Brewventure: Eataly and Brooklyn Ghost Bottle Night

Apologies for the lack of pictures tonight, I arrived at my first stop in New York City and discovered my camera's battery was dead. After some last minute rearranging, my first stop was the rooftop brewpub, La Birreria, at Eataly NYC. I started off with Sofia, a house brewed witbier served on cask.  Cask isn't my preferred serving style for a wit, it enriches what should be a light body and takes the edge of what should be a fairly bubbly level of carbonation. That said, the addition of peppercorns lent a subtle heat on the back end of each sip that really gave this beer a unique twist. I followed that up with a small pour of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA. At roughly 20%ABV is was massively sweet, hoppy, and boozy all at once. A small pour like this was really ideal, as I can guess that a full serving would have been a bit much for most palates.

After a brief journey, I arrived at The Diamond in Brooklyn. While Garrett Oliver and his team of brewers would pour several beers over the course of the night, I would also enjoy several on tap. First was Brooklyn Brown Ale on cask. The cask conditioning allowed bready and toasted nut notes to really shine through, but  also resulted in a beer that was served just a bit too warm to hit its sweet spot. Next was Radius, a very new beer that only made its debut at the brewery this past Friday. It's a tasty pale Belgian brew, plenty of pale malt crackers and lemon and black pepper for only a 4.8% beer. It's the kind of beer I'd kill to have a keg of for a party sometime this summer, it has appeal both to people who do and don't drink craft beer regularly. Next was a rare Sorachi Ace draft appearance (made even more rare by the fact that it was evidently accidentally filtered). This one tasted super fresh, and the lemon notes from the Sorachi Ace Hops really shone through. There was just enough sweetness and peppery yeast phenols to keep things lively. Finally, there was Brooklyn Blast,  a double IPA. This is one that I would love to see bottled, even if just to shut up all the west coast beer advocates who insist the best IPAs come from their home turf, because this one can hang with the best of them. Pungent citrusy grapefruit notes, with a touch of pine and a little bit of caramel sweetness laying a base for everything.

In addition to all that, Brooklyn was pouring several rare, unreleased beers. The first was a blend of their Local 1 aged on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir lees. The wines from which the lees were drawn were naturally fermented, and as a result this one had a definite brettanomyces wild funky presence. Beneath that were some acidic white wine and peppery Belgian phenol notes. Finally, there was a hint of bourbon (the beer was aged in used Black Ops barrels) present. The next beer was a similar riff on the same idea, this time Local 1 was aged exclusively on Riesling lees. For whatever reason the bourbon shone through much more intensely this time around, with white wine and Belgian strong pale ale flavors filling in the blank spaces. The next two "ghost bottle" beers would prove to be a radical departure from the first two. Cuvee Elijah is Brooklyn's Cuvee Noire, a strong Belgian black saison, aged in 12 year Elijah Craig bourbon barrels. The chocolaty flavor that was barely there in the base beer was emphasized by the notes of vanilla from the barrel aging, while the bourbon and dry peppery flavors came in on the back end. Last, but certainly not least, was a 2007 late bottling of Black Ops. Brooklyn has been selling their barrel aged imperial stout since winter 2008-2009, with the first production batch being given to employees and friends of the brewery in winter 2007-2008. While Black Ops is generally aged in barrels for four months, what was poured for us tonight was beer that rested in bourbon barrels from inception in 2007 until just twelve weeks ago. Upon texting a friend about what I was drinking, he replied "For 4 year old Black Ops, I'd miss my wedding." Having tasted the finished product, I don't think I could argue his sentiment. A velvety rich milk chocolate note, bolstered by a potent vanilla presence stole the show, with super smooth bourbon and oak flavors contributing as well. All in all Garrett Oliver and his team proved to be gracious hosts, perfectly willing to talk shop about what was being poured or just beer in general, and bringing some tasty suds to boot.