Brooklyn Ale / Pennant Ale '55 - Brooklyn Brewery

jtierney89

New Jersey

1.5/5  rDev -58.8%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Semi-hazed bright copper with about an inch of sticky white head. Lots of euro hop influence on the nose. Earthy and wooddy.

Semi sweet buttered biscuit upfront followed by an unwanted fruitiness. It's like it starts as a nice dry english pale ale and then jumps in a fruit bowl. Spicy hop finish. Ugh. Am not enjoying this. flavors that just dont belong together trying to get along in one well blended sip but can't help but be layered into a catastrophic one.

No thank you, this was a slow mover at my store for a reason.

As i drank through the rest of the glass the flavors seem to find eachother a bit more but still seem to battle for dominance. Not as bad as my initial reaction to the beer, but still doesnt seem right. These flavors just dont wanna blend.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2012 02:49:45 | More by jtierney89

pwoods

Ohio

2.05/5  rDev -43.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

12oz. single from Jungle Jim's poured into a pint glass. Freshness label isn't clear. Notched on Jan but nothing on 2006 or 2007... so I assume it's best by Jan08. I've bought many singles from Jungle Jim's(this is my 3rd or 4th from Brooklyn) and never had an issue before.

A: 1/2 finger fizzy white head that runs away. Zero lacing. Pours a tangerine with a rusty tint.

S: Smells strongly of 100% Concord grape juice but oily. Smells more like a cider.

T/M: Sour apples and Sweet'n'Low. Reminds me of drinking a juice box from when I was younger. Thin viscosity and lacking carbonation(maybe it is old?). Just not doing it for me.

D: Goes down very easily but the taste just isn't there. I can't see myself getting another one of these... I may not finish this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2007 03:13:37 | More by pwoods

wcintula

New York

2.38/5  rDev -34.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Bottle stamped: Best Before Aug 2011 0311

Into a Duvel tulip with a clear copper body with very little, quickly dissipating head. Smell upfront is metallic, as the beer warms up, it becomes sweeter, with a floral hop quality. The taste isn't as sweet but has more of a bitter hop profile to it. It's got a slight dry biscuit-y taste to it. Prickly when it hits the tongue, but not I was hard pressed to pull a good experience from this.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2011 04:57:11 | More by wcintula

lacqueredmouse

Australia

2.42/5  rDev -33.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Tried on tap at the brewery 12/09.

Pours a deep golden amber colour, with a decent head of white foam that leaves some good lacing. Lots of tiny carbonation. Looks a bit thin in the body. Overall, it's not bad; a bit generic, but done well.

Grainy sweetness on the nose. A little pencil-shaving hoppiness, and some yeasty funk that reminds me far to much of Pride of Ringworm, our most spurned and hated Australian hop. Not a fan.

Taste is similar. Some bready yeast character, wit a little grain sweetness. A little phenolic, almost chemical note on the back. Quite rank with bitterness on the back. Not a fan, really. Mouthfeel is spritzy and sparkling. Nice enough.

I'm not a big fan. It tastes very generic and bland, with its only characters being generall unpleasant. It's not undrinkable, but it's not particularly likeable. Brooklyn brews some far better beers.

Serving type: on-tap

12-08-2009 04:35:51 | More by lacqueredmouse

praufs01

Pennsylvania

2.53/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance – Clear copper with creamy off-white head and a good amount of lacing.

Aroma – Light malt and bread smell.

Palate – Moderate carbonation.

Flavor – Sweet malty and molasses taste with a very light hop and metallic aftertaste.

Final thoughts – It’s an OK beer. One is about it for me.

