A pair of Brooklyn Beers

If you've ever talked to me you know that I am a fan of brewer Garret Oliver, and his book Brewmasters Table made a huge impact on me and how I look at beer and food. Well a couple of weeks ago he was in Houston for the homebrewer's competition The Dixie Cup. As part of his visit he also did a tasting at our local Central Market and it was there that I got to spend some time talking to him. He's an extremely generous guy with his time and comes off completely genuine in his excitement of beer. It was also fun to get to talk to him about his beers and find out whats coming next. Good news: Monster Ale is coming and coming soon to Texas, we also may get some of the rarer beers as well that will be draft only. After talking beer with Mr. Oliver I just had to pick up some of his brews to drink at home. Unfortunately due to a work trip to Canada and a week of being sick its taken me this long to post on those beers.
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout: Now I tried this on draft at Flying Saucers Anniversary party, but it was nice to be able to sit down in a quiet place and really enjoy the beer. This weighs in at 10.0% and pours a dark pitch black with a thick tan colored head. Notes of chocolate, espresso, coffee, malts. The mouthfeel is creamy and lush. Dusted coco nibs, espresso and chocolate, some citrusy acidity notes. Damn Ice Cream would go wonderfully well with this. Great beer that gets an A- from me.
Local 2: The second brew in Brooklyns Local series. The first was a Belgian Golden ale, this one is a strong dark ale made with local New York honey. It weighs in at 9.0% and pours a dark rich brown with a thick dense head of taupe colored foam. The nose has some notes of honey, sweet malts and fruity esters. The mouthfeel is very effervescent, notes of honey, malts, sweet dried dark fruits. Very sweet up front, before finishing startlingly dry, much like a Brut Champagne. Notes of candied sugar mix with the richness of the dark fruits. An amazing food beer that would go with everything from grilled veggies to frites (which is what I had it with). This one again gets an A- from me.
Two great beers from Brooklyn Brewery.