Brewery: Mystery Brewing Company
Beer: Queen Anne’s Revenge
Style: American Black Ale
ABV: 5.8%
Character: Brewed as a darker version of an English style IPA with English hops and balanced with roasted malts
Ratings at time of Review: BA: n/a | RB: 59
Metal Connection: ZANDELLE – Queen Anne’s Revenge
BeerMetalDude Rating 3.25/5
A good friend I met at Big Hops when I used to work there, Chris Youngs, who was a good person to know as he was heavily into beer trading and would always have some unique beers in hand for us to taste. He ended up moving to North Carolina, and luckily we remained in contact. We did a little beer trade box, and he sent me this beauty of a bottle, knowing I would at least like the artwork. He was right.
The artwork looks like something that could be on a cover of an old book about pirates or something. There is a ghostly looking pirate skeleton holding up a pint of beer, while hanging on to a hop vine, which is actually raspberry red in color. There is a ghostly mist, or clouds around our drunken pirate warrior. This is all wrapped up in a classic looking border art. I’m telling you, old book cover artwork. Since I drank and photographed this beer for the page, they seemed to have ditched the 22 oz bottle, and gone to a tallboy 16 oz can with new artwork. Check it out here.
Queen Anne’s Revenge is called a “Carolinian Dark Ale,” which is a play on the beer term, Cascadian Dark Ale, which is also known as a Black IPA, so I poured this beer into the special designed signature IPA glass by Spiegelau. The beer’s appearance was a deep black color, crowned with a large 2 and a 1/2 inch light khaki colored foamy head. Despite such a large head on the pour, it disappeared rather quickly, leaving no lacing at all on the glass.
The aroma was full of roasty malts, bitter sweet chocolate, mild toffee, and caramel. There was a mild earthy and floral hop presence, but it was hidden behind the roast and chocolate aroma, which lingered in the nose.
The taste was all roasted malts up front followed by a big hit of bitter sweet chocolate with hints of caramel and toffee, and an even more subtle trace of mild coffee beans. Again, just like the aroma, the earthy, and floral hop presence is very subtle, and masked behind the roasted malts. The aftertaste was all roasted malts.
This beer had a thinner body than expected. There was low carbonation. The mouthfeel was dry and chewy, with a dry finish.
This was my first encounter with Mystery Brewing Company, and I really want to thank my friend Chris for sending me this beer. Although, it was not my favorite beer of the style, it was still enjoyable, and I would love to give it another shot. Maybe a fresher can would help out this beer. Maybe I can get a newer batch. (hint, hint, Chris!) I would have loved more hops to be present in the overall flavor, which I think, with the roasted malts, and chocolate characters, would have really rounded out this beer.
Metal Connection: I found the perfect Metal Connection, as I did a recent search through the Metal database. New York based Heavy/Power Metal band, Zandelle released a song appropriately titled, “Queen Anne’s Revenge.” The song was from the band’s 3rd full length album, Vengeance Rising on Limb Music. The song, of course is about the famed pirate Blackbeard, who was the captain of the ship known as the Queen Anne’s Revenge. This song by Zandelle is a perfect example of a pirate metal song. The rhythm of this song puts you right on the ship, manning the cannons, while throwing back some good brew. The lyrics are pretty brutal, detailing the life of Blackbeard.
“He terrorized the eastern waters for three dreadful years
His savagery is legendary, His name has lived on through the ages
Born in the end of the 1600s, his given name was Edward
One look at him would terrify, Black-Beard is what he became known as…”
Beer Metal Media 