Serving type: bottle

12-10-2007 15:35:14 | More by praufs01

popery

California

2.53/5  rDev -30.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Ho hum beer. It pours mildly hazy and medium to light amber. The head is off-white and looks pretty good. The aroma is mild, floral-ish hops and generic biscuity malt. It's English enough, I guess, and might be a nice beer fresh served from a cask at the brewery, but from a bottle that's not too far from the "best by" date, it's nothing special or even notable. The taste is a bit sweet with a gently bitter finish. The mouthfeel is fine - normal carbonation, a bit slick.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2010 05:51:19 | More by popery

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.6/5  rDev -28.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

There is some taste here, it is clearly a British style pale, with some hops and well malted. Medium mouthfeel from nuttiness. Good carbonation. Tad of metallic aftertaste. Tad of bitterness. Decent attractive darker colour and head. Beer was Ok but not that drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2005 05:59:56 | More by northyorksammy

Naes

New York

2.65/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance is very deep amber with a small white head. There is little to no lacing and the retention is minimal.
The aroma is somewhat malty with trace amounts of hop presence.
The flavor is a bit watered down, but begins with some caramel malt and finishes with a moderate amount of floral hops. There is something about the aftertaste that just does not agree with me. It is similar to a metallic flavor, but is something else.
Mouth feel is light bodied and is actively carbonated.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2006 00:13:11 | More by Naes

Vendetta

New Jersey

2.68/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Original Rating Date:
June 1, 2008

Well rounded blend of malt and hops. Toasted chestnut flavor that tastes a little bit watery to me. I may have gotten a bad batch, I'll have to try this again down the road and re-review. As it stands... overall a decent beer, I actually enjoyed it better out of the bottle than the glass.

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2008 00:19:46 | More by Vendetta

zeledonia

Minnesota

2.68/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Best before September 2011. Bottle stamp says 0601, which I think means bottled March 1, 2011.

Pours a medium amber color, slight coppery hues, and very clear. One-finger off-white head that recedes rather quickly and leaves a bit of lacing.

Smells of bready, buttery, biscuity, mildly toasted malts, a lot like a french-style "petit beurre" butter cookie. It's a rather faint, warm fluffy smell, that's pleasant but doesn't have a whole lot to it. Touch of hops late, but bready malts are the main player.

Tastes rather bland. Malts are there, again pretty bready and buttery, and again pretty faint. I get a dose of bitterness in the middle that carries through the dry finish. In general, it's okay, not bad, but not really good either. Just not much to it.

Mouthfeel starts out tingly, lots of carbonation that burns up quickly, leaving a thin body that feels slightly sticky before it dries out. And does it ever dry out.

I drank this beer, and I took notes on it. But it's almost like I didn't drink it. There's that little to it. Nothing to latch onto, no notable subtlety or complexity to the smell or the flavor. Nothing specifically bad about it, but not much good about it either.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2011 02:43:44 | More by zeledonia

KarlHungus

Minnesota

2.7/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

The beer pours a clear bronze color. The head is half an inch in height, and recedes quickly into minimal lacing. The aroma is of floral and herbal hops with a hint of caramel. It is pleasant, but on the weak side. The taste has a hint of floral hops, but it vanishes quickly into nothing. The mouthfeel is light bodied with aggressive carbonation, and a watery texture. Overall, this is a bad beer that I will not be drinking again.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 22:11:47 | More by KarlHungus

Onenote81

North Carolina

2.73/5  rDev -25%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a darker gold with a pretty small head that goes away as quick as it's poured. No lacing. Smells really good. This is the high point of this beer. I smell sweet malt, bread, and honey. It makes me want to drink this now!

Mouthfeel is crisp and clean, which I like. I'm not sure where the flavor went on this one. The taste and aftertaste is like I just ate some beef stew. Ick. I love me some stew, but I don't want to drink it. The honey that I smelled is absent as there isn't an ounce of sweetness that I can find. Just a weird bitter meaty flavor. This is weird. Avoid.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2009 21:02:17 | More by Onenote81

TrevorGW

Massachusetts

2.75/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Amber color, decent head.

Not much aroma. Malt is on the nose. Muted and dusty.

