holds a special place in my butt as well.
Lager/Ale lessons aside for now, Brooklyn's are actually brewed in Utica... *gasp!* ...at FX Matt (a.k.a. Saranac). Tis true that Brooklyn has a brewery in Brooklyn but they outgrew production there and contract brew their beer at FX Matt. I believe this info to be true and if you were to look at a bottle label you would most likely discover that it says something like
Brewed by Brooklyn Brewing
Street Address
Utica, NY
Cheers,
Pennichuck Phil
Yes, Pennichuck Phil, they DO brew the lager at Saranac. But, if my two trips to the brewery have not steered me wrong, they brew the brown ale right here in the BK.
Of course, the tour guide could have been lying.
Is the lack of discussion of Magic Hat because nobody reading buys it? I got some once at Trader Joe's, drank one bottle, used one bottle as the liquid for baking some bread, and poured a couple of bottles down the sink. But it wasn't Circus Boy.
You may be correct but one would have to look at the bottle label or keg label to determine exactly where it was brewed. A brewery may be able to "say" one thing but absolutely must be truthful on its labeling. The TTB allows no stretching of the truth. The brown may indeed be brewed in Brooklyn but please check the label and let us know.
Magic Hat? I thought that was a brand of condom.
Phil
I believe yes, that is why no one is discussing Magic Hat. Magic Hat is gross.
As far as Brooklyn is concerned, if I recall correctly, all their bottled beer is brewed and bottled in Utica, but all Brooklyn Lager served in NY on tap is brewed at their Brooklyn plant. Otherwise, it's made up state.
This may have changed since I took the tour though.
I think you're right, Josh. The Big Apple probably gets the freshest Bklyn Lager.
And Phil, it's probably true that the beloved kegs of lager we have came from Utica. But I did so enjoy the idea of it on a truck, driving up the BQE and all the way to my glass in New Hampshire.
As for Magic Hat, I have no use for #9 (gross girly beer... and it's really difficult for me to pour one for a man without insulting his virility...luckily my desire for tips wins out over my desire to rid the world of the hated #9), which many people inexplicably adore. Fat Angel is pretty ok. And I enjoy Circus Boy, much to my chagrin (though if I'm drinking a Weiss, it may as well be Widmer from out west... that's a solid beer. Also the Brooklyner Weiss isn't too shabby).
All that said, Magic Hat should make and distribute condoms to bars for handing out. I mean, if you spend an evening getting drunk on #9, you could make any number of poor decisions afterwards, so a "party hat" is not a bad thing to have on hand.
Actually, Magic hat does give out "Magic Hats" in the typical condom packaging while at the many beer festivals they attend.
Lastly, I should ask if the H to the arlow's is yet pouring our newest of beers, Halligan RyePA?
Phil
Sadly, no. When I last manned the taps, we were completely IPA-less. We're still serving (lots and lots of it, too... it's a favorite) Engine 5, however...It's pretty much a fixture.
Which reminds me, there's a dispute among the servers that perhaps you can settle. Is Engine 5 an English or Irish -style red ale? I've been telling people it's the latter since I began spilling beer on my shoes for money in that fine establishment, but lately I've overheard a few folks telling customers that it's the former.
But back to the Halligan... I don't know if I've told you my thoughts yet. I cracked the bottle you brought me with a few coworkers when we finished our shifts that very night. One IPA devotee wasn't a big fan of the rye element, but I thought added a nice balance to the usual IPA bitterness. This was the finding of another taster as well.
Where is it on tap? Though, perhaps I'll swing by one of these days and get a growler or two... maybe for my impending trip to Brooklyn....
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