Brewery: Brooklyn brewing
Country: USA
Size: 35.5cl
ABV: 4.5%
Price: 21kr
Systembolaget: 89054
Life is strange sometimes. It takes us in directions we would never expect, for better or worse. For instance, when I started working at a grimy little rock pub back in 2003 I didn’t expect that it would turn into a career. I would have never thought that 15 years later I would be running my own beer club and I would hold the title of beer sommelier. Steve Hindy, the founder of Brooklyn Brewing, also had his life take an unexpected turn. He went from working for the press and doing tours of the war-torn Middle East to starting up a brewery with his neighbour that turned into a multi million dollar business. Brooklyn brewing turned into a massive success story, even branching out to set up the Nya Carnegie Brewery in Stockholm in collaboration with Carlsberg. Brooklyn have a good reputation and I liked the sound of the Naranjito so I thought it would be good to give it a try.
It was very crisp and clear light gold in colour with a fair amount of carbonation and a thin white head. The body was medium to light. For a beer that is called “little orange” in Spanish, I expected a nice citrus smell and it was right there. Orange, lemon, grass, mild grapefruit and a good hop hit were all present in the aroma. The orange peel came through strong in taste, with the hops taking quite a big backseat. I expected a bigger hop slap to the face after the aroma, but it was still certainly there. The beer was surprisingly smooth and refreshing, not drying. It felt balanced with a lovely bitterness to malt ratio.
If you’re expecting it to be full-blown APA hop monster you might be disappointed, but as a summer beer this went down easily. I’m not a big APA drinker but this was good. It might due to the slightly muted hops and the fruitness that worked nicely together. It’s only 4.5% so your head wont explode if you drink a few in a beer garden. It’s definitely worth another look. Who knows, maybe I’ll be drinking it still in another 15 years. I guess I will just have to see where life takes me.