Sam Adams Sparkling Ale Review

Name: Sam Adams Sparkling Ale
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.8%
IBUs: 20

You know winter seasonals wouldn't be complete without some offerings from Sam Adams. I recently came into possession of the Sam Adams Winter Sampler and with it are a few beers that I have never tried before (with the exception of the Boston Lager of course).

The first one I'll be looking at is a fairly new beer if Beer Advocate is to be believed and it is their Sparkling Ale, which is a Blonde Ale. I find it a bit odd considering that winter seasonal beers are usually dark whereas this one is light. Also looking back at the photo itself, I feel like I should've poured this into a flute instead of a standard pint glass. Oh well....

Appearance - Bright yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation with a fairly foamy white head and some mild lacing.

Aroma - Pale malts, bitter floral hoppiness & cereal grains (not necessarily in the adjunct sense though.) I'm also getting some light malted barley notes as well.

Taste - Floral hops & orange rind followed by some lemongrass, pale malts and malted barley. As for the aftertaste is pretty much all lemongrass with some light pale maltiness.

I really can't say this left too big of a lasting impression on me, but this is certainly a nice sessionable beer. It's certainly a different take on the blonde ale style and, for what it is, it manages to be quite drinkable.

Sam Adams Sparkling Ale - 8/10

Sam Adams Downtime Pilsner Review

Name: Sam Adams Downtime Pilsner
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 5.2%
IBUs: 30

Continuing on with my Summertime Series beer reviews, I have another summer seasonal courtesy of Sam Adams with their Downtime Pilsner. Since it's my day off and there is a raging storm going on outside right now, I figured now would be a good time to review this beer; It is my.....downtime, after all!

Appearance - A fairly clear bright orange color with a foamy two-finger width head. The lacing is on the soapy side and there is a mild amount of carbonation to be had here.

Aroma - Pilsner malts and yeastiness are fairly prominent on the front of the nose. This is followed by some floral hoppiness and some potent lemongrass that takes on some lime-like characteristics. No earthy scent though, so there's that.

Taste - Pilsner maltiness and lemongrass notes. I'm also picking on some pale malts, yeasts and light citra-hops. I wish there was more to write about the flavor, but that's pretty much it.

Much like their Summer Ale, this is a simple & straight forward beer and about what I'd expect from a Sam Adams summer seasonal. At the same time, it tastes fairly good and it's worth adding to your mix-a-six should you be given the chance.

Sam Adams Downtime Pilsner - 8/10

Sam Adams Summer Ale Review

Name: Sam Adams Summer Ale
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale/Wheat Beer
ABV: 5.3%
IBUs: 7

Guess what everyone? It's summertime!

That's right, I'll be reviewing some summer seasonals for the next few reviews. The first we'll be looking at comes from Sam Adams Summer Ale, which is a Pale Wheat Ale. Aside from it being a wheat beer and a summer seasonal, there isn't really a whole lot to say about this beer. Although I have seen this during the times I goto Buffalo Wild Wings/Outback with the wife, though I haven't really bothered with it until now.

Appearance - Mildly hazy bright yellow color with tons of carbonation. The head is fairly foamy but with no lacing retention.

Aroma - Starts out with some malted wheat and orange peel followed by a little bit of citrus hops and a good amount of pale malts. Fairly basic so far.

Taste - Very similar to the aroma. You've got malted wheat and orange peel on the front with some light bitter citrus hops and pale malts in the back.

There really isn't a whole lot to say about this beer. It's simple, it's light, it's refreshing, and the perfect beer for those hot summer nights. Sure you're not getting the most complex tasting beer out there, but that isn't always necessarily a bad thing.

Sam Adams Summer Ale - 8/10

Sam Adams Rebel Rouser Double IPA Review

Name: Sam Adams Rebel Rouser Double IPA
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 8.4%
IBUs: 85

Last month, I reviewed Sam Adams' Rebel IPA, the first IPA that I would consider to be mainstream...relatively speaking, of course. Right after reviewing Rebel IPA, I discovered that there were two offshoots of the original beer and I have been trying to get around to having them. Today's beer is Rebel Rouser, which is their Imperial IPA. The other variation is a session IPA called Rebel Rider, which I hope to get around to reviewing in the future.

While it is heartening to see these offerings based on Rebel's success, I feel it will be a while before Rebel Rouser has a TV commercial of it's own. After all, Imperial IPAs have a ways to go before being considered as mainstream as Budweiser is.

