Samuel Adams Summer Ale

Summer? Yes, please! The Sam Adams Summer seasonal is wheat beer with some special ingredients added. This beer features 2-row Pale, malted wheat and Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops with lemon zest and Grains of Paradise (that’s basically a peppercorn).

Stats:
American Pale Wheat Ale. 5.3% ABV. Massachusetts.

Yellow and fairly pale with very little head and some carbonation streams.

Definitely lemon-y on the nose, but I don’t get too much spice going on here. That’s about it on the nose.

Mouthfeel is light with high carbonation, but that’s not too bad in a Summer beer.

Lemon, wheat, and just a hint of spice going on. It’s got a lovely malt finish with at hint of lemon zest.

Nothing amazing here, but I like this one. It’s a nice, easy-drinking, and citrusy beer. All things I like. 84 points.

Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA

Saw this IPA awhile back and thought I’d grab a sixer. It comes in at a very attractive price point. Of course, with all of the IPAs around here, it’s gonna be hard to compete. It features 2-row Harrington, Metcalfe, Copeland, Caramel 60, and Gambrinus Honey malts with Hallertau Mittelfrueh, East Kent Goldings, Zeus, Simcoe and Ahtanum hops. That’s a whole lotta hops.

Stats:
American India Pale Ale. 5.8% ABV. Massachusetts.

Dark amber color, does leave a decent head.

The nose is hoppy, but not over-the-top, with quite a bit of malt coming through, bringing a biscuit character. The hops are very piney, with a hint of orange.

Light to medium bodied, could use a little more body.

Very English in it’s approach. It’s got that piney hop flavor, but is really balanced with a lot of malt bringing quite a lot of biscuit/cracker and a little bit of caramel. Does bring some bitterness on the backend.

It’s a serviceable IPA, so I’d recommend it. Actually, for the price, it’s a great deal. 83 points.

Samuel Adams Imperial White

This is a white beer that has been “imperialized.” Meaning instead of a low alcohol, easy-drinking beer, they upped it to a high alcohol version. This beer features 2-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland Pale malts and malted wheat with Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops. I’ve been only so-so on their Imperial Series stuff so far, but I do love me a wit, so let’s see how this fairs.

Stats:
Witbier. 10.3% ABV. Massachusetts.

Dark orange color and it’s just chock full of sediment.

Interesting nose. First thing I notice is the sweetness, but it has some orange and coriander coming through as well. Alcohol shows a bit. And I do get a little pinesol type of action, smells kind of artificial.

Mouthfeel is pretty thick, and high carbonation. Not really what I’d like to see.

Palate is really sweet, with lots of brown sugar, with orange, banana, cloves, coriander, and again, I get this artificial pine sol thing. Alcohol shows on the backend.

I absolutely hate this beer. It’s practically undrinkable. The sweetness and alcohol are completely out of control. The mouthfeel and the flavor is undesirable. Save yourself some cash on this one. 76 points.

Sam Adams Noble Pils

This is a re-view of the Noble Pils. When I last reviewed this beer, I really didn’t like it much. That’s mostly because of a rubbery flavor profile that I really hated. We discussed the beer on Getting Tanked, and mentioning that it tastes like shit because of the rubber taste, well let’s just say that I’m still living that down. But the main point of this is that people didn’t get that flavor profile and so I want to see if I still got it in the new batch.

Stats:
Czech Pilsner. 4.9% ABV. Massachusetts.

Light Pils yellow. It has a nice head, but it’ll fade fairly quickly.

Light hop aroma with a malty background. Actually I think the malts dominate the nose more than the hops. Lots of fruit, here, and I do get that rubbery component, but it’s fairly subtle.

Decent mouthfeel, no complaints.

Palate is very similar to the nose, lots of fruits, some hop bitterness. Apple comes through heavy on the finish. Again, that rubbery-ness is there, but not like it was the last time I had it.

Well this beer is clearly different from when I last had it. I don’t know if it’s an age thing or not, but this is much better. 87 points.

Sam Adams Imperial Series Double Bock

This doppelbock is from the Imperial Series, consisting of 2 other beers. This beer features 2-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland pale, and Caramel 60 malts. The hops include Tettnang Tettnanger and Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops.

Stats:
Doppelbock. 9.5% ABV. Massachusetts.

Kind of a light Coke colored beer. Head isn’t anything that impressive.

Bready malts with a lot of sweetness on the nose. Caramel comes through with hints of vanilla.

Good mouthfeel, pretty thick with good carbonation.

Again, very bready malts with quite a bit of sweetness. It’s that vanilla spice thing going on, with caramel and brown sugar. Caramelized apples and pears show nicely with a heavy vanilla finish. The alcohol shows just a tad, but very well contained.

I’m enjoying this one, probably one of the best Sam Adams beers I’ve had. Pick this up in the Fall, perfect time for this beer. 89 points.