Taste is overly malty. Soft caramel and a bit of hot metal. This reminds me of some of the average pale ales that I have had on tap in the UK. Not quite enough bitterness and the finish is muddled. I am left unsatisfied after each sip, but not totally disappointed.

Decent mouthfeel ... creamy with soft carbonation.

Drinkability is low for a Pale Ale. Some cloying flavors. I would only be able to drink one of these.

Overall this beer is a slight letdown.

Serving type: on-tap

11-04-2008 17:04:33 | More by TrevorGW

whisperjet

Connecticut

2.75/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

a: Pours a light amber. Had absolutely no head and very little lace. A high amount of visible carbonation

s: Very biscuity and malty. Like buttered bread. Strong smells of cereal grains and a light citrus. No real hop presence.

t: Very bready and buttery. Not well blended at all. I don't know how to describe it better than it tastes like buttered scallops. Not a fan. Freshness dated for December 2010

m: Medium bodied with biting carbonation

d: The taste is off putting and makes this a difficult beer to put back

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2010 20:55:20 | More by whisperjet

claspada

New Jersey

2.8/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Aromas are malty with some toasted caramel, cereal and biscuits. The hops are semi-fruity and even lightly herbal.

The taste is moderately sweet with an odd note that I just can't put my finer on. The hops are muted as well as the malt character. The odd taste maybe Brooklyn's house yeast which I have never been a big fan of. The mouthfeel is medium-light with a thin texture. Average effervescence.

Overall this is drinkable, but I wouldn't purchase another. I'm a fan of the Brooklyn Brewery but the Pennant Ale isn't anything to get too excited over.

Serving type: on-tap

11-13-2010 22:46:50 | More by claspada

rdilauro

Connecticut

2.8/5  rDev -23.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Sorry, but I did not like this one. Guess my nostalgic baseball days and thinking about the Brooklyn Dodges and Ebbets field made me excited about this ale.

The color was a tannish amber like many other domestic ales. There wasnt any particular aroma that I could detect. No hops that stood out and for a second, I almost picked up a whiff of what I remember almost 45 years ago, my first Ballentine Ale.

There was nothing actually wrong with this Ale, its just that I could not find specifics about it which I really wanted to positively comment on.

Its still a very drinkable ale and considering so many of the larger company brews, this one is still better.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 16:16:32 | More by rdilauro

marcpal

New Jersey

2.83/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

On tap into pint glass - Court Jester, Freehold NJ

A: Bronze colored ale similar to what you would expect as if drinking a seasonal. Very slight head and not much lacing.

S: Biscuity malts with a little bit of hops in the back of the nose. Roasted nuts but not much else in the background that I was able to pick up.

T: Some hops there, not much. The bittering came through later on and the recognition may have been dulled by the previous hop devil and Stone AB. The malt was nice and the biscuity flavors were pleasant. The caramel really came through and was its best attribute.

M: Not much here, lack of hop depth.

D: Very drinkable, almost to the point of a watered down hoppy beer. Flavors were there but the type of beer that would be more appropriate for a grilled burger on a summer day. Not a favorite though.

Honestly not fan of Brooklyn brews so went in not expecting to like all that much and not blown away. Asked bartender what this one was all about and described as hoppy- just didnt see it.

Serving type: on-tap

11-18-2007 16:52:18 | More by marcpal

granger10

Wisconsin

2.85/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Rusted amber color with a medium foamy tan head that dissipates quickly. After a minute not too much remains of the head and the lacing is weak. The aroma is floral and bright with a grainy edge to it. Taste is a bit thick with tons of a biscuit flavor in there. A bit of diacetyl comes along with the huge biscuity taste. Finish is a bit sweet as well as a bit grassy and also a bit metallic. The body is super rich, which could be good for some beers but its way too much for this simplistic offering, esp with the lack of carbonation. It gets cloying fairly early. Not really too drinkable. Disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2006 14:40:09 | More by granger10

smibroncos

New York

2.85/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A. Poured a cloudy amber, with a finger and a half of reddish brown head, in a standard pint glass. Not much lacing on the glass.

