The Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn, NY)
The Brew: Fire & Ice (Smoked Porter)
Availability: Bottles, draft (limited)
ABV: 7.2%
Rating: 8.7/10
Location: Felicia's Atomic Lounge
The Story: A week or so back, I was in Felicia's and overheard talk of Brooklyn's Fire & Ice heading to their tap lines later in the month. I'd never heard of the brew and immediately hit the search engine. As it turns out, Fire & Ice is the latest in Brooklyn's Brewmaster Reserve series. My interest was peaked to say the least as their Cuvée La Boîte melted my mind up in Rochester and The Companion was one of the non-Vermont highlights from Vermont.
After wrapping up a show in Syracuse, I bombed back to Ithaca with my friend Bimini to meet up with my partner Mel as Fire & Ice had just hit the line earlier that evening.
The Beer: A pint glass full of deep, dark, jet-black liquid is lade in front of me with a thick, bubbly mocha head - which surprisingly faded relatively quickly with minimal lacing.
Prickly carbonation hits my tongue with a creamy, silky mouthfeel behind the bubbles. Deep roasted flavors of smoke, soft coffee, and caramel grace my palate. It's smooth, warming, cooling, and calming with significant bitterness of the smoke and dark malts. Firm chocolate notes enter early and stay throughout the glass with support from nutty flavors and faint dark fruits.
Overall, a must-try for any dark brew lover, but not quite as mind-melting as some of their other offerings. That said, it's absolutely worth checking out. I'll be going back for round two soon and may have some additional notes to share...
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