Today was Widow’s Day at the McMenamins Thompson Brewery in Salem, the release day for their annual Halloween seasonal, Black Widow Porter. Black Widow was first brewed at Thompson back in the ’90s and it has become a McMenamins staple since. And as it happens, this week the company also sent out cans of Black Widow to media, the first year it has been canned.

I’ve always enjoyed this ale, a robust porter brewed with licorice, and it will be interesting to see how this canned version fares. As always, the packaged beers are brewed at the Edgefield, while each brewery also brews the same beer on their systems. So each beers can be slightly different, depending on the location and the brewer.