S. Carmel, oats, malted barley.

T. Slightly sour, medium after bitterness from the hops. The label said toasty biscuit flavor. I couldn't find the flavors.

M. Medium bodied, slightly gritty on the toungue. Small bubbles could have been carbonated alittle more.

D. A decent APA, not the greatest definately not the worst. Could have used some more hops and flavor.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2009 23:57:12 | More by smibroncos

TheBear11D

Michigan

2.85/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear dark orange color with a small light head that did not last too long and left little behind to know it ever existed.

The nose is mostly malty with a slight citrus touch, however, it is rather weak and does not deliver any distinct aromas.

The flavor is also a little on the weak side, but I can pick up a few fruit notes along with a bit of malty sweetness. There is little aftertaste.

Has a medium body and a little sharp carbonation.

The beer is alright, but fell a little short.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2011 01:46:08 | More by TheBear11D

bditty187

Nebraska

2.88/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Reddish-bronze hue, translucent, small off-white head that quickly fades to a soapy residue, no lace of note. Very faint and hollow nose, some earthiness… weak biscuit, spice hints. Not very inviting really. Rather malty, earthy palate, some hints of hops… faint bitterness, spiciness. I find the palate to be odd and not very pleasing. The mouthfeel is thin and watery… funky aftertaste. I didn’t really care for this one… maybe a bad bottle? Maybe I’ll give it another shot? Maybe not.

Best by June/2003

Thanks Stegmakk for the sample...

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2003 14:26:20 | More by bditty187

dmamiano

West Virginia

2.88/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Huge pillowy head rises above my sampler glass.
Fades rather slowly.
Medium golden in color...very clean and clear.
Smells of spicey hops...fruity with spiced apples comming to mind.
Malts mixed with bitterness of hops..a bit on the cidery side.
Maybe this one is old, not impressed.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2007 22:14:08 | More by dmamiano

FeDUBBELFIST

Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle to pint glass. Best before date of 9/2010. Review from months upon months of a backlog of notes.

A: Pours with a large 3 finger off-white head, foamy and frothy. Excellent retention. The body is a clear amber color with red hints throughout.

S: Average malt intensity of toasted caramel, cereal and biscuits. The hops are semi-fruity and even lightly herbal.

T: Moderately sweet with an out of place iced tea flavor note. Short flavor duration.

M: Medium-light body with a thin texture. Average effervescence.

D: Drinkable, yes, but I wouldn't purchase another. I'm a fan of the Brooklyn Brewery but the Pennant Ale comes across as more of a placeholder in their portfolio than anything else.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2010 13:15:19 | More by FeDUBBELFIST

Weli

Wisconsin

2.88/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A- Pours a golden amber hue with fine white lacing for head

S- Strong sweet malt smell, can really tell the base malt (Marris Otter) Can't detect any particular hop aroma although there is a subdued spicy or floral aroma

T-Subdued caramel, biscuity, with some roastiness. Some hop bitterness but not much character, some citrus flavor. Odd tart finish, quite dry. Rather bland

M- Thin, quite dry

O-Rather disappointed with this one. Very bland and thin, might be a nice alternative to BMC lagers but there are many better pale ales out there. Tartness is really off putting. In fairness the bottle was 3 months past its best buy date.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 23:34:35 | More by Weli

Shiloh

Ontario (Canada)

2.9/5  rDev -20.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Deep copper in colour, very short head leading to an even thinner lace. Very limited glass cling. The carbonation is medium with active large bubbles.
Aroma is a little grainy.
The taste is also grainy, straw like and thin with a minor hop like character to rein in the sweetness. Some after taste.
The mouthfeel watery, one of these is my limit.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2007 00:47:50 | More by Shiloh