BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS

Residing at a cement-floored red brick industrial warehouse in Boston’s South Shore suburb of Braintree, WIDOWMAKER BREWING creates some of the finest small-batch ales in the entire state.

Open since September 2017, co-founding brewer Ryan Lavery designs a wide array of delectable elixirs.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, April 2018, my wife and I peruse Widowmaker and throw back a few original house recipes.

A 20-stool front bar with eight community tables welcomes customers to the beige grayed beam-exposed open space. Towards the rear, a six-stool serving station with crowler-to-go refrigerator and large TV becomes our home for the next hour as I sample the suds.

Though many English milds are a bit nebulous flavor-wise, an up-front chocolate roast seeped into earthen dewy peat for perfectly stylish Noble-hopped Claremont Mild – a fine choice for dark ale fans.

Lightly perfumed lemon zest gained mild juniper bittering and spicy floral zing for refreshing springtime moderation, Manc Juniper Ale.

Brisk orange-peeled grapefruit juiciness and candied pineapple tanginess settled into the moderate mainstream midst of Greenbush Pale Ale. Its dry Mosaic hop astringency and minor wood tones deepened above mildly creamed crystal malting.

A lovely milkshake-inspired medium body, Martin & Lewis Milkshake IPA, offered creamy vanilla sugaring to juicy orange, mango, peach and pineapple tanginess, contrasting minimal lemony grapefruit bittering. Its well-integrated sweet vanilla spicing gained mild marshmallow, coconut and pecan snips as well.

Straightforward Ecstasy Of Gold IPA informed its bittersweet orange-peeled grapefruit juicing with lightly pungent pine tones to contrast creamy crystal malting and subtle pineapple-mango-peach tanginess.

For sharp-toned Bat Country Double IPA, lemony grapefruit tang receives resinous piney hop bittering over rigid rye-spiced malting. Candied pineapple, peach, mango and tangerine snips add juiciness.

A back-tongued cold-brewed coffee roast rises above soily hop-charred bittering as well as black-malted chicory, espresso and black licorice snips for Donut Shop Coffee Stout, leaving a lightly sugared java reminder.

Reminiscent of a lightly embittered Snickers candy bar, There’s No Wrong Way Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout’s rich dark chocolate syruping and burnt caramel sweetness contrasted walnut-charred peanut salting and charcoal-singed coffee tones.

widowmakerbrewing.com