Lake Superior Mesabi Red

Lake Superior Brewing is a small company in Duluth. Last May, I arranged to tour their brewing facility with my wife and daughter. It was a fun and surprising experience that I won't forget. I didn't know that a brewery operation that distributes quality beer in the Duluth area and all the way down to the Twin Cities metro could be so small. At the time I went, there were only 2 people that worked at the brewery. I had the pleasure of speaking with Dale Kleinschmidt, who is part-owner and head brewer. He was very willing to talk about all aspects of their brewing process and how they got started. This tour just showed me that you don't need a huge operation to make good beer; you just need the knowledge and the desire to do it. The quality shows in the fact that many of their beers have won various medals and accolades.

I am happy to say that we have a Lake Superior beer for this session. I picked up a bottle of their Mesabi Red in a "make your own" six-pack at Coborn's Liquor in Hastings. It's been a while since I've had this beer. If I remember correctly, this is a unique red ale. Here is the description from their website:

"We won't go so far as to call it our red-headed step child, but our robust American amber ale sprung more from inspired alchemy than any color-by-numbers recipe. Today, we front-load Red with five different malts, including Munich and Belgian aromatic, for a rich mahogany hue, then balance it with three hop varieties. This creates a potent, full-bodied brew with firm bitterness and a distinctive touch of dried strawberries in its finish. Named for the vast iron range that sustains Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, Mesabi Red rewards a hard day's work with strength and complexity."

I pour the 12 ounce bottle into a glass mug. I managed to generate a 1/4 inch thick head, but it dissipates fairly quickly and leaves only a small patch of off-white foam floating in the center. The body is amber-red in color and I see some hazing when I look through it.

As I raise the mug up to my nose, I immediately smell some sweet caramel malt. I also detect the scent of raisins and figs along with the slightest bit of fruity hop. The malt is definitely dominate in the aroma.

Taste-wise, I'm pleasantly ambushed. At first, I taste caramel and biscuity malt, which I expect from the smell. There is also a slight twang. But then, after a moment, the hops come at you. There is a piney hop flavor along with a nice bitterness at the finish. It balances the malt well. The aroma didn't lead me to believe that the beer was going to have much hop flavor, but it does.

This medium bodied beer coats the mouth. It also has a moderate to high carbonation level that tickles my tongue as I take each sip. There is no lacing to speak of.

This is a pleasing, if not surprising, red ale. The aroma makes you think it will be all about the malt. However, each taste has a noticeable yin and yang effect. The start is all malt, and then it's like there is a pause before the all-hop finish visits your mouth. It was something that caught me off guard at first, but I enjoyed each taste all the way to the bottom of my mug. I definitely recommend giving this beer a try. It's probably a little on the strong side to be a session beer at 6.5% ABV, but having a couple could be nice on weeknight. You may or may not like it, but it should be a unique beer experience for you. I know I enjoyed tasting it.