Every two months Brewmaster Garrett Oliver and company turn out a new and inventive beer. We call these draft-only releases our Brewmaster’s Reserve. The latest batch goes by the name of Sorachi Ace. Here’s what Garrett has to say about it: Most Brooklyn beers are made with a blend of hop varietals. As a chef does with spices, we look to get the best qualities of each hop and create a harmony of flavors and aromas. However, a few years ago, we ran into a hop unique enough to deserve its own moment in the sun.
A large Japanese brewery first developed the hop variety “Sorachi Ace” in 1988. A cross between the British “Brewer’s Gold” and the Czech “Saaz” varieties, it exhibited a quality that was unexpected – it smelled really lemony. The unique flavor of Sorachi Ace was bypassed by the big brewers, but we think it’s pretty cool. Brooklyn Sorachi Ace is a classic saison, a cracklingly dry, hoppy unfiltered golden farmhouse ale, but made entirely with now-rare Sorachi Ace hops grown by a single farm in Oregon. We ferment it with our special Belgian ale strain, and then add more Sorachi Ace hops post-fermentation. After the dry-hopping, the beer emerges with a bright spicy lemon zest aroma backed by a wonderfully clean malt flavor. It tastes like sunshine in a glass, and that suits us just fine, especially with seafood dishes. Time to get your summer on, people.”
