1/2 Ale - Session Saison
Brooklyn Brewery

1/2 Ale - Session Saison1/2 Ale - Session Saison
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Brooklyn Brewery
 
New York, United States
Style:
Saison
Ranked #662
ABV:
3.4%
Score:
81
Ranked #25,617
Avg:
3.56 | pDev: 13.2%
Reviews:
49
Ratings:
187
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 16, 2023
Added:
Mar 14, 2014
Wants:
  10
Gots:
  53
Brooklyn Brewery 1/2 Ale hearks back to traditional farmhouse ales, which used to quench the thirst of farmhands and other laborers on hot sunny days. These saisons were complex yet clean, low in alcohol and high in refreshment.

Brooklyn Half Ale is an unfiltered, clean, and balanced saison, with a hazy, pale yellow pour. It packs a symphony of citrusy hops over a gentle malt base that clocks in at a pleasantly restrained 3.4% ABV.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BEERchitect:
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

3.41/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Don't you ever wish that you could simply enjoy a glass of saison and keep the dry fruity, peppery and effervescence of the Belgian ilk, but in a modest content of alcohol? Na, me neither, but those folks do exist and for them, Brooklyn's session ale does just that.

Bouncing in the glass, the beer's playful carbonation gives the light golden ale a lively appearance, similar to champagne. As its dry grain sweetness lunges onto the tongue, a perfume of apple, dried orange, lemon and white grape are all given a tingle of white pepper and grassy hops.

With the grain, wafer and bread sweetness quickly dissolving, the middle palate becomes a stage for fruit and spice. Its dry citrus, orchard and vinous tang resonates with the peppercorn, faint cumin and herbal balance, just ahead of a grassy, spicy bitterness that sharpens the taste before finish.

Seriously light and spritefully prickling against the tongue, the strong carbonic bite of the beer ensures a delightful dry finish. Its bubbles highlight the beer's mineral, spice and grain character to reveal flavors that remiss of tonic water.
May 06, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle. Kind of light bodied, lemony, some pepper and coriander, Hazy golden body, small creamy white head, minor spicy and savory notes on the finish
Feb 16, 2023
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.27/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
355 ml bottle, from SPAR Hana. ABV is 3.4%. Pale straw colour, hazy. Low white head. Strong aroma of grassy hops, dill, lemongrass and lemon peel. Light bodied as expected. Fairly dry and crisp flavour, with the same elements as in the aroma. Moderate hops in the finish, bitter aftertaste.
Apr 20, 2021
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

3.93/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottled
Pours a hazy cloudy lemon yellow coloured body with splatterings of white head
Spritely citrus & peach aroma with yeast notes
There’s that fruit in the flavour
and it’s fuller than the abv
This would slate any summer thirst
Mar 10, 2018
Photo of Quencher
Reviewed by Quencher from Sweden

2.92/5  rDev -18%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Ok looking bottle (very American) , pours Ok, very sedimenty almost weis beer looking. Citrus /fruity smell.. had to read the ingrdients to get orange..( I got mango out of it) . definitly to be drunk cold. Good thirst quencher but it left a short bitter taste once it fell of the tounge.
Jan 22, 2017
Photo of q33jeff
Reviewed by q33jeff from New Jersey

3.29/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
**
10/12/14
On tap at blend.
Lemony aroma and taste, but not complete lemon.
Slight hops in the taste, but not an IPA. No strong esters, yeasts, so not really a saison.
Feel is light and crisp; unlike most saison.

Not sure what this is, but it is not bad.
Nice football beer.

**
Dec 14, 2016
Photo of Malt_Man
Reviewed by Malt_Man from England

3.82/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Served cold from 355ml bottle.

L) Pale yellow, cloudy, a few small bubbles, thin film.

S) Light fruit cocktail, maybe pineapple and orange. No funky like a typical saison.

T) Very light, pineapple sweetness, grapefruit sweetness / bitterness. Not really much like a true Belgian saison. A bit of yeasty bitterness at the end. Pop.

F) Very light and refreshing, easy drinking, just a touch of bitterness to round it. Good.

