Brooklyn Brewery Winter IPA

A single hop blend appropriate for any style?

 

Of course! Any style! As long as it's:

 

I am a fan of Brooklyn Winter IPA. I discussed it in a side-by-side tasting with Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale this past weekend in the NBW thread:

It’s a Celebration!



Today’s a special day since it includes a long-time favorite of Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA but also a brand spankin’ new beer Brooklyn Winter IPA. Below is how Brooklyn details this beer on their website:

“FROSTY HOPS & WARM RYE

Cold weather calls for thick knit hats, swift sleds, and Brooklyn Winter IPA. This classic IPA layers Simcoe and Trident hops for notes of dark fruit, blood orange, and bright, frosty juniper and pine aromas. A touch of rye spice notes warm the finish to keep you cozy to the core. Stock up and enjoy the flurries while they last.

STYLE: RED IPA

ABV: 7.0%

AVAILABILITY

LIMITED

FORMAT

Draft, 12oz cans, and 12oz bottles

TASTING NOTES

Wintry and warming with notes of juniper, blackberry jam, rye spice and fresh snowfall”

https://brooklynbrewery.com/brooklyn-beers/seasonals/winter-ipa/

How will this new beer from Brooklyn compare to my old-time favorite of Celebration?

Well, let’s find out.

Beers served in Spiegelau IPA glasses:

Appearance

Brooklyn Winter IPA: Amber colored with a khaki colored head.

SN Celebration IPA: Amber colored (slightly darker in comparison) with a khaki colored head

Aroma

Brooklyn Winter IPA: There is notable hop aromas (citrus, fruity, a hint of pine) and also malt aromas including some caramel

SN Celebration IPA: The nose is a combination of malty (e.g., caramel) and hop aromas (citrus and some pine).

Taste:

Brooklyn Winter IPA: The flavor follows the nose with a pleasant balance of hop and malt flavors (detailed above). It has a medium bitterness.

SN Celebration IPA: The flavor is predominantly malts (e.g., caramel) but there is hop flavors there as well. It has a medium bitterness.

Mouthfeel


Brooklyn Winter IPA: Light - medium bodied with a dry-ish finish.

SN Celebration IPA: Medium bodied with a soft-ish mouthfeel which ends with an off-dry finish.

Overall

Brooklyn Winter IPA: This beer is very good. I really enjoyed the great balance of hop and malt flavors.

SN Celebration IPA: This beer is very good too. As I do every year, I enjoyed drinking this seasonal beer with the soft-ish mouthfeel being a plus for me.

These two beers are quite similar in nature. Hindsight being 20/20 it would have been fun to conduct a blind triangle taste test but there is enough difference in the qualities of these two beers I have little doubt that I would have selected the ‘odd’ beer from this taste test.

I had two beers so I offered to my wife a chance to take sips of each glass and select which one she would like to drink; she selected the Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA. There was no bad choice here IMO.

Cheers!

 

Your descriptors are pretty spot on. I agree, I enjoyed this beer, a little more than I expected.

 

That was my first impression , +/- .
My reviews ended up
Celebration : 4.19
Brooklyn : 4.20
Brooklyn had a distinct advantage in aroma , SN a slight advantage in taste. At first, the Brooklyn seemingly had a brief.....blank spot?....for lack of a better descriptor. As it warmed, I got a subtle juniper flavor (from the rye?) in that part [as mentioned by the brewery description], that wasn't as apparent when cold. I think it's always there, just that other flavors overwhelm it .

As you say, no bad choice. So far, the score is Celebration 18 (already downed) , Winter IPA 16.

 

Per the Brooklyn verbiage:

"This classic IPA layers Simcoe and Trident hops for notes of dark fruit, blood orange, and bright, frosty juniper and pine aromas. A touch of rye spice notes warm the finish to keep you cozy to the core."

So, the juniper flavor is from the hops (I would guess the Trident blend of hops). In homebrew with Rye Malt and in those beers I pick up spicy notes as also detailed above.

Cheers!