Bent Paddle Brewing Company is the latest brewery to open it's doors in Duluth, MN. There was alot of hype surrounding the opening of this brewery and for good reason. The mayor of Duluth, Don Ness, proclaimed Duluth to be the beer capitol of Minnesota. It's a rather bold statement but any beer lover in this state knows just how many breweries and brewpubs are operating in the Duluth/Superior AKA Twin Ports area (Hint: It's a lot!)
I'm currently in Duluth as of right now and on my way in, I decided to grab a six-pack of one of their beers for scientific purposes. I managed to grab a pack of their Black Ale, which has an ABV of 6.0%. Interestingly enough, it describes itself on the can as an "ale that bridges the islands of Porter and Stout."
It pours a pitch black color with a pretty foamy brown head that has good retention. Lacing along the sides of the glass is spotty at the most so it finishes clean.
The nose is a mixture of roasted barley/malts, chocolate, cocoa, and black coffee. It certainly smells like a porter rather than a stout but at least the aroma is vibrant.
The flavor consists mainly of milk chocolate, roasted barley, malts, cocoa and vanilla. I can see more of stout here in the flavor, but it still retains it's porter characteristics mainly with the roasted barley flavor and aftertaste.
Body is moderate in weight and the carbonation is just a notch below moderate. It fits the flavor quite well and adds a dimension to the flavor.
I really hope that Bent Paddle does well enough to be available all over the state of Minnesota because I really enjoyed this and I think any Minnesota Beer Lover would grab this in a heartbeat. The flavor teeters between that of a porter and a stout and it strikes a good balance and it's very easy to drink. If you're ever in the Twin Ports area, do yourself a favor: Support the local beer scene and pick this up, you will not regret it
Bent Paddle Black Ale- 9/10
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