Brooklyn Brewery continues to deliver, this time with their East India Pale Ale. This beer caught my eye the first time because of the retro-looking label. The East India Pale Ale comes in at 6.8% ABV, reasonable for an IPA and edges towards the higher end of the sessionable range.

Once again, I poured this Brooklyn beer into my clean Arrogant Bastard [plug! x2] pint glass. The beer poured a nice and clear golden-amber color. This brew had a small, quickly dissipating head on it and left a mild lacing on the side of my glass. The smell is exactly what I have come to learn and expect from a good traditional-style IPA. The hoppiness from the floral hops and overall grassy aroma translates well from the beer and is by far one of  the best traditional IPAs I have smelt in a long time.

The mouthful has little carbonation and is medium-bodied. It’s very drinkable, however, with a bittery, hop taste to it. Personally, I was anticipating a lesser quality beer but was pleasantly surprised with this beer. It had the right amount of carbonation to keep it fresh and alive and is coupled with a sharp, bitter and semi-dry aftertaste to it that is dead on with an IPA.

Drinking this beer reminds me of the 1800’s and how great those sailors from England had it. If they had an abundant supply of IPAs back then, I would have been in heaven. This beer is what I think of when I hear the words “India Pale Ale.”  It is one of my new favorites and will always have a place in my beer fridge. Thank you Brooklyn for surprising me with such a solid, traditional English India Pale Ale.

Overall: 9.25/10