Appearance - Hazy orange color with some very mild visible carbonation. The head is rather thin in appearance but the head (and lacing retention for that matter) are both quite good.

Aroma - Strong grapefruit notes paired with some equally strong citrus hops upfront. Some moderate piney hops and caramel maltiness make up the middle of the nose while there's a slight toffee sweetness on the back end.

Taste - Once again, the grapefruit notes and citrus hoppiness are loud and clear with some very noticeable bitter hoppiness and caramel maltiness in the second half of the flavor. However the biggest difference here is that the piney hops are also a lot stronger here and encompasses the flavor as a whole.

Rebel Rouser is a great beer and it shows that Sam Adams is really putting their best foot forward when it comes to the quality of their beer. Does it do anything to totally revolutionize the West Coast IPA style? No, but it doesn't necessarily need to as far as I'm concerned .

Sam Adams Rebel Rouser Double IPA - 9/10

Sam Adams Rebel IPA Review

Name: Sam Adams Rebel IPA
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 6.5%

A couple weeks back, I wrote an article about Sam Adams and the struggle to remain relevant in a market in which they helped create. In that article, I wrote about Sam Adams' Rebel IPA and how Sam Adams help can position itself in the craft beer market place with the help of Rebel. They also have a TV Spot for Rebel, now with more Dropkick Murphys!

Well I have their Rebel IPA for review today and it's also a beer I've had before on one of my many visits to Buffalo Wild Wings as it's often the best IPA that they have on tap there. Like many beers before it, I've never sat down to do a proper review so it will be my first time taking a closer look at this beer.

Rebel IPA pours a fairly clear orange color with moderate carbonation. The head takes on a thin foamy appearance and the lacing is pretty good.

The aroma has some strong piney hops and grape-fruitiness, followed by some mild citrus hops and a substantial caramel malt back bone. The piney hops in particular have this almost sticky quality to them, if that makes any sense.

The flavor starts out with some strong grapefruit & citrus hoppiness The second half of the flavor is where the piney hops make themselves known along with some noticeable caramel malts, before ending with a bitter hop aftertaste. On a side note, that citrus hoppiness in the front of the flavor lingers on throughout the whole drinking experience.

I have to hand it to Sam Adams, they really have made a good IPA that reminds one of a West-Coast style. Sure it's not the best of the best in terms of IPAs I've had but it's good enough to where I would have this over and over again.

Sam Adams Rebel IPA - 8.5/10

My thoughts on Wasted: How the craft beer movement abandoned Jim Koch (and his beloved Sam Adams)

**DISCLAIMER**

This is an opinion column more than anything else. Potential grammatical errors aside, I'm well aware that I am not an economist nor do I have an MBA. In fact, I don't even start my MBA classes until later this year.......did I just say that out loud? 

Last week I was browsing on Twitter during my lunch break when this article from Boston Magazine popped up in my news feed.

Wasted: How the craft-beer movement abandoned Jim Koch (and his beloved Sam Adams).

It starts with Jim Koch, CEO of Sam Adams Brewing, complaining about how Row 34, a prominent craft beer bar in Boston, didn't offer his beer. The article then goes on to talk about how he got into the craft beer business, birthed the craft beer moment, trying to be "cool", keeping up with trends, being the corporate side of craft beer, etc, etc.

I'm going to start off by showing an excerpt from the article:

So why does Koch get so upset when upscale bars such as Row 34 don't serve his beer? It might be because he’s worried that those establishments could be the canary in the craft-beer coal mine. The tastes of today’s drinkers and brewers are changing—and, unexpectedly, Boston Beer Company has been forced to play catch-up in the industry it helped to create.

Let's make one thing clear right now: Despite Sam Adams having to play catch-up in the craft brewing industry in-terms of trends, they're not going anywhere. They produce 2 Million+ barrels of beer a year. Sam Adams owes its growth & success their Boston Lager, which can be found in pretty much every bar across the country. Hey, speaking of which....

This may come as a shock to no one but not every bar is America aren't Craft Beer Only Bars like Row 34 or The Map Room in Chicago. The article makes note of how Sam Adams can be found at the Irish Pubs & Sports Bars. In fact, it's fairly safe to say that most bars in America aren't strictly "Craft Beer Only" bars. Besides if consumers got tired of Boston Lager, Sam Adams probably wouldn't be in business right now.

