Name: Local 1

Brewer: Brooklyn Brewery

Style: Belgian Blonde Ale/Saison

Vintage: 2007

Cellared On: September 28th, 2007

Original Tasting: November 8th, 2007

Today I finally get to talk about the first Belgian-style offering from Brooklyn Brewery, their Local 1 Belgian Blonde Ale. It always makes me happy to be able to write about a brewery that’s at least somewhat local to me, and I’ve been looking forward to reviewing a Brooklyn offering for some time now. It makes me feel like I’m rooting for the home team!

Local 1 pours a very pale hazy orange, it has a slight cloudiness to it. The carbonation of the beer is about what I’d call average - not too bubbly, but not anywhere near flat either. A nice off-white head formed as I poured. Some lacing remained after I finished drinking, but not much.

There’s a beautiful fruity smell to this brew. It’s like walking through an orchard. I’m getting whiffs of pear and vanilla, with some suggestions of spice in the air. Very nice!

The taste began with a host of somewhat subtle Belgian fruity esters. The tastes reminded me of pear, white peaches, and maraschino cherries. The vanilla is here too, but it’s not an oakey vanilla kind of thing. It’s more like white birthday cake vanilla. There’s also a bright background rock-candy-like sweetness here also. Local 1 is very light in body, and a little crisper then I thought it would be.

The spiciness of this beer comes on strong as it starts to finish. No spices were used to brew this beer (which is almost unbelievable), so I know this is all from the Belgain yeast with maybe a touch of hoppy bitterness contributing. The spice remained on my tongue long after the drink was done.

All in all, Local 1 is a very tasty, refreshing beer to enjoy. I’m looking forward to having more! Maybe I’ll even pick up a case…

Six Month Tasting: March 22nd, 2008

Not too much has changed here. Color, smell, body, and flavor profile are almost indentical from my first review (I don’t review my previous notes before I do these tastings - and it was really cool to see my initial impressions hadn’t changed too much). If anything, I would say the fruityness of this brew was slightly diminished, and it wasn’t quite as brightly sweet as  it was before.

No signs yet of the increased creaminess Mr.Oliver was mentioning below…

Cellar Outlook: Local 1 should hold up pretty well for at least a few years. Brooklyn brewmaster (and author) Garrett Oliver chimed with his thoughts about Local 1 on a recent post in BeerAdvocate’s cellaring and aging forum. He expects the beer to develop more creaminess then it currently has, and wouldn’t be surprised if this beer continues to evolve for three years or more. I wouldn’t be surprised either.

Six Month Cellar Outlook: Fruity flavors will probably continue to drop, and I’m expecting the sweetness to dry right up. Here’s hoping for some of that creaminess to develop!

Next Tasting: Late March 2008

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com

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