Brooklyn Brewery’s first release in a 750ml bottle is coming soon. Brooklyn Local 1 is already available throughout the Northeast, so we suspect it’s heading south or maybe already in a warehouse awaiting a new home. How can we be sure it’s on the way? We can’t. We’re just seeing more stories, press releases and commentary going around the last month. The buzz has picked-up and the tastings have begun.

Brooklyn Local 1 is a “Belgian-inspired strong golden ale“ according to the brewery’s website. However, Ratebeer.com says it’s more simply a Belgian strong ale and BeerAdvocate actually calls it a saison, leaving much confusion. Regardless, most of the reviews are positive, so we look forward to this new release by brewmaster Garrett Oliver. It’s nice to see Brooklyn Brewery go a little old-school.

And speaking of good news from NY breweries! We just found out yesterday that the yummy beers of Southampton Publick House are coming to NC in just a few months, hopefully in time for Summer, but at least by Fall. (More label approval issues, like Bell’s.) If you are unfamiliar, Southampton is typically ranked among the top specialty breweries of the world (#8 by Ratebeer.com) and holds a few spots in BeerAdvocate’s Top 100.

Cheers to that!

Photo: NYDailyNews.com