Another big talking point of the article is about how Jim Koch deliberately didn't go along with craft beer trends simply because everyone else was doing it.

The American beer palate is experiencing a tectonic shift. Once opposed to bitterness, domestic drinkers now embrace it. Big, bold, and brash IPAs are what consumers want, but Koch has been loath to make them. That could be a problem for Sam Adams’s business model, since hop-heavy IPAs, the most popular style of craft beer, account for a quarter of all craft-beer sales—and those sales are expected to grow by 40 percent this year.

“I don't want to make something if everyone else is doing it,” Koch says. It’s not just business: He personally doesn't enjoy many of the flavors in IPAs that today’s consumers celebrate, dismissing them as “catty” in nature. “I am probably outside the mainstream on that. We don't release a beer unless I like it.”

This is where I start to get a little critical because in every industry, trends are what drive the marketplace even if it isn't exactly to your liking. The problem I see here is that Mr. Koch refused to go along with these trends simply because he didn't like the style and that has no doubt affected Sam Adams' status in the craft brewing community. Even Goose Island has been somewhat keeping up with trends in the craft brewing industry: Barrel-Aging, Session Ales and so forth; Even after being bought out by Anheuser-Busch. I'll openly admit that there are some trends in craft brewing that I think are pretentious, but at the same time, I know breweries have to embrace those trends if it means satisfying consumer demand.

Now there are some trends that craft breweries can go without and do just fine. Things like Barrel-aging, session ales, or sour beers. However I have yet to see a craft brewery or brewpub that doesn't offer an IPA because it is pretty much a cornerstone of any craft brewery to offer an IPA. I'm not saying the IPA is a trend but you get the idea.

It wasn't until recently that Sam Adams started offering and heavily promoting their Rebel IPA and I have no doubt it my mind it was driven by consumer demand. However they would've been in a better position had they done this with their Latitude 48 IPA a couple years back when the demand for IPAs was on a massive upswing.

With all those misgivings, I do think Sam Adams' is in a unique position to come back swinging and one of those things that can help tremendously is their Rebel IPA. A few months back, I was at the gym when I saw a commercial for Sam Adams' Rebel IPA....

Up until that point, the only way people had heard about IPAs was seemingly through word-of-mouth. The idea of having a TV commercial for an IPA a couple years ago, to me, would've been unheard of. Sam Adams' has the financial strength to sell their Rebel IPA to the masses and bring about the IPA-style to a much larger demographic.

Plus in their defense, I think they have been trying in earnest to promote their other offerings through various outlets. I heard a spot on the radio from Sam Adams a few weeks ago boasting about how they brew over 60 different beers a year, which is a claim which they can make.

In the past few years, they have been releasing styles that really don't get too much attention. Earlier last year, I reviewed their Braggot, a style which doesn't get a lot of attention yet here is Sam Adams making it for the consumers. Seriously, how cool is that?! Their Griffin's Bow Barleywine (which I haven't had for a while) is also one of the better barleywine style beers that I've personally had.

With these limited releases, they have a chance to introduce more obscure styles of beer to the masses. A couple years back, they introduced Verloren, their Gose-style beer. Now it seems like every other craft brewery are introducing their own interpretation of the Gose and Sam Adams may be to thank for that, but that is just speculation on my part.

On a final note, I like Sam Adams. With the exception of one beer, I have never had what I would consider to be a terrible beer from them. Even though I tend to favor smaller craft breweries compared to Sam Adams' size, I still enjoy going through their seasonal sampler packs because there is always something new and exciting each time. Plus I always be sure to check out a limited release from them whenever I get the chance, especially if it's something I've never seen before.

I have faith in Sam Adams that as time goes on, they will not only be able to catch up but also keep up with current trends in the craft brewing industry. Not only that but I think they can get into a position which puts them not at odds with other breweries, but also to lead the way.

Thanks for reading my ramblings!

Cheers!

- Nick

Sam Adams Boston Lager Review

Name: Sam Adams Boston Lager
Style: Vienna Lager
ABV: 4.9%

Since I've started this blog, I have looked at some beers that not a lot of people have heard of before. On the flipside, there have been beers that everyone had that I haven't looked at yet. Such is the case with Sam Adams Boston Lager, which is the final beer from this year's fall sampler pack.

