BERTHOUD, Colo. — As the sun hangs lower in the sky each day City Star head brewer John Way tracks how far it shines inside through the taproom’s new huge south-facing windows. Solar noon is celebrated daily and well known by all those who work in the brewhouse mid-day with John. Fascinated by the Winter Solstice John Way originally crafted Widow Maker, his darkest beer of the year, with the darkest day of the year in mind.
The sun won’t be shining tomorrow in Colorado during the Winter Solstice (yay snow!) but Widow Maker will be as it flows from the taps. At 2 pm Widow Maker Imperial Stout will be released on draft and in 22oz bottles, side by side with French Roast Widow Maker and Vanilla Bean Widow Maker. Bottles will be for sale at $12-15/bottle with a 1 case limit per person of each beer. 10oz pours, tasters, and flights of all three imperial stouts will be available to enjoy in the taproom.
More about the beers:
Widow Maker is a colossal Imperial Stout. This nod to the Winter Solstice boasts a big, bold and complex flavor profile of dark roasted malt, chocolate, and dark fruit. Smooth, rich and ready to sip and savor.
The French Roast variant of Widow Maker Imperial Stout is infused with Denver based Dazbog’s French Roast coffee. Two pounds of coarse ground coffee per barrel is added to the conditioned beer for a robust 24-hour cold brew. Bold coffee mingles with the imperial stout’s dark roasted malt, chocolate, and dark fruit flavors. Not for the faint-hearted. Caffeine included.
The Vanilla Bean variant of Widow Maker Imperial Stout is infused with organic Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar. The conditioned beer is dosed with a tincture made in house of the scraped vanilla pods and tiny seeds. Sweet, dark roasted malt, chocolate, and dark fruit notes showcase the delicate vanilla flavor and aroma.
To date, City Star Brewing has only bottled barrel-aged beers. The bottle release of Widow Maker is the brewery’s first non-barrel aged beer to be packaged. As supply is very limited bottles of Widow Maker and variants will only be sold out of the downtown Berthoud taproom. More specialty bottle releases can be expected in 2018.
About City Star Brewing
City Star began slinging beer in downtown Berthoud, CO in 2012 and has since become a destination for the community and craft beer enthusiasts. At our small town brewery, we are handcrafting small-batch ales and lagers on our mighty 3.5 barrel brew system. We are dedicated to brewing high-quality beer that we enjoy drinking, beer you can hang your hat on.