Archive for the tag “Samuel Adams”

14 Mar 2012
2 Comments

Alpine Spring (Samuel Adams)

5.5% ABV
Purchased at Target ($12.99/12-pack) as part of the Samuel Adams Brewmasters Series and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

This new spring seasonal from Sam Adams pours sunrise yellow with a bright white head.  The airy nose has cooked lemons, hay, and just the slightest bit of funk.  Alpine Spring’s sweet and tangy taste prominently features fermented citrus, but also a notable sweat sock funkiness not uncommon to the keller bier style.  The taste is essentially a more citrus-inflected version of a light pilsner, and what it lacks in innovation it makes up for with its refreshing finish and warm-weather drinkability.  This is a beer to quench your thirst, not your sense of adventure.

  3.5 Toasts

Her Notes:

  3 Toasts


Posted in Beer Review, Keller, Landbier and tagged , , , ,
16 Feb 2012

Whitewater IPA (Samuel Adams)

5.8% ABV
Purchased at Target ($12.99/12-pack) as part of the Samuel Adams Brewmaster Series and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

Whitewater IPA pours cantaloupe orange with a tight white head, and it has the pungent smell of zesty citrus and apricots.  Wildly bitter grapefruit citrus socks you on the palette, but it eventually mellows into dried apricot and lemon flavors.  It has the light and chewy quality of dehydrated fruit, but I wouldn’t exactly call it a “dry” or “crisp”.  There is intense and bitter citrus in the manner of a hop-bomb IPA, but I wouldn’t even call the flavor “hoppy”.  Curiosity is this brew’s greatest asset, yet novelty (especially the addition of apricots during the brewing process) and relative riskiness aside, Whitewater IPA isn’t a particularly tasteful or interesting beer.

  2 1/2 Toasts

Her Notes:

  2 Toasts


Posted in Beer Review, IPA and tagged , , | Leave a comment
23 Jan 2012

Black and Brew (Samuel Adams)

5.8 ABV
Purchased at Raley’s ($12.99/12-pack) and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

Black and Brew is a new edition to Sam Adams’ Winter Classics Variety Pack, and easily the worst of a relatively mediocre bunch.  It pours a murky, black-brown color with a thick, cola fizz-colored head.  Coffee bean aromas dominate, albeit with faint traces of milky chocolate.  Any chocolate on the tongue is completely obliterated by the coffee taste, thanks to the fresh beans directly added during brewing.  There is more coffee than beer on the palette, although it has the faint backbone of an ale (more than a stout, as advertised).  The coffee/beer taste combination leaves a tongue-curling bitterness that isn’t entirely pleasant, although the more beer-like qualities become more evident on the aftertaste.  Black and Brew is drinkable enough, but it barely even attempts to skirt novelty status.

  2 1/2 Toasts

Her Notes:

  2 Toasts


Posted in Beer Review, Stout and tagged , | Leave a comment
19 Jan 2012

Old Fezziwig Ale (Samuel Adams)

5.9% ABV
Purchased at Raley’s ($12.99/12-pack) and poured into pint glasses.

His Notes:

This holiday seasonal, part of the Sam Adams Winter Classics Variety Pack, pours clear brown with a sandy head.  A roasted smell is most prevalent in the weak nose, along with some winter spice, mild licorice, and coffee highlights.  The roasted malt character is also prevalent on the tongue, along with hickory and a touch of bitter chocolate in the aftertaste.  Cinnamon is the most notable spice, but it’s more smoky than spicy on the palette, like a batch of Christmas coffee.  Old Fezziwig is decent but a little bland for my taste, especially compared to the spice rack approach of Anchor’s Christmas Ale, although it should make for a fine cold weather, beef stew beer.

  3 Toasts

Her Notes:

  3 Toasts


Posted in Beer Review, Winter Warmer and tagged , | Leave a comment

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