This Beer Fox
Widowmaker Brewing

I was bestowed a can of this beer by my buddy Pat who works at Widowmaker; cheers man! That said, I waited a bit to drink it, as I believe I acquired it when it was only a few days old, and now it's at about a month or so (9/17/20). Hope it's still as good as it was fresh, because the can I split with him right after this was canned was quite high-quality by my recollection.

The pour here is an opaque, deep-orange color with some golden highlights if held up to direct light. It features a nice, retentive, foamy head of bone-white foam measuring about three fingers upon first pour. That collar does eventually sink down to about one finger, leaving behind some decent lace and great legs. A rather-large clump of suds is gathered on the surface of the beer as well, like a weird island just kinda... hanging out. Interesting, mostly great pour.

Right away I pick up a lot of layered citrus and tropical fruit, immediately hitting my senses with mango, tangelo, and passion fruit. Some light papaya and a helping of sugared grapefruit and candied orange lingering as well. Definitely smells a bit more hop-saturated and less "yeasty"/ester-driven compared to some other WM beers I've had. Potentially VS's influence, I suppose. There's definitely a decent amount going on here and, even though it kinda feels like a "typical" strong NEIPA, it does have a rather solid range of fruit elements without much in the way of the dankness that Mosaic and Galaxy (the hops used here) tend to bring out.

First sip tastes heavily of candied grapefruit and orange with a hit of mango and papaya immediately following. A rather sweet flavor coupled with the abundance of oat-like, soft maltiness gives this a satisfying, if heavy, feel. Some light pineapple, herbal/spicy hoppiness, and a touch of grassiness as well, especially toward the finish... this is quite good, and definitely flaunts its high ABV, I might add. As this warms and as I pour the rest of the can into my glass, I start picking up more complex fruit flavors... some dark berries and orchard fruit, for sure. Almost a hint of boysenberry in here, if you can believe that. Very cool. As I mentioned above, the feel is rather thick and chewy, though it doesn't have a "milkshake"-like complexion. Still feels lean and mean where it counts, despite its strength and density. Worth it for sure!