Here’s my second beer form Cleveland’s Black Box brewing Company of West Lake, Ohio. It’s called Javelin Ale and it may be one of the beer world’s least known brews. Black Box does not have a website to speak of, but I do believe they brew their own beers as well as do some contract brewing. Before trying Javelin Ale, Cleveland’s Own Christmas Ale had been my only Black Box brew. It features the famous leg lamp from “A Christmas Story” on the label, and it’s a pretty awesome beer indeed.
Black Box beers are not sold here in Georgia, or I suspect not far outside of Ohio for that matter. I got a sample from our own Dave Coulter, and if you want to know about beer in Cleveland, he’s the guy to go to. He can walk to Great Lakes Brewing from his home after all. What’s better than that?
Here’s what Black Box says about Javelin Ale on the label:
Javelin is a (sic) American Amber rye. We take it up a notch with this beer. Malty with hints of raisins, and plums. We use Amarillo and Cascade hops to add a moderate bitterness and spicy, noble aroma. Javelin is sure to hit the mark. This is a non-filtered, dry hopped beer to give you all the aroma you would expect from a craft beer.
Black Box Javelin Ale has an alcohol content of 6.5% by volume. And here’s what I think about it.
Black Box Javelin Ale pours to a rusty amber color with a good sized head of very creamy foam and a spicy rye and soft stewed malt nose. Taking a sip, the beer has a remarkable smooth creaminess in the body followed by the luscious stewed malts the nose promised, which I happen to really love in red/amber ales. A hint of spicy rye adds depth and character, and the whole affair is rounded out nicely with gently bitter hops. The malt is the star here, though, and this is a beer I could drink all night.
I didn’t get the raisins and plums that Black Box talks about, but I still very much enjoyed this tasty amber ale. It’s an easy drinking yet flavorful, unpretentious ale that would pair will with just about any cuisine.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft