A Clinton Hill brewery has released a new beer named for a fetid Brooklyn waterway. The good news is you can drink it.
“Last year we kicked off our ‘Putrid’ series with our St. Gowanus Belgian pale ale,” said Kelso of Brooklyn brewmaster Kelly Taylor. “People responded to the local reference. And since ‘kriek’ is a Belgian name for a beer flavored with sour cherries, we thought it was only fitting to name our new beer after the Newtown Creek.”
A hastily arranged tasting in The Brooklyn Paper’s newsroom offered mixed results (see video), but Taylor insists that such sour beers are growing in popularity.
“Lambic beers are the new India Pale Ale,” said Taylor referring to the hoppy, amber-colored beer, a staple for microbreweries and beer bars.
More than a year of fermentation, aging and flavoring went into the new microbrew, which will be available only in limited quantities in specialty beer bars.
And with the filthy estuary in the news more than ever for its recently proposed Superfund designation, Kelly thinks the small supply will be cleaned up quickly.
Newtown Kriek is available at Bar Great Harry [280 Smith St. at Sackett Street in Cobble Hill, (718) 222-1103] and Spuyten Duyvil [359 Metropolitan Avenue at Havemeyer Street in Williamsburg, (718) 963-4140]. For info, visit http://www.kelsoofbrooklyn.com.