Brooklyn Brewery
Pennant Ale 55′
5%
New York, USA

I’ve already expressed my love for Brooklyn Brewery, it is one of the reasons I got really into ale and unique beers. So when I spotted this fantastic looking ale in my local beer shop I had to purchase a couple of bottles.

I’ve made my feelings towards the original Brooklyn known, right here in fact. But, I wasn’t so keen on this Pennant Ale 55′ in comparison. It was the eye catching, rad looking bottle and the lure of Brooklyn got me. However, the taste didn’t quite hit me as much as I was hoping for. The Pennant Ale ’55 is quite ‘fizzy’ and reminded me slightly of a Belgium beer like Duvel. It’s rich in colour and has an incredibly strong taste despite it being ‘just’ 5%.

Ultimately I was drawn in because of the wonderful branding and design on the bottle. On to my second bottle I did decide that as beers go it was quite easy to drink despite not completely falling in love with it. The tasting notes on the bottle say, “Pennant Ale is brewed from Scottish Maris Otter malt, which is justly prized for its toasty, biscuity flavour and the round smoothness it imparts. Our house ale yeast brings out an appetizing fruitiness and ferments to a dry finish.” Now, I certainly wouldn’t describe it biscuity or toasty but it does have a big bold strong flavour and remarkable branding.

Not bowled over by this particular Brooklyn it’s still definitely worth a try.

BITTER: 4
SWEET: 2
DESIGN: 5
OVERALL: 3