Brooklyn Brown Ale

Review Date 9/12/2000 Last Updated 3/14/2025 By John Staradumsky

  Style: American Brown   Brewery:Brooklyn   Country: USA   State: New York   $ Per OZ: $.16 (B)   ABV: 5.6%

Whenever I head off to the beer store, the first thing I always look for is a new beer, something I haven't tried before. That's a big part of the fun of being a beer lover, but there's more to it than that. I also look back over beers I've enjoyed before in the past. Beers can be like old friends in that regard, if they haven't been around for a while you start to miss them. Such is the case for me with lots of old favorites, but one old friend that has a special place in my palate is Brooklyn Brown, one of the first tier of microbrews I ever enjoyed. It's unique character impressed me from the first sip, and I can actually still recall that taste today.

This is an American Brown to be sure, a recent arrival on the beer scene, dating back perhaps 15 years or so. English brown ales are traditionally milder and sweeter than their upstart American counterparts like Brooklyn Brown or Pete's Wicked Ale. American browns will usually be darker in color, richer in body, and hoppier in the finish, both aromatically and in bitterness. Styles may have substyles to them, after all.

Brooklyn Brown is dark brown in color with a huge head formation and a sweet molasses nose. The palate is thick, rich, subtly coffeeish, and very chocolaty with more notes of molasses and a piny Cascade (The beer is dry hopped with them, meaning it is aged upon hops to impart aromatic qualities) hop finish that gives you a good bitter bite to boot. Combined with the heavy chocolate notes the bitterness will have you thinking bittersweet chocolate. This is how I remember the beer from it's early days, and I'm glad to see the hops return as in the past few years they seemed to be less pronounced.

I like this beer on it's own, but it could be served very effectively as a dessert beer, especially with chocolate. Do yourself a favor, and make a friend of this beer. You'll be glad you did.

Update August 22, 2012: Recently, I picked up a six-pack of Brooklyn Brown at Uncle Jack's here in Canton. The lone 6-pack, last in the store, was sitting on the shelf a bit lonesome looking, and I decided to be a friend to it and take it home. Of course, the fact that the bottles were glistening in all their brown glory didn't hurt either. Best before date on the bottle is December 2012.

When I got home, I was rewarded with some amazingly fresh beer, some of the best Brooklyn Brown I've enjoyed in a long time. Soft cookie malt nose, sweet chocolate chip maltiness, a hint of molasses, subtle coffee, piny, citrusy cascade hop aroma and herbal flavor progressing to the finish, and a perfect balancing bitterness to finish the whole thing off.

Absolutely an amazing beer, and it takes me back 20 years in my beer drinking career to the moment when I was wowed by my first Brooklyn Brown. That one, like this, was contract brewed in Utica, New York (Saranac).   A steal at $7.99 a six-pack, and in my honest opinion one of the best beers on the planet.

Update June 15, 2020: Not as Cascadey hoppy as I recall Brooklyn Brown in the late 80s, early 90s? This beer was an epiphany then, I can, believe it or not, still recall the first glass I ever enjoyed in my living room in West Warwick, Rhode Island. I can see the glass and bottle on my end table. I can recall those piney hops popping off the soft cookie malts. Tonight, there are hops, though not as vibrant. but the malts are more pronounced, chocolate chip cookies, molasses, toasted nuts, and fudge brownies. Wow! This beer blew me away 30 some years ago, and here it is again, blowing me away once more. A bargain at the $9.49 I paid for it at Target.

Brooklyn says on their website:

Our Brown Ale is an OG, harnessing roasted malts and American hops to for a hearty bass-heavy beer that’s still pleasantly refreshing.

Update March 14th 2025: A crowler of draft Brooklyn Brown from Woodstock Beer Market! I lost my receipt so do not recall what I paid, but it was worth the price for sure. It runs $11.49 a sic-pack in cans these days at Total Wine. I was not aware but this is now a November through February seasonal from Brooklyn. Brooklyn says:

Back by popular demand, Brooklyn Brown is a go-to for those who like a little soulful spin to their beer. Old school roasted malts and new school American hops keep it hearty but not heavy, and always party-ready. There’s a reason it’s a cult-classic.

My draft Brooklyn Brown Brooklyn Brown Ale pours to a dark brownish color with a thick rocky head and a nose of fresh baked chocolate cookies. Taking a sip, the beer offers up more of that plus fudge brownies complete with toasted nuts. It finishes with a kiss of grassy bitter hops and a balancing satisfying bitterness.

Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??