What can be said about Boston Lager? Well for starters, it is arguably the most well known craft beer out there (Yes, I do consider Sam Adams to be a craft brewer.) and it can be found in pretty much every part of the country. As of late, they have been using the song "I'm Shipping up to Boston" by The Dropkick Murphys in both their radio and TV spots. It was also the first recipe that Jim Koch came up with when he started Sam Adams 30 years ago.

Boston Lager pours a clear amber/dark orange color with some mild carbonation. The head is thin and white in appearance and the lacing is rather sparse.

The nose has some Munich maltiness upfront along with mild some roasted barley and toffee sweetness with a floral & bitter hop profile encompassing the aroma.

The flavor starts out fairly malty with some toffee and Munich malt sweetness. The floral hops are a bit more pronounced here while the bitter hops make up what is an otherwise dry aftertaste.

The body has a bit of weight to it but not overly so. The carbonation has a bit of a kick to it as well but it feels rather crisp as a whole.

Even though it's 30 years old and is one of the most widely produced beers on the market right now, I still consider this to be a good beer that has held up well. It is, by no means, the best craft beer out there. However you aren't making a bad choice by having this either, which is more than what I can say about some other craft beers I've had before this.

Sam Adams Boston Lager - 8/10

Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale Review

Name: Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale
Style: Pumpkin Beer
ABV: 5.7%

Next up on Sam Adams Fall Sampler pack is their Harvest Pumpkin Ale. I have had a their Fat Jack from before but this is the first time I've had this particular beer. Not really much else to say, so let's get right to it.

Harvest Pumpkin pours a clear crimson color with some moderate visible carbonation. The head pours a soapy khaki-colored head with some soapy lacing.

The nose starts out with some cinnamon & nutmeg notes which is followed by some pumpkin pie sweetness. There's also some mild toffee maltiness and faint floral hoppiness tucked away in the back.

Flavor-wise, the pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg notes all seem to come at you at once. After this, it finishes with a bitter floral hoppiness and a light spicy yeastiness.

This is a decent pumpkin beer but it leaves something to desired. At the same time, it isn't what I would consider terrible. My advice would be to get this as part of a mix-a-six and decide for yourself.

Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale - 7.5/10

Sam Adams Harvest Saison Review

Name: Sam Adams Harvest Saison
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.0%

I recently came into possession of a Sam Adams fall seasonal pack, which just so happened to be on sale, I'm guessing to make way for the inevitable winter seasonal pack which should be arriving in the very near future; Plus I can't argue with an $8 twelve-pack! As such, I'll be taking a look at each beer in this pack, with the exception of the Octoberfest which I have already reviewed.

The first beer I'll be trying out was actually the one that grabbed my attention when I picked this up, which is their Harvest Saison. According to the label, this is a Saison brewed with oats, wheat & rye. For the record, I've never had a Saison brewed with rye, let alone a Saison from Sam Adams so I'm very eager to try this out.

Harvest Saison pours a dark hazy yellow color with some mild carbonation. The head is pretty foamy and the lacing is very abundant.

The nose starts out with Belgian yeasts and cloves before transitioning to some light malted wheat notes and slight rye spiciness. Judging from the description on the label, it's holding up true so far.

The flavor is fairly Belgian yeast forward upfront with some rye spiciness. This is followed up by some malted wheat notes, berry fruitness and light floral hoppiness. The aftertaste is a bitter hop aftertaste and light rye spiciness.

The body is moderate in weight but the carbonation is relatively light. Thankfully it goes really well with the flavor profile and helps keep everything in check

I'll admit that my expectations were that this would be good, but not great; After all, I can't seem to remember having a bad beer from Sam Adams. With that said, I was very impressed with the overall flavor and just how complex this was. I was a bit skeptical of the inclusion of rye in this beer but it actually works out quite well. If you're still able to try this out, I would highly recommend checking this out, particularly to fans of the Saison style!

Sam Adams Harvest Saison - 9.25/10

Sam Adams Honey Queen Review

Name: Sam Adams Honey Queen
Style: Braggot
ABV: 7.5%

For this post, I bring to you something completely new and different that I have never reviewed before but have always wanted to try. I'm reviewing my first ever Braggot, which comes in the form of Sam Adams Honey Queen.

Since it's more of an obscure style, not many people are familiar with what a Braggot is. It's basically a beer whose fermentation process if like that of mead. They're typically very malty, brewed with honey and can either have hops or have no hops. In this instance, Honey Queen is brewed with hops.

