Friday Brew Review – Brooklyn Summer Ale

Is it possible for something to be excellent and overrated?

I certainly think so. Even those entities worthy of high honors, fully deserving of the piling-on of accolades, can deified beyond reason. In the pop cultural realm, the perfect example is Michael Jackson – the dude could certainly sing and dance, but what type of person was he? Does having the sickest of moves overshadow the consequences of being the a legitimately sick person?   I’m inclined to say “No.”

But let’s steer away from the potentially-pedophilic pop icons of yesteryear. Instead, we can head to a more palatable subject. To be precise, we’ll gravitate towards the most palatable of all subjects.

Beer.

Living in Greater Boston, I’ve fully embraced my role as an acolyte of Sam Adams. These muthafuggahs are Skywalker-honorable, leading the way as the largest American-owned brewery while still putting out craft-quality products. As such, I’m often confused as to whether my allegiance stems from an insular perspective or an objective assessment. I hope it’s more of the latter, but fear it may bit a bit of the former.

What assuages this fear, however, is the fact that I don’t lose my mind over the Samuel Adams Summer Ale. While I certainly think it’s a wonderful drink,   many of my comrades sing it praises otherwise reserved for the Elysian Fields. Hell, I’ve even known some beer-drankers who stock up on Sam Summer while it’s available so that they can continue drinking it until the November expiration date. Again, I like it, but I don’t even think it’s Sam Adams’ best seasonal (if you’re wondering – that’d be Octoberfest).

Consequently, today’s Friday Brew Review is dedicated to stepping outside of comfort zones. Rather than imbibing a beer that I believe is excellent and overrated, I’ve opted to give another potable a chance. Today is all about Brooklyn Summer Ale.

I’ll level with you – for hardly the first time in my drankin’ experience, I was drawn to a beer by its packaging. The Brooklyn Summer Ale twelve-pack is bright blue (or is it periwinkle? I’m partially colorblind, no BS) with some red, orange, and white to fill things out. A golden strip adorns the top, reassuring me that the beers are worthier than both silver and bronze. Also, I was intrigued by the case as it seemed to hold cans, containers that my beer-snobbery usually try to avoid but now found intriguing.

As is my tradition, I visited the brewery website so that I could get the deets on Brooklyn Summer Ale. Here’s what I found:

Available from April through July. Brooklyn Summer Ale is a modern rendition of the “Light Dinner Ales” brewed in England throughout the 1800’s right up until the 1940’s.They were also called “luncheon ales” or even “family ales”, because they were refreshing and flavorful without being too heavy…

Hrm. An ale that’s associated with light dinners, luncheons, or even an entire family. Intriguing. Time to toss a couple back.

I decided to forego the normal process of pouring the beer into a glass so that it could be properly inspected, assessed in terms of color and aroma. I figured that if it’s in a fuggin’ can, it can be done-drank straight from the wide-mouth. And thus it was done-drunked from the can itself!

What struck me most about Brooklyn Summer Ale is how incredibly light and crisp it is. While grilling some burgers and reading Thoreau (I know, I lead an unbelievably exciting life), I put the first one away effortlessly. I can vividly picture this brew being consumed en masse by summertime revelers, from youths hiding in the woods while hoping to fondle genitalia for the first time to middle-aged karaokers crooning Don Henley. It’s truly a refreshing ale, going down with ease and never threatening to make the gut feel too full.

As far as the actual flavor is concerned, this seasonal is commendable. The ale tastes like a slightly breadier variation of most domestic light beers, but with some additional characteristics to interpret. I was surprised to come across a bit of a hoppy, almost pine-like quality that I normally associate with some IPAs. With that being said, these quickly subsided and a light citrus note came to the forefront – I want to say it was lemon, but I can’t be sure.

Overall, I was pleased with Brooklyn Summer Ale and I look forward to drinking (and sharing) the remainder of the twelver. Is it as good as the summer seasonal that Sam Adams puts out? Eh, I don’t think it’s quite on par. But that doesn’t mean that it’s bad by any standard. And again, remember that I’ve been indoctrinated by the Sam Adams folks.

So as I rate this, keep in mind that I’m trying to avoid exaggeration and grade inflation…

The verdict: B+