Gold Standard is available May-July 2012, draft only.

Brooklyn Gold Standard Export Kellerbier is here to channel those days when the land was green with beer gardens, and no one had yet uttered the P-word*. The title “Export” connotes a beer more robust than pilsner, while the word “Kellerbier” tells us that it’s unfiltered. Our malt is 100% floor-malted Bohemian barley, giving the beer a rich bready backbone. And Brooklyn Gold Standard is going to need a solid backbone to hold up all those snappy German Hallertau Perle, Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Czech Saaz hops that are leaping out of the glass. A long, cold lager fermentation makes it rich, but smooth. The big floral hop aroma is followed by refreshingly bold bitterness and beautiful rounded malt flavors.

[*Prohibition. Utter it not, allow it never.]

Food Pairings: Spicy foods, fresh cheeses, burgers, oysters
Malts: Bohemian Hanka, 100% Floormalted, Czech Republic
Hops: Hallertau Perle and Hallertau Mittelfrueh (Germany), Saaz (Czech Republic)
Yeast: A proprietary lager strain, lent to us by our awesome pals at New Glarus Brewing of Wisconsin
O.G.: 14.6° Plato
IBUs: 44.5
ABV: 6.2%
Format: 15.5 gal kegs; 5.2 gal kegs
Availabilty: April-July
Serving Suggestions: Serve at 40 – 45° in a tall glass with at least “two fingers” of foam

Mary’s Maple Porter is available February-April 2012, draft only.

It’s true….when he was a kid, Garret used to actually believe that the stuff he was putting on his pancakes was maple syrup. Well, everybody called it maple syrup. Later, he discovered the truth – that stuff he was eating was just sugar syrup with “maple flavoring”, various gums, and caramel coloring. Then he discovered actual maple syrup, the stuff from trees, and became enlightened. Hey, everyone evolves.

Brooklyn Brewery has evolved a lot lately too. About a year ago, a brewer named Mary Wiles joined our brewery team after spending 30 years brewing and doing quality control for a Very, Very Big Brewer. Mary evolved into a craft beer brewer, and now she’s doing our quality control, having fun while helping us make sure that Brooklyn beers are tasting great and ready to make you happy. But Mary has a bright thing lurking in her past, present and future – Mary has maple trees. A lot of maple trees. Actually, a ridiculous number of maple trees, acres of them, right northwest of us in upstate New York. And her family farm makes 100% real New York State maple syrup.

Real maple syrup tastes great on pancakes and waffles, but it’s awfully good in beer too. Porter is a classic British ale style that traveled to the United States, sustained George Washington during the Revolution, and later built London’s great breweries. Mary’s Maple Porter is a rich, dark ale featuring a large portion (50 gallons!) of her maple syrup in the kettle. After fermentation by our house ale yeast, the syrup is no longer sweet (yeast likes to eat maple syrup too), but the maple flavor shows through in a complex interplay with caramel, chocolate, and coffee flavors from our blend of roasted malts. An earthy hop note rounds it all out. It’s really tasty, especially with bacon.