Brooklyn Blast Pale Ale - Brooklyn Brewery

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On cask at Blind Tiger, this was a top-performing double IPA. Not extreme hop flavour, but certainly ramped up from a regular IPA. Good fruitiness, orange and grapefruit. Very smooth bitterness. Hop aroma, light colour. Soft carbonation. I could drink a growler of this without problems.

Serving type: cask

05-04-2007 22:47:02 | More by northyorksammy

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.47/5  rDev +9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Well well well, I see we have reached the pinnacle of our Brooklyn release party down at Barleys tonight. After just finsihing off some more of the Abbey Single and having my dinner of pizza long gone, it was about time to get to the heart of the real resaon I made it down there this night. The decribtion on the bar placard decribing insane hops and rediculous IBU's with an 8+% abv had me curious to say the least. Comes at me in a pint glass, very dark amber, actually more of a hazelnut brown color with a two inch thick off white head that was dripping with lace and visibly sticky. I could not get over how dark this looked, really had a cloudy thick appearence to it and looked like it meant business to say the least.

So I go in for a whiff, just to try and see what I may be up against here in the next couple of minutes. Wow, big hop explosion in my nose, that sounds funny but it was how it felt. It was like oine sap dripping out of a tree, into a glass or orange juice, that was splashed against your face, intense was an understatement. It just smelled thick. Nice sweetness balancing it out as well as it warmed up and a notable presence of perhaps some burnt caramel? Something else in the back was thicking it up but I never could put my finger on it. Now for the taste, chewey, in a word very chewey, I thought there were whole hops in there it was that chewey. The feel was honestly a little thin to me at first, but as it went on, really started to gow on me and I really think that it was more of a slickness due to the large amounts of resin than a thinness that I was detecting. Naturally there was a huge hop presence in this, so no need to elaborate any more on that other that to say it made my mouth sticky it was so resinated, damn it was yummy. There was a little more to it though, and a caramel or sugary side was obvious as was almost a nuttiness. This seemed more to me like a rediculously dry hopped brown ale, and an absolutly superb one at that. Very robust and very pleased that I came down for this, took me a good long while to get through it that is for sure.

Overall superb and by far the best brew I had during the evening. Hopped to heaven and full of malted goodness. This actually was more than what I had thought it would be and I had very hight expectations going in for some called BLAST!. Needless to say if you are one of the few lucky establishments in the country that get a keg of this, try it, you must it is simply superb. But be careful, the alcohol could sneak up as it is in. But the blast is definatly worth head, damn fine job on this one from Brooklyn.

Serving type: on-tap

06-28-2007 01:15:45 | More by mikesgroove

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

11 ounce goblet - $5.00 at Taco Mac in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a hazed, dingy gold body with a half inch of whitish foam on top.

Smell: Predominately hop-centric nose with emboldened notes of pithy citrus peelings, evergreen sap and ground spices along with dehydrated flowers and meadow grasses. Underneath is a scent of basic, bready malted barley.

Taste: Opens with an ample bready malt backbone and even a fair degree of sweetness, though the malts are second to the main feature of hops rushing in with a big, resinous presence and tastes of citrus, spice, spruce tips, and dried herbs. Firmly bitter, but not harshly so. Stronger taste of white grapefruit on the back half. Dry, bitter finish with a lingering flavor of citrus pith.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-plus carbonation.

Drinkability: A fine, interesting brew with the blend of heavy-handed doses of American and English hops coming together nicely.

Serving type: on-tap

10-10-2010 19:25:04 | More by ChainGangGuy

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

About as delicious as they get, Brooklyn's Blast exhibits all the halmark qualities that are asked of IPAs and then some.

Blast opens with a burst of vivid mild copper nad bright orange colors while carrying a typical dry-hopped haze. A froathy yet terse white head caps the beer and laces gently with intricate pattern while retaining reat staying power unitl the last sip.

Bold and juicy scent of ruby red grapefruit, oranze zest, tangerine, and toprical mango or pineapple- all arise from the hop aromas. Only a supportive and supple caramel scent that gives a glimpse of sweetness to accomapny the fruity hop notes. Alcoholic with the scent of nail polish remover, the beer's aroma proves strong and inviting.