O) Is this what a saison tastes like in the USA? If so, give me Belgian every time. Having said that I could neck a few of these cold on a hot day and enjoy them. A summer beer drunk in October.
Oct 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.18 by Urk1127 from New Jersey

Aug 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.52 by Bruno74200 from France

Aug 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.25 by jroof1 from Massachusetts

Jul 16, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by JohnnyForeign from New Jersey

Jul 15, 2016
Photo of woomThomas
Reviewed by woomThomas from Sweden

2.12/5  rDev -40.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
The beer is not clear and light yellow in color. The foam is white and will properly. The foam is large to medium bubbles. The foam makes no direct traces in the glass. The aroma is fruity with some hops and malt. Here is some orange peel, lemon, apricot some papaya. Some spices and a little pine. The flavor is quite intense in the early fruits. There are lots of citrus, orange, then comes the little papaya and apricot. Is a little thin malt and some hops flavor. But pretty much carbonic acid. The taste is very fruity and intense in the beginning but decreases quite fast. The flavor seems a bit "artificial" and feels more like being appointed. Light to medium body. High Carbonic. Crispy and dry small. The flavors and feels artificial added.
Jun 29, 2016
Photo of vinicole
Reviewed by vinicole from England

3.34/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Cloudy straw colour. Gently rising bubbles.
Mild citrus hop smell. Malt present.
Initial astringency mellows later.. Rather sour. Spicy yeast. Somewhat medicinal.
Medium carbonation.
Jun 07, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by mthomp081 from Delaware

Mar 13, 2016
Photo of ManapuaMan
Reviewed by ManapuaMan from Massachusetts

3.52/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Is that pickle juice? Tastes like pickle juice. There's a little sweet and tart layer on top of the light peppery spice of the saison. Probably the way I interpret the spice/hop/orange peel flavor combo. Cereal on the backend. Odd beer.
Mar 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.65 by chalkda01 from New York

Feb 07, 2016
Photo of PhillyB
Reviewed by PhillyB from New York

2.74/5  rDev -23%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
I found this beer truly unexceptional.

Look: Looks like a hazy pilsner. Very light yellow with a bubbly head.

Smell: Struggled to get much if anything from it. Soft hay, maybe some cereal grain.

Taste: Initial swig is of a decent ale but disappears after a second or two. It's so brief I had difficulty naming any distinct flavours. Leaves a finish of stale cereal.

Feel: Barely carbonated soda water.

Overall: A sessionable ale that I personally couldn't finish one of. The results were the same for the rest of my household, specifically "I'd rather session a Pabst."
Jan 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by rfgetz from New Jersey

Jan 17, 2016
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.61/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Here comes the Bottle Backlog, again! I had been CANcentrating on The CANQuest (tm) to winnow that down, but I hear the call of the bottles, crying to me from the depths of Chez Woody & I feel impassioned to put them out of their misery. 1/2?!? Just 1/2?!? I am reminded of being a Fleet Returnee to Storekeeper (SK) Class "A" school in Meridian, MS in late-1985/early-1986 and marching back from class one evening. Most of our classmates were straight outta Boot, yo, & shoulda done better, but on this occasion, they were marching like Frankenstein! My buddy, "Big Guy" Bigham & I were bringing up the rear when I decided to call out, "Hey, Big Guy, how fast are we marching?" "I dunno, Wood. How fast?" "Half!" "Half?" "Yeah, half fast!" "ANNNND HALT! Bigham, Chandler, front of the line! Show us how it's done!" Not only that, but we got some nice Extra Military Training (EMT) that night to reinforce the idea. It was worth it!

From the bottle: "We love all kinds of farmhouse ales. But the original farmhouse ales weren't big beers - they were beers you could drink while working in the hot sun all day. Our 1/2 Ale reaches back to that tradition - it's a dry, hoppy, citrusy, and delicious saison[,] all at 3.4% Alc, by Vol. In fact, you CAN hav everything."

I Pop!ped the cap and let fly with a heavy-handed pour since I am not into crystal Saisons & I wanted to rouse the lees. This brought forth three fingers of puffy, rocky, Eggshell White-colored head with decent retention. I watched in rapt fascination as it slowly fell, leaving great lacing in its wake. Color wa a cloudy Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7). Nose held a light funk underlain with a lemony citrusiness. Mouthfeel was kind of thin, not watery, per se, but very light. The taste was slightly tart & funky with a lemony-biscuity flavor on the tongue. Finish was dry, still lightly funky, but not challenging. I could certainly see this on a hot summer's day. Now, if that is their intent for this beer, why not put it in a CAN?
Jan 14, 2016
 
Rated: 3.47 by sfsean28 from New Jersey

Jan 13, 2016
1/2 Ale - Session Saison from Brooklyn Brewery
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 187 ratings