Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week:" Brooklyn Brewery's Cookie Jar Porter

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Mar 24, 2010 8:20PM

Spring is a time for beers with hearty flavors and lighter bodies - red ales, doppelbocks and porters. While working through both the food and drink menus a couple week back at Rootstock we noticed only two beers on draft and Matilda's waltz has given me Tom Traubert's Blues lately, all in part to its familiarity.

Brooklyn Brewery's Cookie Jar porter, on the other hand, made me feel like an old guy at an illegal warehouse party who just dropped E - out of place and not giving a damn. It's the latest in Brooklyn's Brewmaster's Reserve series, brewed from Floor Malted Maris Otter malt, British crystal malt, and Whole Golden Oats, brown sugar, pureed raisins and wildflower honey. Sticky sweet? You betcha.

The intent was to bring to mind sensory memories of oatmeal cookies and Brooklyn largely succeeds. the color walks the fine line between deep ruby and none more black, with a rich mouthfeel containing molasses, chocolate and toasted maltd, with a sourness as it warms underscored by the wildflower honey. You really want to serve this as a digestif. Rootstock serves Cookie Jar in a tulip glass for $7.