Brooklyn Lager - Hey, I'm drinking here!

As day's go, today has been a pretty good one.
I had the day off.
I caught up with family that I haven't seen in the last six months.
I finally get to drink that American beer that's been sitting in my fridge for longer than I remember...

No I'm not ageing beers like wine here and hoping that when I do pop the top they'll be much crisper than when they were first bottled, lets call it more of a 'unconditional beer'.
I bought this bottle of Brooklyn Lager a while ago for the day when my solicitor called me to tell me the good news that my house sale had now reached the unconditional point where if the buyer pulled out, I'd get to keep the deposit. And if that happens, that money pays for quite a lot of house bills and services acquired along the way - so even if the house sale falls through for whatever reason, I still come out as a winner.

Now this was supposed to happen...eh...a few weeks ago now. And of course with the plans of mice and men and beer appreciation and what not, everything changed the day before I was going to drink it to celebrate. 'The buyer hasn't gotten their finance organised, can we push back the unconditional date to a few more weeks....?'
I could have said no but then I would have lost the buyer and since they seem to be the only one keen to own my former place of residence...well what could I do? So the cut off date was supposed to be tomorrow but happily the good news arrived today. Glorious, now where's my bottle opener? (I have also already lined up a great looking bottle of red for settlement date..)

HOW MUCH DID IT SET YOU BACK?: $5 a bottle. Not cheap but that's why I've been saving it for a special beer celebration occasion.

SO WHAT DO I KNOW OF AMERICAN BEERS? Stuff all actually. I have tried Budweiser but since I barely remember it, it can't have been that amazing. Same with the $10 six pack of something American that I tried donkey's ago...it must have been a knockout considering I can't even remember what it was. Hopefully this one changes all that.

HAVE I BEEN TO NEW YORK? No I haven't. I did go to Vegas once and Chicago. What a great trip!

THE LABEL TELLS THE STORY:

Hmm that sounds alright!

INITIAL THOUGHTS: It's got an amazing gold colour, it looks glorious. There's a bitterness on the tip of the tongue but it's quite enjoyable. Great finish and definitely not overbearing. Very slight notes of caramel in there. Not sure about the fruit side but hey, I'm still learning. As it warms up it still retains many of the flavors, just slightly diminishing the bitterness at the end. I really should have bought more than one, it's great!

WHAT TO EAT WITH IT: They weren't kidding when they suggest it with food as I happily sipped away on it while creating spaghetti bolognaise - a fine pairing. I could really see this going well it some kind of gourmet burger or steak sandwich.

WHAT'S IT IDEAL FOR?: Capping off a great day with a great beer. Appreciating an American original. Having something tasty to sample while cooking practically anything (probably not super sweet chocolatey desserts though). Selling a house.

OVERALL: The only two downsides I faced here was 1) I only bought one and 2) the price. Best thing I've had in 2017 so far and we're almost halfway through. Lovely start, lovely middle, great end and a longing to open up another one straight after. For me that's the signs of a pretty bang on beer right there..

4.75 Brooklyn Brawlers out of 5 wrestling matches.