Summit Maibock Review

Name: Summit Maibock
Style: Maibock/Helles Bock
ABV: 6.7%

Even though we had about a foot of snowfall yesterday (which has miraculously melted away by now), Spring is very much here....for the most part. So in honor of spring technically here, I've got myself a Summit Brewing Spring Sampler pack for us to look at.

Since I've already reviewed Summit Extra Pale Ale, I've decided I'm going to first take a look at their Maibock beer. Now I'm just going to give you a heads up, I consider this to be my favorite seasonal offering from Summit. It goes without saying that this is my first time actually giving this beer a proper review.

Summit Maibock pours a bright hazy yellow color with a nice, white, soapy head. The lacing left behind on the sides of the glass is pretty good and the visible carbonation teeters between mild and moderate.

The aroma starts things off with some strong pale malts, yeasts, light honey, mild floral hop notes and just a hint of toffee. To me, it smells like spring in the form of a beer.

The flavor,  much like the nose, starts out with some strong sweet malt notes, followed up by some yeasts, light honey, floral hops and a very slight earthiness. The aftertaste is a light but pleasant honey and floral hoppiness.

The palate is quite light in terms of body weight body with mild carbonation. Combined with the flavor, this makes it a very easy-to-drink and refreshing beer.

Every spring, I look forward to having this beer time and time again and for good reason. It's got a great flavor, it smells awesome, and it's extremely refreshing and easy to drink. I wish Summit would make this a year round offering but as the old Rolling Stones song goes: You can't always get what you want. Seriously though, if you haven't had this yet, you owe it to yourself to try it out.

Summit Maibock - 9/10

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