What to Drink This Weekend: A Delicious New Jersey Beer You Can Only Get At One Place in Brooklyn
Carton Brewing, based out of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, has made a considerable splash in New York over the past year, with a solid lineup led by Boat Beer pale ale and their B.D.G. brown ale—beers that are versatile, well-crafted and extremely approachable. But they make another beer, the oddly named 077XX double IPA that’s a bit more adventurous and generally only distributed in New Jersey. Fortunately, though, it’s now available on tap here in Brooklyn, exclusively at American Beer on Court Street.
077XX is a relatively drinkable double IPA at 7.8% ABV, with piney notes and a big tropical fruitiness that asserts itself boldly in the aroma as well as on the palate, where it’s accompanied by a fair amount of bitterness and a really wonderful, surprising sweetness. It’s not cloying, and it doesn’t have that hard candy taste we talk about sometimes around here; it’s not subtle, exactly (as in, you won’t miss it), but it’s also not overwhelming. It’s kind of like if you were to lick a little bit of raw sugar off an orange peel, maybe? I don’t know, you guys, but it’s fucking delicious. I drank a growler of it by myself on a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, and it was pretty much the best day.
American Beer is located at 256 Court Street, in Cobble Hill. Bring a growler, or pick on up there for an extra few bucks.