I'll be the first to admit that I am not terribly familiar with the Braggot style. In fact, the only Braggot I've had prior to having this was from Carmody Irish Pub & Brewery as part of their Small Batch Sunday series.  Sadly I wasn't taking any notes at the time, but I thought it was solid!

Honey Queen pours a relatively hazy yellow color with a reasonably thin white head. The visible carbonation is somewhat moderate and the lacing is quite abundant and sticky.

The nose starts things off with a prominent Belgian yeast and honey aroma. This in turn is backed up by some cloves, floral hops and flowers, which I'm guessing is the chamomile used in the brewing process.

Now in the flavor, you have have some yeastiness, floral hops and chamomile at the front end of the palate. It isn't until you get to the back of the flavor and aftertaste that the honey makes it's way through and it does so in a fairly strong way because the aftertaste of honey and chamomile sticks around for quite a while. There is a slight boozy characteristic to the flavor itself but I didn't think it affected the overall quality.

The palate as a whole is moderate in both weight and carbonation. I do think the carbonation adds a little bit of dimension to the flavor so I can't find anything wrong here.

Since I'm not familiar with the Braggot-style, I really don't have a bar as far as what constitutes a good example of this style. With that said, I enjoyed this quite a bit and I feel it's safe to say that those looking for a great way to get into an obscure style would be wise to try this out.

Sam Adams Honey Queen - 8.5/10 

Sam Adams White Christmas Review

Name: Sam Adams White Christmas
Style: Witbier
ABV: 5.8%

As many of you may be thinking in your heads, I am painfully aware that Christmas was over a month ago. Still, that does not necessarily mean that I am done with winter seasonals because there is still over a month left in winter (sadly.) How I long for a winter like the one we had in 2012 because we pretty much had no winter that year, and to me, those are the best kind of winters.

In any case, today I'm looking at a winter seasonal from Sam Adams called White Christmas, a Belgian White aka Witbier. I'd make a cheesy Bing Crosby reference here but I will refrain from doing so.

White Christmas pours a wet golden color with a some high carbonation. The head has a pretty appearance and no lacing to speak of.

The aroma starts off with a pleasent scent of orange peel, wheat and spices. Along with that are notes of cloves, cinnamon and malts.

Cinnamon and spices make up a good portion of the flavor. These are supported by some citrus hops, wheat and pale malts.

The palate is moderate in weight and some mild feeling carbonation is tacked on for good measure. This beer is pretty easy to drink.

I found this to be a pretty good Witbier and warms you up a little bit when drinking thanks to the cinnamon and spice flavors. I could see myself drinking this again next time the winter rolls around.

Sam Adams White Christmas - 8/10

Sam Adams LongShot Magnificent Seven Review

Name: Sam Adams LongShot Magnificent Seven
Style: Imperial IPA
ABV: 7.8%

Every year, Samuel Adams releases a few beers as part of their "LongShot" series. The concept behind the series is to allow award winning homebrewers to share their creation with a beer drinking public. The one I have here today is called "Magnificent Seven" which derives it's name from using seven kinds of hops and not the totally awesome movie which the name comes from. It is brewed by Zach Adams, who has absolutely no relation to the actual Sam Adams (Not that I know of anyways.)

Magnificent Seven pours a mildly hazy orange color with a fairly high amount of visible carbonation and tons of lacing. The head itself is rather soapy and but leaves behind some pretty good lacing.

The aroma starts us off with a mild citrus hop & caramel scent. Behind that are some toffee, piney hop and malty notes, all of which are also fairly mild.

The flavor has a strong bitter piney hop/resin, & light citrus taste with a slight caramel maltiness. This is rather bitter but at the same time there isn't a whole lot going on here in terms of flavor.

The body is quite heavy and thick at the same time and the carbonation comes off as moderate. For some reason, I feel the body makes the overall taste a bit more off than it already is.

Magnificent Seven nails the bitter aspect of what to expect out of an Imperial IPA but it forgot to bring along the rest of the flavor (namely the malts) which would have balanced out the said bitterness. It isn't an awful Imperial IPA but I would pass this up if I were to be offered this again.

Sam Adams LongShot Magnificent Seven - 6/10

Sam Adams Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Review

Name: Sam Adams Fat Jack Double Pumpkin
Style: Pumpkin Beer
ABV: 8.5%

It's a cold, windy & rainy night here in Duluth and driving home is liking being in your own horror movie but without the dumb teenagers running from a serial killer. With Halloween about 4 weeks away, what better night than tonight to review a pumpkin ale.

