Wednesday, February 16th 2011 Widow Maker Black Ale (Keweenaw Brewing Company)
If you're ever up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula there are several things you need to do. One is eat a pasty. Two is spend some time outdoors. Three is have a few beers at the Keweenaw Brewing Company in Houghton as well as The Vierling in Marquette.
From the Keweenaw Brewing site:
"Don't let it's looks deceive you. Clean and smooth, easy on the hops and easy on the palate; this light bodied ale has a surprising depth of malt flavors with pleasant hints of a smoky molasses."
Here we go...
Pour - dark, dark brown with a big fluffy tan head. The head on this actually fades fairly quickly but the dark, dark color of this beer isn't going anywhere.
Aroma - dark roast coffee grounds, bitter chocolate, molasses, some dark fruits as well some faint hints of earthy hops.
Taste - roasty and tangy. There are a lot of the bold flavors that come with the dark malt but also a tangy zip of a finish that is dry and reminds me a bit of red wine. Its a nice balance between the roasty coffee ground and caramel flavors and this sort of vinous, earthy flavors. Very drinkable and certainly a nice beer to have with a meal or with dessert.
Overall - solid, dark yet light-bodied beer. What is a black ale anyways? What we've been calling a Black IPA is technically now called an American Black Ale yet this one is classified as a American Brown Ale. Anyways, regardless of what its called and what color it is, this is worthy of your glass.
Would I buy more of it? - sure thing. Do they do a mixed pack?
Note - Keweenaw Brewing has just started canning and distributing their fifth beer which is called Olde Ore Dock Scottish Ale. We need to get our hands on some of those.
Are you wondering what a "widow maker" is? Well, the can reads:
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