Flavors follow similarly, except with the show of mild caramel sweetness that rises just before the citrusy and tropical flavor from hops. The turn to grapefruit pulp, tangerine, pineapple, mango, and appricots leaves the malty sweetness behind and develops into a clean and pleasant bitter taste that lingers long into finish. Alcoholic bite further reinforces the taste of nail polish remover.

Creamy and airy to start, the beer's initial carbonation releases at a quickly arriving mid palate where the sweetness fades and the dry malt character and lingering bitterness leads to a pleasant warmth and ultimate dryness. Only a linger of resiny bitterness and citrusy memeory lasts long into aftertaste.

Not only does this IPA deliver on all that's expected of the style, it excells at a few of the characteristis that's even beyond what the style perscribes. If it's not on par with Dreadnaught, Pliny, or Ruination, then Blast isn't far behind.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2011 06:02:35 | More by BEERchitect

oberon

North Carolina

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Coles,poured a deep burnt orange with a tight fluffy one finger head that stuck like glue to the pint glass leaving at least three nice rings of lace.Big fruity esters in the aroma along with some pine resin and citrus a light caramel sweet malt base is noticable,juicy fruity flavors up front along with a touch of caramel sweetness a big resiny piney hop flavor bowls over everything into a dryer resiny finsih that lingers inducing some nice piney burps.A bold DIPA with a definent malt profile but the hops are the show a dryer resiny "big" beer here.

Serving type: on-tap

10-24-2006 02:50:00 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had this on tap at the brewery with Andy, Garrett, and someone from another brewery (I think Sixpoint) while discussing the new 750ml cork & cage bottling line. It was my first beer of the night, although in the end I had two large glasses.

It poured a perfectly clear golden-orange-amber beneath a frothy-then-creamy head of white that held tenaciously and left remarkable walls of lace about the fresh, previously un-used, gold-rimmed stemware.

The aroma offered a soft but dizzying combination of sweetish and bready malt, yeasty fruitiness, grassy/leafy and floral and citrusy hops, and snappy alcohol.

In the mouth it was medium-bodied with a decidedly dextrinous edge, and a crisp, fine-bubbled carbonation that almost appeared as if it'd been naturally carbonated... perhaps most of the carbonation came from spunding the tank.

At first sip I was confused as to what it was. I'd never heard of "Blast", and I'd overheard lots of talk of "Local 1"; and the richness of the bready, lightly sweet, and toasty/biscuity malt combined with the apple-like and subtly berry-ish fruitiness had me thinking it was Belgian. There were lots of hops there, but it wasn't raspy bitter - and I'd just been talking to Chris from La Chouffe about Houblon which had me in a hoppy-Belgian kind of mindset. When Andy told me it was Blast, and that it was a double IPA, I was incredibly impressed. It was so smooth and round and supple - not at all what I think about as a Double IPA. Where were the resins? Where was the raspy bitterness? Instead, it offered a very nice balance between softly sweet caramelish and toasty malt and hops with a grassy, leafy, herbal, gently piney and mildly citrusy character. In fact, it seemed to embrace the whole of the hop-gamut with European, English, and American hops coming together as one. The bitterness was omni-present, and always just a slight-edge beyond balancing, but never blunt or oppressive. It was remarkably round, well-balanced, and smooth from start to finish; ending in a surprisingly short-lived, lingering, and mainly dry finish.

Brilliant, all in all, and excessively drinkable despite the fact that it will sneak up on you and take you down in the end. Kudos for one of my best beers of the year!

Serving type: on-tap

04-14-2007 17:58:29 | More by NeroFiddled

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Served in a snifter at Firkin.

I remember trying a sample of this down at McGee's almost a year ago and not being all that impressed, but I figured I'd give it a full shot while I'm here at Firkin. It pours a clear brass topped by a finger of lightly off-cream-white foam. The nose comprises grapefruit zest, orange zest, light lemon peel, and a backbone of light toffee. Everything is bright and happy and expressive. The taste brings in more of the same, along with a few flowers tossed in for good measure. Now everything comes through a touch rindier than before, but not by very much. The body is a light-leaning medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, a tasty little DIPA, one that doesn't overdo the hops, creating a generally pleasant drinking experience.