Sam Adams Imperial Stout

One of their Imperial Series beers, this stout features 2-Row Harrington, Metcalfe and Copeland Pale, Caramel 60, Munich, Special B, and smoked malts with unmalted barley and malted wheat. The hops are all East Kent Goldings. Let’s see if this RIS can hold it’s own against all the cult classics.

Stats:
Russian Imperial Stout. 9.2% ABV. Massachusetts.

Black with some brown hues. Tan colored head and some decent lacing here.

Sweet smelling, with a lot of caramel coming through. A little bit of chocolate and coffee. Not that much else, just smells very sweet and dessert like.

Medium bodied, the carbonation seems to thin it out a little.

Lots of sweet caramel on the palate. Some roasted coffee qualities on the backend. A little notice of the alcohol. Some orange and banana hit the palate.

So, it’s alright. It’s very caramel-y instead of roasted coffee and chocolate, which you normally will find on this style of beer. I don’t hate this beer at all, but there are much better places to go. 87 points.

Sam Adams Noble Pils

This is a German Pilsner from Sam Adams with a pretty cool concept, using 5 noble hop varieties. The hops used are Hallertau, Saaz, Spalt, Tettnang, and Hersbrucker. You don’t usually hear about Hersbrucker as a Noble hop.

Stats:
Pilsner. 5.2% ABV. Massachusetts.

Light golden colored, with a decent, white head.

The first thing I notice on the aroma is a rubber ball type of thing. It smells like burning plastic or something. It’s got a bit of grassyness as well, but it doesn’t smell all that hoppy.

Light to medium mouthfeel, and fairly high carbonation. Good mouthfeel.

Again that rubber, burnt plastic thing comes through on the palate, pretty unpleasant. Grassy and has some citrus, a little orange, apricot, lemon, and a touch of grapefruit.

Really not a big fan of this one, that rubber ball thing really turns my palate off. 80 points.

Sam Adams Holiday Porter

Another Sam Adams beer from the Winter Pack, this time a porter. Brewed with Two Row Pale, Caramel, Munich, Carafa malts, with flaked oats apparently. And again, very European hops: Fuggles, East Kent Goldings, and Spalt Spalter.

Stats:
Porter. 5.8% ABV. Massachusetts. Available in the Winter Pack.

Very dark brown, close to black. Not much head on this one.

Very creamy nose, and kind of sweet. The malts come through for sure, and a nice bit of espresso. But nothing crazy on the nose.

Good mouthfeel, not overly thick, but still pretty full bodied, pretty high carbonation.

Malts right away, a bit of roastedness, with some coffee and chocolate. Some smoke flavors, as well. Kind of hollow in the back. A little bit of bitterness.

Nothing too special here, it’s serviceable, but nothing to go out of your way for. Much better porters out there. 84 points.

Sam Adams Old Fezziwig

A winter seasonal from Sam Adams. I believe you can only get this in the winter mix pack, which is worth picking up, if not for anything else but the selection. The malts used are two-role pale, Munich, Chocolate, and Caramel, with a Tettnang and Hallertau Noble hops. So it looks like they are giving a little European Christmas love.

Stats:
Winter Warmer. 5.6% ABV. Massachusetts. Available November through January.

Very typical winter warmer look. Dark brown ale with barely any head.

Very rich maltyness on the nose. Lots of caramel and chocolate coming through. Some dark fruits coming through as well, with some raisins, plumbs, and prunes with a little bit of molasses.

Good thick mouthfeel for this type of beer.

Very similar to the nose on the palate, lots of maltyness coming through, pretty rich beer. Lots of caramel, raisins, brown sugar, and dark fruits.

Not a bad winter warmer. Doesn’t totally knock my socks off, but a solid brew. 87 points.

Just an update, now that finals are almost over and break is upon me, I will be working hard to add a lot more content to the blog, including a couple new features. Please let me know if there is anything you would like to see from me.

Sam Adams Octoberfest

A Märzen or Octoberfest beer, is a lager with high maltyness and a rich, toasted quality. Märzen (March) beers were originally brewed in March and then lagered (cold-stored) until brewing started up again in the fall.

Stats:
Märzen. 5.7% ABV. Massachusetts.

Bronze in color, but pretty good head with very nice lacing.

Good nose on this beer. Sweet malts coming through, with a little bit of roastyness. I do get some fruit on here as well, a little banana and citrus. And some spices come through nicely with lots of caramel.

Light lager mouthfeel, very drinkable.

Nice malty sweetness come straight through on the palate, with lots of that caramel flavor coming through. The yeast flavors come out a bit here, as well as some almost grainy flavor. There is just a hint of citrus on here too.

Pretty decent brew. Havn’t compared it to it’s German counterparts, but this American take is a pretty full flavored and balanced brew. 87 points.