Local 2

Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn, NY

Available: CT, DE, GA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA, DC

This Belgian-inspired dark ale, brewed with Belgian dark sugar and raw wildflower honey, is the second in Brooklyn’s “Local” series.

ABV: 9.0
ABW: 7.2
Color: deep brown
Bitterness: n/a
Original gravity: n/a

Deep, dark, mysterious color, and silky in texture. Reminiscent of the “Grand Crus” of the Trappist beers (i.e., Rochefort). Notes of molasses, fig cake, burnt prune, chocolate covered raisin and dark rock candy. Yet the sweetness is not cloying — it’s not heavy or burdensome (the influence of honey?) and there’s a good, dry, tannic “grip” on the finish with a hint of unsweetened licorice stick. Very nice. Best at cellar temperature.
- John Hansell

Brooklyn’s follow-up to their acclaimed Local 1 could hardly be a more different beer. (Okay, it could have been a pale lager, but let’s be reasonable here.) Medium brown of hue, it offers a chocolaty nose with notes of spicy tangerine and other soft fruits muddled in brandy. The body is surprisingly light at first sip, but quickly makes its malty presence felt with flavors of chocolate spice cake character set against a softly citrusy backdrop, dried to moderate sweetness by nutty hop notes and ending in an off-dry and warming finish. Brooklyn suggested pairing lobster with Local 1, but for this perhaps better an osso buco.
- Stephen Beaumont

John Hansell
John Hansell is an equal-opportunity drinker. He writes about beer, wine and spirits. He is the creator, publisher & editor of Malt Advocate, a magazine for the whisky enthusiast.

Stephen Beaumont
Stephen Beaumont boarded his first plane at the age of 15 and hasn’t looked back since, obsessing about travel to the point that he gets nervous if he doesn’t have a ticket or two stacked on the corner of his desk. When he’s not running around in search of new taste experiences, he makes his home in Toronto, where a new cultural experience is only as far away as the next neighborhood.

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