They must have changed this thing.  Last I remember, this beer had lemongrass in it.  Now it seems to have lemon zest instead.  I distinctly remember not really caring for this ale last time I had it.  So, they have made some good changes. Of course, the Grains of Paradise are still used.  Grains of Paradise get their name from the Middle Ages when traders claimed that they were directly from Eden and must be collected while they floated downstream.  Naturally, this raised the price.  The Grains of Paradise also add the the perception of lemon (corriander) in the beer. Other qualities they impart are pepper (didn't get) and cardamom (did get).  Anyway, this beer did accomplish its job of being a refreshing summer ale. The Pour: Typical of many wheat ales, Sam Adams Summer Ale was light golden and hazy.  There was also a cloudy white and somewhat foamy head. The Nose: The lemon aromas seem to be more subtle than they used to be.  The Grains of Paradise pushed through with sweetness, as well as touches of wheat.  I also noted that there was a slightly soapy quality on the nose. The Taste: Once again, the lemon qualities were not overbearing, like ...

Of the new Samuel Adam's Imperial series, this one is definitely my favorite.  It's not that the others were bad, but this one was that much better.  As you can see by browsing our Sam Adam's reviews, we like the company and review them frequently.   Now to the Imperial White Ale, which is a take on traditional Witbier. The Pour-Imperial White had a short, white, and stable head.  Below this nice head sat an orange-gold body. The beer was certainly less "white" than I expected to be, but this was not a deterrent from moving forward with the smelling and tasting.  There was some haze to the beer, which is to be expected given its wheat content. The Nose-Alcohol was definitely a major facet of this beer, being that it weighed in at 10.3%ABV.  Sweet malts (wheat and other), spices, and citrus were also very noticeable.  The beer had a sort of syrupy and fruity aroma to it. The Taste-This beer had a fair amount of residual sweetness and a fairly full mouth-feel.  Again, the citrus, spices, and wheat malts came through on this beer.  However, there was a healthy dose of vodka-type alcohol (maybe a citrus vodka) in the taste of ...

This is the second beer we've reviewed from Samuel Adam's Imperial series (the third if you count their Hallertau Imperial Pilsner), and we'll be reviewing their Imperial White before too long.  What can you say, Samuel Adams almost always makes quality stuff.  This beer is no different; here is my review. Samuel Adam's Imperial Stout looked like black oil from a car's drain-pan.  On top of the body was a very nice brown, creamy, and stable head. Upon putting my nose to the beer, I was a bit surprised.  I'm usually a little surprised when something from Samuel Adams that is called "Imperial" doesn't have noticeable hop qualities.  I'm not saying this is bad, just surprising.  (Perhaps these are just my Imperial Stout expectations.)  The Imperial did not disappoint on the other stout qualities.  There was plenty of chocolate, coffee, and deep roasted grain aromas to be taken in. An alcohol aroma was also noticeable. When I drank this beer, it was very dark and roasty in approach.  Again, the 9.2% alcohol certainly popped through.  The coffee and chocolate tones that I noted in the nose were in abundance. Overall, the beer was still pretty good, but I found myself a little disappointed.  I ...

Certain breweries appropriate copious amounts of respect for various reasons.  I am speaking subjectively, in this case.  At times it is the history behind the brewery (spearheading the craft brewery movement), the beer itself, the leadership involved, or in the case of Samuel Adams it is a medley of all the above, and perhaps a few other qualities I did not think of.  In every instance, I am always excited to taste a new brew from this bastion of beer creativity.  Rarely am I let down. So I was excited when I read the news that Sam Adams was soon to be releasing an imperial style series consisting of Imperial White, Imperial Stout, and Double Bock.  My anticipation was eased when I came across the Double Bock at a small beer store here in town.  (this is no small feet...the beer selection is these parts is less than desirable!)  Here is what I thought of the beer... I poured this brew into a wide goblet.  The deep, yet clear, walnut colored beer eased its way into my glass.  The viscosity of beer gave away the thick malty quality; a half a pound of malts per bottle!  A beautiful almond head lazily hung ...