Serving type: on-tap

03-04-2013 13:58:32 | More by TMoney2591

Mora2000

Texas

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Sampled as part of the Draught House 's firkin Fridays in early May 2010.

Poured from a firkin on top of the bar. The beer pours a hazy yellow color with a white head. The aroma is heavy on the pine and orange hops. The flavor is a great mix of citrus, resin and pine hops. All of the flavors meld nicely with none of them really standing out and dominating the others. Very soft mouthfeel and low carbonation.

Serving type: cask

05-29-2010 04:37:20 | More by Mora2000

metter98

New York

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The appearance is clear golden yellow. Not much carbonation is visible.
S: There is a moderate level of very hoppy aromas. Cascade hops seem to stand out in the aroma; overall the hops smell very floral and citrusy.
T: Like the smell, the taste is also very hoppy but well balanced by malts so it's not overwhelming. The hops taste a little piney and there's also some dryness, particularly in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate.
D: This is highly drinkable for a beer that packs a lot of punch with hops.

Serving type: on-tap

04-16-2010 13:58:04 | More by metter98

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.83/5  rDev +17.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On-tap 6/22/10 at Rose Alley Ale House in New Bedford, MA, served in a large tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep golden brown color, with a large off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a very thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is a very nice blend of fruity citrus, floral hops and caramelized malts.

T: The taste starts with a hearty malt character up front and sweet flavors of citrus and caramel. Then a strong but not over-powering hops bitterness comes in and the beer maintains an excellent balance. The after-taste is slightly hoppy and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

D: Very tasty, goes down quite easily, not too filling, good kick, excellent representation of style, this is a great beer to drink for a whole evening especially if you want a 2IPA that doesn't try to go too extreme.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2010 03:05:55 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got to try Blast at the Tap & Table a while back, it poured out as a bright looking orange yellow color with a half inch white head on top. The head settles and leave a bit of lacing. The smell of the beer is very citrusy on the nose, some pine and malt in there too. The taste of the beer gives off plenty of hoppy goodness. Have a really nice bitter sweet aftertaste. The mouthfeel has a good tingle to it and leaves the mouth dry. Overall this beer is pretty tasty, I wish they'd bottle it so I could get more.

Serving type: on-tap

07-22-2011 18:22:18 | More by Knapp85

emerge077

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Fischman's Liquors. It's about time Chicago got this...

Looked to be a 10-12 oz. pour in a fluted tulip glass. It arrived with a sizable head of creamy off white foam. Brightly clear saturated orange color with visible carbonation trails rising. It leaves concentric rings of lace in the glass.

Pungent orange citrus aroma, fresh and slightly sweet.

Flavors of fruity hops and light grassy bitterness, fairly medium to light bodied for a double IPA. Grapefruit peel and a light tropical element, though not well defined. Light to medium bitterness level in the dry aftertaste. Well balanced and very drinkable. Would try this again.

Serving type: on-tap

04-27-2012 03:22:35 | More by emerge077

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.84/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

12oz chalice at The Underground's tap takeover for this brewery. Called 'Blast!' by the powers that be around here.

This beer appears a hazy, dark apricot amber hue, with two fingers (on a small glass? weak sauce, guys) of tightly foamy, somewhat creamy off-white head, which leaves a beautiful pocked limestone wall of lace around the glass as it evenly sinks away.

It smells of a fairly prominent grapefruit, lemon, and pine needle bitterness, bready caramel malt, a sharp herbal tincture essence, and a soft booze warming. The taste is restrained in its bitterness, with grapefruit rind, lemon juice, and pine resin sort of swaddled up together, and thus not allowed to get into trouble; green herbal alcohol, semi-sweet caramel malt, and a further leafy, grassy hoppiness.

The carbonation is average to low in effect, the body a decent medium weight, generally smooth, and somewhat creamy. It finishes off-dry, the whipped-up fruitiness sort of shedding its bitter qualities.

