My first craft beer related vacation activity took place yesterday in New York City.
It consisted of a cruise on a schooner, the Clipper City, along the East River and Manhattan harbor where we were served six different beers.
This welcome twist to the touristy ferry rides around the city and to the Statue of Liberty has an added perk which we discovered pretty early after leaving port, namely that the beers prevent you from getting too sad if poor climate ruins the views.
Manhattan by Sail does several thematic tours around the New York harbor such as a Jazz Sail, a Lobster and Beer Lovers Sail, or a Burlesque Sail. The Craft Beer Cruise takes place Saturday and Sundays at midday and features a different brewery on every occasion. In our particular case, we had the chance to try six different beers from the nearby Brooklyn Brewery.
The first one was the Brooklyn Weisse, a wheat beer in the style of the German Weizen beers, tasty, simple and very easy to drink, perfect for the first beer of the day.
The second one was the Brooklyn Pilsner, made with an old recipe that used to belong to the grandfather of the Brewery's first brewmaster, himself a brewer. It is a bit hazier and denser than normal pilsners but also much more flavorful.
The third beer was the Brooklyn Pennant Ale, an English style pale ale tribute to the old Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team and, like the Dodgers, destined to be overshadowed by its peers. It strikes a good balance between malty sweet and bitter hopiness, but I am personally unimpressed with its taste.
The Brooklyn Brown Ale, our fourth offering, though, was a very nice discovery. It is nutty, toasty and delicious like a good brown ale should, but lacks the final abrupt bitterness many beers in this style have, making it go down seamlessly.
My favorite beer (and judging by the line to get seconds, that of most of the people on the boat), however, was the Brooklyn Silver Anniversary Lager. This beer is an intensified version of the original recipe of the Brooklyn Lager, resembling a doppelbock and created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Brewery. The only thing it keeps of the Brooklyn Lager is the name (although I would have personally lost that as well), something which is already a vast improvement. It is rich, creammy and balanced and with an impressive amount of foam and, best of all, it has 9%ABV. Saying it is eons better than the Lager is an understatement.
The decision on which was my favorite beer of the cruise was not easy though. The Silver Anniversary met its match with the last beer, the Brooklyn Local 1, a "Belgian inspired strong golden ale" with a big smelly head and a delicious sweet and citrusy-orangy character to it. Although it is true it is strong at 9%ABV, I cannot help but feel it has a certain similarity to the Belgian Witbiers due to its pale yellow color, the lack of bitterness and the citrusy-orangy taste to it.
In all fairness, the eclectic little Local 1 would have won had I not been so flabergasted by how the Brooklyn Brewery has been able to improve its Lager for its Silver Anniversary. Now all I have to do is figure out why do they not do this for every batch they make of it instead of once every twenty-five years.
Leaving that question and the iffy weather aside, I can honestly say the tasting cruise was a very pleasurable and fun experience, as well as an original way to enjoy the views of New York City while you learn about beer.
I would recommend to get a Groupon deal like we did if you are going to try it though because the price (105$) can be a little steep otherwise.
Websites:
- Manhattan by Sail: http://www.manhattanbysail.com/?desktop=1
- Brooklyn Brewery: http://brooklynbrewery.com/
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