A couple years ago, Sam Adams started releasing these specialty bombers of beer as a way to branch out more into the craft beer community and have been pretty successful so far. This one is Sam Adams' Fat Jack Double Pumpkin Ale, the brewery's own pumpkin ale. Much like Southern Tier's Pumking, this has a rather high ABV, clocking in at 8.5%. Many will call this an "Imperial Pumpkin Ale" but I think the term sounds a bit silly so we'll just call it a Pumpkin Beer for the time being.

Fat Jack pours a dark clear ruby red color with a foamy brown head that retains a filmy appearance after it settles down and leaves behind some good lacing. The visible carbonation is also quite light.

The aroma starts you off with a nice pumpkin pie and light cinnamon scent. After that, there are some spice, clove, nutmeg, malty and vanilla notes in the back. It's smell is not unlike that of Pumking.

The flavor is rather cinnamon and clove heavy upfront. The sweet pumpkin pie flavor takes a back seat to those flavors along with the vanilla, malts and hops.

The body itself is rather heavy and the carbonation starts out moderate before coming down a couple of notches to a lesser intensity.

It's a decent Pumpkin beer but the flavor is quite imbalanced and could use some work. Also I paid about a dollar more for this than Pumking, which I think is a more superior Pumpkin beer than this. If you have the money, go for Pumking instead of this.

Sam Adams Fat Jack Double Pumpkin - 7/10

Sam Adams Octoberfest Review

Name: Sam Adams Octoberfest
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
ABV: 5.3%

Fall is starting to rear it's head into our collective consciousness which means only one thing: Oktoberfest Beers. It seems this is the most widely available type of seasonal out of the entire year and pretty much every brewery has their own interpretation of this style. Now from an objective point of view, I've never had an Oktoberfest-Style Ale that has blown me away. In my experience, they've either good, okay or bad; Never great or excellent. Although I have heard whisperings and rumors that Leinenkugel's Big Eddy Uber-Oktoberfest is quite excellent....

From what I understand, Sam Adams Octoberfest is one of the most widely available Oktoberfest out on the market; If not the most widely available Oktoberfest style out there. So why not kick things off with something most beer drinkers are familiar with?

The beer pours a dark orange color with a filmy brownish head. There isn't much in terms of lacing and there's no carbonated activity as far as I can see.

Aroma-wise, I'm getting pungent Nutty and Munich Malt notes along with hints of Caramel, Yeasts and Toasted Barley. Slightly sweet and rusty scent, the latter of which is typical in some Oktoberfest Beers.

In terms of flavor, you have some strong Nutty, Bread Crust, Toasted Barley, Munich Malts and a slight Floral Hoppiness. Thankfully, no rusty taste to speak of.

The body is pretty light and the carbonation is also very light as well, though I think it does feel a bit watery at times.

Sam Adams Octoberfest is a decent beer though I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again unless it's on tap. Those who are familiar with Oktoberfest beers know what they are getting when they drink this.

Sam Adams Octoberfest - 7.5/10

Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter

Name: Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.6%

This is the last beer in the Sam Adams Spring Sampler Pack. It's been a long time coming really and I know I have been neglecting to review this beer for quite a while. Since this is technically my "weekend" thanks to my new job, I figured I would finally get around to reviewing this. I want to point out before this review that I have never had Pecan before in my life, I'm not a fan of nuts of any kind except for Cashews which I have no problem with.

To start, it pours a fairly dark brown color with a brown head. Its fairly clear appearance allows for a reddish tinge on the bottom half of the glass.

The nose has an aroma of maple syrup, nuts (which I would assume are Pecan), roasted malts and a bit of chocolate. Very nutty smell, I would say this smells more like a Brown Ale than a Porter.

The flavor has a strong sweet maple syrup and roasted malt taste upfront which is supplemented by chocolate and nutty notes. Definitely tastes more like a Porter but more like a fairly light one.

The body feels light but it also has a dimension of thickness to it and the carbonation is very mild, probably thanks in part to the maple syrup.

It may be a little too rich for some but I enjoyed it! I would've liked to have seen actual maple syrup used instead of artificial syrup to make the flavor more subtle but for what it is, but it's worth checking out either way.

