United Nations of Beer

Brooklyn Winter ale

by Ashley Cotter-Cairns
(UNOB HQ)

Brooklyn Winter ale
Brooklyn Brewery, NY, USA

Brooklyn Brewery produces several superb beers, including Brooklyn lager, which I absolutely love.

So it was with major anticipation that I opened the fridge on Christmas Day with Mattias Dahlstrom, Vermont Beer Delegate, to be confronted by several Christmas and winter ales, including Brooklyn Winter ale.

Study of the label made my heart sink just a little. It is based on the "Scottish style of beer", which in North America at least means caramel in abundance, often a few spices, sweetness and, well, that's about it.

But not to prejudge it, I still held some hope. After all, this company produces the finest commercial lager I've tried to date. Surely they wouldn't do what everybody else does with this Scottish-style brew?

Oops. It seems like they would.

While the aftertaste wasn't bad, my initial taste was bitterly disappointing. Or disappointingly non-bitter, anyway. Sweet, bland, dull.

Would this beer develop something more interesting as we drank it? In short, no.

Mattias summed it up best. He said, "Their other beers are loaded with flavour, especially the lager, but this one doesn't seem to have very much." Exactly.

It's just like everybody else's beer of this style, which is sad because the Brooklyn Brewery produces many fine and brave beers.

They aren't afraid to push the envelope. So what went wrong here? This is one winter ale I can live without.