Congratulations to those from the Brewing industry who were nominated for a James Beard Award, even though the category is for “Outstanding Wine and Spirit Professional.” Although beer is not explicitly included in the category, that fact that four brewers were nominated and one was a semifinalist says a lot about the growth of the craft beer industry in the states. The nominees from the brewing world include:
- Larry Bell of Bell’s Brewery
- Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
- Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company
- Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery
All four of these people have made great contributions to the brewing industry and have done a lot to change how chefs view beer, especially how it pairs with food. They were all semifinalists, and Garrett Oliver made it a round farther and was a finalist. Of course the winner was from the wine side of the beverage industry, but just the nominations speak volumes about the growth and importance of craft beer.
Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, New York
The place was also packed! I mean jam packed, but with three or four people just pouring beer and taking tokens, it is amazing how much faster the whole process is. True, marking cards doesn’t take a long time, but when the guy in front of you wants to pay for his beers, one beer from each of his two buddies, and pick up a growler that can definitely hold up the line and bit. Even with the huge line like the picture in the left, it never took more than maybe ten or fifteen minutes to get a beer, and if you are a smart shopper, you are getting two at once since they were only 12 ouncers. Overall the place had some great character to it. All the tables are basically set up community style, forcing you to sit next to a bunch of people you don’t necessarily know, and with the worlds best social lubricant (I’m talking about beer here) flowing about, you meet some awesome people you might just stare at otherwise. I loved the place, and would certainly be a regular if I lived near by. Anyway, back to the meat and potatoes of the post: the Brooklyn Blast Pale Ale!
The Blast was my favorite beer I had while I was there, and I had quite the sample of what they had to offer. They call it a pale ale, though I thought it was a little closer to an Imperial IPA. Weighing in at about 8.5%, it had quite the kick to it, but also was fairly light and sessionable. The crystal clear faded amber brew had almost no head, but left great webbed lacings down the glass, which was sort of impressive as it was just a plastic cup! The smell was great, like trolloping through a pine forest with a basket of fresh grapefruit, orange, and pineapple. The flavor profile followed the nose, with big pineapple and orange up front which transitioned into a piney bitter grapefruit finish. The lingering flavor of citrus rind preps the palate for more of the fruity start. Truly a great/dangerous beverage, and something that will quickly put you on your ass, hence me trying a number of their different beers.
The Brooklyn Brewery in Brooklyn, NY
…now there’s a 
