THE LIGHTEST & BEST NON-BELGIAN BELGIAN OF 2007

My pal CS did a great turn for mankind (and me) a little over a week ago by inviting me to share in a big bottle of BROOKLYN BREWERY’s LOCAL 1 ale, one that his sister had actually gone way out of her way to procure for him. This beer has been turning heads and pumping up the critical heat the past couple months, and little wonder – it’s outstanding. BROOKLYN BREWING have a fairly great critical rep anyway vis-à-vis their celebrity brewmaster Garrett Oliver and a series of limited-edition beers; their location in the US’ largest metropolis doesn’t hurt either. I am not sure how limited this truly is, but I in case it’s going away soon, you must do everything you can to secure a bottle at once. This strong golden ale is called a “Saison” over at the Beer Advocate site - you can call it whatever ya want. LOCAL 1 has a delicious lightness about it – very estery and yeasty, with a hint of malt complexity that speaks of simple citrus flavors like lemons and grapefruit, as well as a little more sour tastes like pineapple. The carbonation is nearly perfect, too – right about where you want it: bubbly, but not overwhelmingly so. Some speak to the “lacing on the glass” as being something to behold, but you know what a load of poppycock we think that whole trip is. When me and my beer dork pals finished our glasses we all collectively breathed a high rating for this special beer, one that I’ve only improved to 9/10 with reflection (and a run of mediocre beers of late – more on those later this week). Get it whilst you can!