A decently pepped-up DIPA, but the typical English bent of this brewery cannot be denied, apparently. I'm just not getting that palate fear that comes with the best examples of the style. Now, if it's balance and safety you're looking for, this is for you, no judgment at all.

Serving type: on-tap

04-05-2013 02:11:47 | More by biboergosum

tempest

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Three cheers to the Blue Tusk for getting a barrel of this. Not an amazing beer, but a cool novelty to try. Smells of sweet floral and grassy hops and taste it too. There's also a bit of belgian candi in there, but mostly sweet European hops, no syrupy, but not quite to my taste. Again, a cool beer to try.

Serving type: on-tap

11-19-2006 03:45:25 | More by tempest

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a clear amber with very little head. Nose is hopped, but I wouldn't say overly powerful. Flavor is hopped, yes. You get the pine tones and that syrup like flavor quality to it. But is stays smooth and even and never goes over the line. Feel is thick on liquid and good on the bubble. Overall a very smooth DIPA and well worth trying. If you want an insane hop bomb, this is not the one. If you want smooth and even and well crafted, this is more your style.

Serving type: on-tap

12-31-2007 05:32:20 | More by RblWthACoz

Billolick

New York

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Hoo ha, glad to find this one on tap at the Hop Devil in NYC's, Lower east side...this East coast style DIPA arrived in all it's Brooklyn glory, slightly cloudy light amber, tiny bubble near white head, leaving fine sheeting and nice wispy lacing. Grainy hop nose. This is a pleasant East coast hop bomb. plenty of citrusy hops, lemon/lime/grapefruit goodness. Another Brooklyn Brewery Home run, this is one tasty DIPA. Love the style and love this latest offering from the BKLYN crew. Hop lovers rejoice and go get some.

Serving type: on-tap

09-28-2006 21:55:20 | More by Billolick

mdfb79

New York

4.03/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From notes, had this on 2/19/10 at the Brooklyn Brewery.

a - Poured a very nice looking golden color with about an inch of white head. Nice retention, little carbonation evident. Looks great.

s - Smells strongly of citrus and piney hops.

t - Hops, citrus, pine. Sweeter than I was expecting. No traces of alcohol at all. Very enjoyable.

m - Moderate carbonation, light to medium body.

d - I enjoyed this beer quite a bit. The taste was a little sweeter than I was expecting and it was not quite as hoppy as I thought it would be for a DIPA...I thought it would be more bitter. did not taste the 8% ABV at all. Worth checking out if your'e at the Brewery.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2010 20:02:13 | More by mdfb79

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appears a brilliant orange with a head of white fluff that slowly fades out. Tons of scattered bits of lacing are draped around the glass.
Smell is of caramel and biscuits, alomg with hoppy goodness with pine, citrus, and resin being the standouts here.
Taste is nice with lots of balance between the fuity punch of the yeast, sweet malt, and citrusy hops.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with moderate carbonation running along the palate. This is one that I can keep coming back to on any given night.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2010 16:50:38 | More by weeare138

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.13/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sampled this on tap at a Brooklyn Promo at the Bishop's Collar

Pours a clear dark golden orange/amber color with golden burnt orange hues when held to a light source and a frothy two finger head that has decent retention, slowly fading into a lasting ring. Minimal spots of lacing are left behind.

Very earthy uber-fresh floral hop aroma with lots of dank resinous oily bitterness. Very piny with a strong citrus presence, especially grapefruit and mango with a bit of apple but the earthy pine needle character dominates the aroma.

Chewy resinous mouthfell that is on the fuller end of medium bodied with a lot of fresh skunky dry floral hops that produce a bitterness that lasts throughout into a very dry pine finish. Decent graham cracerky malt backbone with a slight alcohol presence mid-palate that lasts into the finish. Very subtle alcohol warmth. Flavor is dominated by the dry earthy pine but there's also some nice citrus character, namely pineapple, mango and grapefruit with a bit of orange peel. The alcohol heat hurts it's drinkability a bit but I still find myself drinking this way too fast. Malt backbone also adds a bit of sweetness and although it provides a nice backbone, this is really a dry piny hop monster.

