Upon grabbing this beer, I immediately thought, "If this dang beer isn't from Brooklyn, I'm going to give them the worst review ever." Well, it was not brewed in Brooklyn. It was brewed four hours away in Utica. Is that close enough? I mean, it's the same state, and those guys were probably Dodgers fans when they were still in Brooklyn, right? Does that give them enough justification for the name? 55, incidentally, is also the year that the Yankees won. So, I guess it was a big year for NY sports.
It's got a light, nutty smell (with some malty undertones) to go with that kind of caramel color and simple head that dissipates into a ring that grips the sides of the glass. It's a very nice presentation, so I'm inclined to be nice in this review. If it had some damn
elderberries or something, I'd go to town, but this really gives me an optimistic feeling. So, I'm going to let them slip on this one white lie - they are not from Brooklyn, but they feel the Brooklyn spirit in their hearts or something like that. But know this: the Dodgers left, and 55 was a long time ago.
First sip goes down smooth. It's got a bit of a bite on the follow-through, but it evens out very nicely by the end. The tongue is delighted with the light hops and spice and the malt cuts it down at just the right time. I took a second sip just to validate that I was tasting this right. It's got more spice than I detected the first time around, but it still has that hint of hops that starts to bite and then gets cut down in its youth by the malt.
A bigger gulp reaffirms the very mild, smooth nature of this beer. There is an added taste of grain in there toward the beginning of the drink that I didn't taste before. Then the spice hits, followed by the slight hops, and then that malt hammer. It's a pretty good beer - especially for a warm summer day - which today is.
3.25/5