Sam Adams Maple Pecan Porter - 8.5/10

Sam Adams Double Agent IPL Review

Name: Sam Adams Double Agent IPL
Style: American Pale Lager
ABV: 5.0%

Since I'm over half way through my Sam Adams Spring Seasonal Pack, I figured I would move on to the more interesting beers of the bunch. This time around, it's Sam Adams Double Agent IPL (India Pale Lager). I do have to give Sam Adams credit, they do have some pretty interesting ideas for some of their beers; In their seasonals, regular offerings and limited releases.

Looking over the description of the beer, which is claimed to be, in my own words, a very hop forward lager. The first thing that pops into my head which reminds me of when I had Hop Cream from Capitol Brewing on tap (which I will be reviewing in the not-so-distant future).

IPL pours a golden yellow color with a moderate amount of carbonation. From the start, it looks like your average golden lager.

However once you move onto the smell, it's an entirely different story. The smell is very piney & citrus hop heavy and forward. If one were to close their eyes and take a whiff, they would probably believe they are smelling a rich IPA.

And like the nose, the flavor has strong piney hops notes, along with a strong citrus rind and yeast flavor. Aftertaste is has a strong resin flavor, which sticks around for a while.

The body is fairly light and the carbonation is rather mild as well. This helps in conjunction with the flavor since it already "unique" enough as is.

There's more than meets the eye with this beer, which will be off-putting to those who are used to their golden lagers. However if you're feeling a little adventurous then this beer would be a good choice for you.

Sam Adams Double Agent IPL - 8/10

Sam Adams Irish Red Ale Review

Name: Sam Adams Irish Red Ale
Style: Irish Red Ale
ABV: 5.8%

Continuing on with my Sam Adams Spring Sampler review, my next item on the list is the Sam Adams Irish Red Ale. Before starting, I wanted to say that I really enjoy seeing the award information under each bottle Sam Adams bottle cap. I find it strangely fascinating.

Sam Adams Irish Red Ale pours a Ruby Red Color with a head that has a slight red tinge to it. At least they weren't lying when they called it a Red Ale. Head retention is decent, which lasts around 3 minutes or so before it starts to wear off, leaving behind a fair amount of lacing.

Smell is quite malty, with some yeast and light floral hop notes. There's also a sweet toffee scent in here as well, probably thanks to the malts.

The flavor has some toffee, yeast, and malty notes. Floral hops are also absent in the flavor, and instead what I am left with is a fairly malty Red Ale, which is rather unusual considering my past experience with this style.

The palate itself is of moderate weight and the carbonation is light, so there it's a pretty easy to drink beer.

Overall, it's a decent beer. Nothing too special or spectacular about it, it gets the job done and has a solid flavor.

Sam Adams Irish Red Ale - 7.5/10

Sam Adams Alpine Springs Review

Name: Sam Adams Alpine Spring
Style: Zwickelbier
ABV: 5.5%

I love Sampler Packs; It helps me, being the indecisive individual I am, make a choice as far as what to get whenever I make a visit to my local liquor store. This past weekend, I was grabbing a bomber when I noticed the Sam Adams Spring Sampler Pack was on-sale. Since Spring is trying to claw it's way into our great state, I took it upon myself to buy it. Most sampler packs have 4 different types of beer, but oh no, this one has six!

Yes, despite the size of Samuel Adams Brewery, I still believe they produce quality beers and I find their limited releases to be very good as well. So I will be reviewing each beer in the sampler pack this week. For my first choice, I'm going with Alpine Spring.

Alpine Spring is a Keller/Zwickel Bier style, which from my research is a fairly rare beer style. Believe it or not, one of the local beers around here used to be a Keller style, which was Surly Hell. Now the description of Surly Hell says it's a Zwickel Style Beer but it's listed as a Munich Helles Lager on the websites.

Alpine Spring pours a cloudy dark orange color. The head retention is decent and leaves behind some lacing. Looking in, you really don't see any activity in terms of carbonation

The smell is a fairly strong aroma of yeast and bread with a slight hop bitterness and a faint malty backbone. Smells like fresh bread; It's simple but pleasant.

The flavor, much like the smell, is primarily yeast, flour and bread. There's a hop bitterness on the back of the palate and the after taste is very yeasty in character. Tastes like....liquid bread.

The palate is light bodied and has a very mild level of carbonation. It's the type of body style that is meant for casual drinking on almost any occasion.

This is a beer that can be justifiable in almost any situation, from watching football to grilling out, from tailgating to picnicking. It's a simple yet tasty beer backed up by some easy drinkability; Definitely worth checking out if you get the chance to buy it.

Sam Adams Alpine Spring - 8/10