Serving type: on-tap

12-03-2009 07:38:27 | More by corby112

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.48/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

On tap at the Drafting Room in Exton yesterday.

The beer pours an orange amber color with good head retention and lacing. On the nose I get considerable orange citrus, but there's maraschino cherry there as well. While it's attractive, it's also the first tip off as to what I'm going to get on the palate. On the palate, this is without doubt the sweetest DIPA I've ever tasted. There's considerable underlying bitterness as well, but the sweet, exotic fruitiness in this beer really dominates. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, albeit there's plenty of flavor in this beer. The considerable amount of sweetness, coupled with the alcohol, really detract from this beer's drinkability. I had a 5 ounce sample size of this beer and could barely finish that. I cannot imagine trying to drink a pint on this.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2010 20:11:12 | More by johnmichaelsen

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

First had: on tap at TJ's, Paoli, PA

Hey there, Brooklyn. Upping your game, it seems. Nice happy hour treat here. Hazy, golden-amber pour into a snifter, topped with a solid white head; nice retention and lacing. Nice aroma of citrus hops and tropical fruits, sweet malt base in the background. Similar taste, lots of good hops, citrus zest, tropical fruit, pine needles, bready malt background noise. Not the freshest IPA in the world, but still crisp and tasty; good work for this brewery. Medium body, easily drinkable for the style, higher alcohol well-hidden. No problem ordering more than one of these.

Serving type: on-tap

01-05-2013 01:50:44 | More by Rifugium

glid02

Georgia

4.2/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Taco Mac Metropois in Atlanta - I'd had the cask version of this in NY and after not being terribly impressed wanted to give it another shot.

Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a one-finger white head. The head recedes into a thin layer on top leaving solid lacing.

Smells of pale malts with large amounts of tropical fruit hops and lighter amounts of pine hops.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Pale malt flavors that are more robust than the nose intimates kick things off and are joined quickly by solid amounts of tropical fruit hop flavors. Midway through the sip the hop flavors darken a bit with the addition of pine. Very slight hints of vanilla flavors make a brief appearance before fading out into a solidly bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It's got a nice thickness with moderate carbonation.

Drinkability is very good. I finished my glass quickly and could easily have a few more.

Overall I thought the hops shone much more in the tap version than they did in the cask version, likely a result of a good deal of yeast flavors in the cask. A solid beer that's worth a shot.

Serving type: on-tap

09-27-2010 23:08:14 | More by glid02

plaid75

New York

4.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On draft at The Blind Tiger, NYC.

Poured a light to medium copper hue with a two finger frothy white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured a grapefruit, white pepper, light caramel and a touch of dried apricot.

The taste was peppery with a diluted citric hop, medium doughiness and a good residual hop spice.

The mouthfeel was toward the lighter side of the style.

Overall a very user friendly DIPA with a nice lingering bitterness.

Serving type: on-tap

10-18-2010 16:55:07 | More by plaid75

Brad007

Vermont

4.88/5  rDev +19%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Pours a mild copper color with a thin head into my glass. Good presentation thus far.

Aroma is full of citrus from the hops followed by just a hint of malt underneath.

Taste is full of citrusy hops that coat the mouth as well as buttery malt. Quite a kick of hops here. Tasty. Decadent.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering citrusy hops and slight buttery malt. Very nice mix here. Tasty.

Very well done by Brooklyn. They normally don't brew beers like this but when they do, they knock your socks off. Brilliant.

Serving type: on-tap

07-19-2010 22:37:06 | More by Brad007

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.35/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at the Brick Store Pub, and what a nice surprise this was! Pours with a nice orange color, good clarity, and a nice head. On first whiff, you get a blast of summit hops that keeps on going. Lovely citrus, dill, and savory herbal notes. The taste is similar- lots of summit hops with a spicy blast of herbs and citrus along with some tangy yogurt notes from the hops. Somewhat one-note, but what a note!

Serving type: on-tap

06-20-2010 16:14:56 | More by Georgiabeer