The Brooklyn Brewery is trying to re-introduce our New York neighbours to beers the way they were pre-prohibition. Brooklyn Lager is their flag-ship brand, and is a wonderful amber lager (think Creemore, Big Wheel, etc).
Poured from a 355ml bottle with best before date stamped on the neck, the beer is a dark amber, nearly copper, with a moderate head that dissipates to a film that leaves a light lacing. Aroma is mainly malty, with hints of caramel. There’s a touch of a hop to it, as well. Quite a bit more hop to the taste, it runs with the malt the whole way along. The malt is very grainy, not so much caramel now. The hop starts out a little herbal, and moves to a dry citrus peel to finish. There’s a slight lingering sweetness, which is unexpected and pleasant, given the hops. The beer is quite carbonated, and almost feels a touch thin. Very easy drinking and palatable, a regular go-to when I can lay hands on it.
So what’s the deal with the food plate? Well, dear reader, it’s time to get jelous. One of the benefits of hosting beer and cheese tastings is leftovers. This is my “working” lunch, as in, I’m blogging about it, so it’s work.
Back left is Zamorano Brebis (sheep’s milk, Spain), back right Beemster (cow’s milk, Netherlands), centre is Roaring 40’s (raw cow’s milk, Australia) front left is Chevrot (goat’s milk, France), front right is Montgomerie Farmhouse Cheddar (raw cow’s milk, England), all served on Munich style rye. The accompaniment is homemade bread and butter pickles and English-style pickled onion. And yes, it all goes remarkably well.
Oh, and just for the trainspotters out there: Yes, that’s 4 pots of Phalaenopsis Orchids waiting for me to get around to re-potting them, tucked in the backround. I like buying past-bloom orchids from Rona et al for $5 instead of like $25, repotting them, and letting them bloom again and again. What’s that? Of course i”ll tell you the mix I use. It’s a homemade mix that is 1 part broken up wine corks, 3 parts New Zealand Sphagnum Moss, 6 parts Coir Chips, and a handful or so of Sumi-soil. All available from Lee Valley Tools (except the wine corks. Those you can find inserted into bottles at the LCBO).
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