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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Brooklyn Brewmaster's Reserve ~ Sorachi Ace

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Most Brooklyn beers are made with a blend of hop varietals. As a chef does with spices, we look to get the best qualities of each hop and create a harmony of flavors and aromas. However, a few years ago, we ran into a hop unique enough to deserve its own moment in the sun. A large Japanese brewery first developed the hop variety "Sorachi Ace" in 1988. A cross between the British "Brewer's Gold" and the Czech "Saaz" varieties, it exhibited a quality that was unexpected - it smelled really lemony.

The unique flavor of Sorachi Ace was bypassed by the big brewers, but we think it's pretty cool. Brooklyn Sorachi Ace is a classic saison, a cracklingly dry, hoppy unfiltered golden farmhouse ale, but made entirely with now-rare Sorachi Ace hops grown by a single farm in Oregon. We ferment it with our special Belgian ale strain, and then add more Sorachi Ace hops post-fermentation. After the dry-hopping, the beer emerges with a bright spicy lemon zest aroma backed by a wonderfully clean malt flavor. It tastes like sunshine in a glass, and that suits us just fine, especially with seafood dishes. Time to get your summer on, people.

Malt: German two-row Pilsner Malt

Hops: Oregon-grown Sorachi Ace

Yeast: Our special Belgian strain

O.G.: 14° Plato

ABV: 6.5%

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