Doing this review is certainly one of the least Bourgeoisie things I've done.  Imagine paying anywhere from $160-$230 dollars for a 24 ounce bottle of beer, even if it does come in a hand-crafted vessel.  Now it is true that different boys like different toys, so I feel a little better in that respect.  I spend my money on beer...what can I say?  As some of you may know, Sam Adam's makes the strongest and most expensive beer in the world.  Utopias comes in at an amazing 26% abv.  It is an astounding achievement to make a beer that strong.  There is no distilling, nothing but grains, and a whole lot of very robust yeast strains in this beer.  Believe me when I say producing a beer of this strength is already a feat.  Since I sipped on some of this Utopias the other night, I thought I'd offer a review of it.  From the beginning of the pour (1 1/2 to 2 ounces suggested) Utopias does not look like a common beer.  In fact, there is no carbonation, no head, and a thick tracing on the glass.  The beer sits there with a thin clear line of liquid sitting on top of a beautiful whiskey-colored body.  As the ...

Last night I drank this beer that I've not had for about 4 years.  I remembered really enjoying it at the time, especially with a friend and some Davidoff cigars.  It went excellently with those smokes. Samuel Adam's Chocolate Bock is considered one of their extreme beers, if you look at their website.  They have four "extreme" beers: Chocolate Bock, Millennium, Triple Bock and Utopias (the strongest and most expensive beer in the world).  While the Utopias and company are more extreme, this one is not so much extreme as it is extremely good.  The pour:  There was a fair amount of carbonation in the brew with fair head retention.  It had a deep brown color with touches of Crimson.  The beer looked almost as smooth in the glass as it did in the bottle.  By the way, the label on the bottle might be the most beautiful on earth.  It's pewter and almost rococo label speaks to its cocoa beauty inside.  The bottle and look of the beer is truly an achievement in of itself. The aroma of the beer was floral and simply popped.  Chocolate, roasted grains, and yeast were prevalent.  The taste of the beer is really the awesome part of the brew.  Since this Chocolate Bock is put on top of cocoa, it ...

As I intimated in my last post, it is somewhat odd for many people to think that a Lager can be black.  Many of us have been weaned on cheaper domestic Pilsners/Lagers, so to think about a Lager that is anything but blond sends many into a Delirium Tremens.  I'm not going to go into too much detail here, as I have already written on the subject of Lager beer, but Lager is more of a technique and yeast issue than a color-of-the-beer issue.  Suffice it to say that a Black Lager is still an anomaly in the beer world. This particular beer takes its inspiration from a traditional German black beer.  The style was all but lost until the collapse of the Berlin Wall.  The isolation of black beer from the Western world was over, so how would it be received?  It appears that it has gained some serious steam and the Boston Beer Company has helped with the phenomenon.  Here is my review on Sam Adams's version. The color was obviously Black to very dark Brown in tint.  It had a tan brown head that had a very nice retention.  It looked nice and could be mistaken for a Porter style ...

In marketing, many times companies have been on the edge of false advertising...this is not one of them.  When the bottle tells the drinker that this is an intense hop experience, that is exactly what it means.  More about that in a minute. In terms of appearance, there was a nice foam white head on this beer.  There was also plenty of head retention and some lacing.  The Pilsner was golden with a tough of Amber, which is not typical of most Pilsners.  Normally Pilsner are very blond and pale.  All in all, the beer looked very nice in the glass. When taking in the beer's aromas I noted that the alcohol was obvious.  There was obviously a prevalent (and nice) hop aroma on the nose.  I also noted hints of sweet malt and a powdery (powdered sugar?) touch.  Also notable were the winish qualities of the aroma.  When I tasted the brew, I found the hop bitterness to be at the forefront.  This was not unbalanced, in that the warmth of the alcohol along with the long grainy and malty finish completed the beer.  In addition to the other qualities I noted, there was a citrus (grapefruit) hint in the beer.  I even caught a very ...