2 O'Clock Tasting: 
Transmitter Brewing (Part 2)

Updated on March 30, 2016

"Big things comes in small packages." While the saying perilously dangles in the realm of cliches, few concepts exist as comfortably — and ring as true — as this one in the world of craft beer. With most states now fostering a handful of smaller, independent producers, drinkers all over the globe are finding more and more unorthodox beers created by their local micro- and nano-breweries. Brooklyn Brew Shop recently sat down with two beers from locally loved nano-brewery and craft brewing wild-card, Transmitter Brewing. With a penchant for adventurous, innovative and consistently curiosity-inducing farmhouse ales, founders Rob Kolb and Anthony Accardi have lead this Queens-based brewery into hyper-local prestige, earning it a reputation as a bastion of craft beer in the surrounding New York City boroughs. Thanks to their Community Sponsored Brewing program, which we and many others have pledged our allegiance to, Brooklyn Brew Shop recently had our monthly chance to sip on two of Transmitter's locally produced brews, a Farmhouse Ale with a chardonnay heart and a hoppy Belgian-style to test our palates. To put it simply, it went well, so keep reading to find out what this unorthodox beer-maker concocted this time.

1. H2 Chardonnay Harvest Ale

   16 IBU | 7.1% ABV This time, Transmitter has taken the farmer boy off the pasture, cleaned him up and decked him out in his nicest clothes: tart, juicy chardonnay grapes. This Wild American Ale, which is brewed and then barreled with a staggering 160 pounds of grapes, is boasting an appropriately tremendous wine infusion and is not at all bashful about letting drinkers know. Wafting up from a lacy, beaded head, notes of white wine, peach and tropical fruit practically explode from this ale. Behind this initial gust, astute noses will pick up touches of malt and funky earth lurking past the wall of sweetness, as if quietly reminding drinkers, "Don't worry, this is still a beer. One sip, however, and that becomes obvious: Transmitter can take the boy out of the farmhouse, but they can't take the farmhouse out of the boy. Bitter, earthy and with a tart, grape-driven punch, H2 boasts the funky farmhouse body that Transmitter's Brett-loving brewers seem so fond of. Ambitious and admirably complex, H2 offers drinkers a joyously challenging and entirely rewarding drinking experience.
 

2. BC1 Belgian Pale Ale

   50 IBU | 6% ABV Brewed in collaboration Matt Gebhard, owner of New York City bar, Beer Culture, this Belgian Pale Ale pours a clear, sumptuous caramel and excitingly dons a thick, ivory head. Take a whiff and expect a refreshingly crisp combination of pine, grapefruit and blueberry, thanks to the use of Cascade, Legacy and Nuggetzilla hops. A lone taster even noted a hint of Goo Gone, an industrial adhesive remover, though we can promise it went down a bit smoother than that. Smoothness, actually, may be this ale's strong-suit: It's bright, it's bitter, and all the while, it keeps a surprisingly creamy mouthfeel. BC1 is a commendably drinkable beer. A single strain of Brettanomyces provides some welcome bitterness, manifesting in notes of orange and lemon zest and helping to round out some of the beer's leathery earthiness. Much like its wined-up cousin above, BC1 is a complex and hard-to-pin-down bottle, just how Transmitter likes it.

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