Old Fizziwig Ale - Samuel Adams

Ok, now that the flu has left the building, we can get back to our weekly beer drinking, um I mean reviewing. This week is a beer I have seen before but never really thought to try. Well, the cold has returned for a few days and the label on this beer really looks like it is a winter ale, perfect match right? Let’s see?

Old Fezziwig Ale – Samuel Adams

It pours darker than I thought it would, darker than a good brown ale but not quite as dark as a porter or stout, a very dark ruby brown. Has a nice head, sticks around nicely once it settles to a thin cap. It definitely gives you a winter ale smell, lots of spices, hints of cinnamon and nutmeg with an alcohol backbone. Oh, but this isn’t your ordinary winter ale, that gives you a burn in the belly from the alcohol. No, this goes down very smooth, no sign of alcohol at all, nice hints of the cinnamon that you got from the scent finishing with a small dose of bitterness from the hops, nicely balanced and laid out. Now that I have tasted the beer I can look at the bottle, I mistake the ginger scent for nutmeg, so it is really ginger not nutmeg that you get in the scent. And it is actually a Christmas beer, and I must say, this really would be good with some pumpkin pie ala mode.

So be sure to keep some of those winter ales, stouts and porters on hand till spring really has fully arrived cause ole mother nature likes to play tricks on us in March and April. Cheers beer friend.

FourBoysBrewPub!

Honey Porter - Samuel Adams

Wow, week 52 is here, I didn’t even realize it till I was coping the photos to my laptop. I kept each week in a separate folder aptly named week XX, last week was week 51 so if my first grade math is correct, this one is week 52. Seems like I should have a special beer for this occasion, well, sorry to disappoint. Although I have had this beer in the past, it was way long ago before I developed a fondness of stouts and porters so when I show it I felt I should at least give it a second try now that I absolutely love stouts and porters now. Now the glassware has become my favorite beer glass, even if it isn’t the proper style for any of my beers that I like to consume. You see, it was a Christmas gift, not from someone special for who he is but rather what he represents, he himself is a Marine, and anybody who serves our country in any of the armed services is a unique individual, someone who we all should give countless thanks to every time we vote, speak in angst of our government, or simply do whatever we please to do as a FREE person in a this wonderful country. Ok, I’m off my soapbox now, on to the beer shall we.

Honey Porter – Samuel Adams (The Boston Beer Company)

It pours a deep dark ruby red, almost so dark it appears black and produces a nice thick tan head. It has an abundance of fermented fruit smell to it mixed with some roasted malts. The flavors don’t really hit you till the very end, very strange not to have something at the front end but it does provide some sweetness that I’m guessing is a mixture from the honey and the malts but then you get a small hint of hop bitterness at the very tail end. This may be the first porter or stout that I can actually recall tasting the hops in, I know normally they just help balance things out without stepping out on their own. This still isn’t one of my favorites but it is tons better than I remember and very worthy of drinking.

Cheers beer friend, feel free to do whatever you shall please!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Blackberry Witbier - Samuel Adams

Here we are again; another day another dollar; TGIF; Friday, I’m in love with you. Can’t think of any other cheesy Friday sayings but oh well, this is about beer not Friday right. I don’t think I have ever had a beer with such a strong smell as this week’s review. As soon as I opened the bottle and before I even began to pour it I could smell the explosion of tartness from the blackberries.

Blackberry Witbier – Samuel Adams

I’ve said it several times but I am a sucker for beers with fruit, spices, etc... added to them, add in the fact that this one is from Samuel Adams and you know you have yourself a good beer. Let’s review it anyway shall we. I was a little surprised that it appears like a normal wheat beer, the other berry beers always seem to have a hint of red or blue or purple in them, not this one, typical orange cloudy hue. Nice thin but tight head and the smell is very tart, your jaws almost tingle just smelling it. Unfortunately the taste doesn’t quit live up to the smell, comes across the palate very smooth and bland, no sharp bite from the blackberry that you almost crave just smelling the beer. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very satisfying beer and would go great on a warm spring day but I just expected so much more considering the amount of tartness you get just sniffing the beer.

Cheers fellow brew heads!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Octoberfest - Samuel Adams

Oh yeah, my favorite time of year. College football has started, baseball is entering its final stretch to the pennant race and Samuel Adams has released Octoberfest. One of my all time favorite styles, I guess you could say I more of a malt head instead of a hop-head. I also love the English brown ales, stouts and porters cause their so full of malty goodness.

Octoberfest – Samuel Adams (Boston Beer Co)

As to be expected with a rich malty beer, it pours a deep orange-brown color with a thick off-white head. You can smell the scent of all the malts right away, no need to put the glass up the nose. First taste gives you the bitter semi-sweetness from the roasted malts that transition smoothly into the finishing bitterness of the hops, very clean and refreshing leaving absolutely no after taste at all. I always look forward to the first batch of Octoberfest as it is only brewed a few months a year and seems to always have a slightly different taste each season. Last year was so so but this year has really nailed it. I had it on draft last week and I really can’t tell that much difference in the bottled version vs. the draft, usually there is always a difference even if it is ever so slight.

So with a awesome weekend of college football this weekend, there is no reason not to pick up a few of these delicious brews to chase down that tailgate food, that was obviously prepared on a charcoal grill right, that’s what I thought. Cheers my beer friend!

FourBoysBrewPub!

Coastal Wheat - Sam Adams

So a few quick reasons why I picked this beer for this week’s review: one, I thought I was reviewing a wheat beer last week but turns out it was just a fruit ale, so I had to make that up and really review a wheat beer this week. Two, it is officially ‘Craft Beer Week’ and I consider this brewer the real catalyst behind the craft beer movement we are in today. I know you have Fritz Maytag from Anchor Brewing and Ken Grossman from Sierra Nevada but I think Jim Koch from Boston Beer Co aka Samuel Adams really got craft beer on the map. So I give you this week’s review in the form of:

Coastal Wheat by Samuel Adams

It pours a light cloudy orange like one might expect from a wheat beer. The nose grabs a bit of a sour scent which I hope is the yeast coming through and not a sign of a bad/spoiled beer. Upon first taste I think the sourness smell is correct as I pick up a very distinct citrus tingly taste on the tongue, very similar to that of Allagash White, another very good wheat beer. Not a lot of hops to this beer and it is definitely a summer time beer. I also imagine it may do very well with a slice of orange or lemon squeezed in there but I like to judge beers on their own before I go adding extra ingredients, orange slice, lime wedge, salt, etc… All in all a beer we have come to expect from Samuel Adams, a good quality, fresh tasting beer.

I found another pretty cool blog this week. I’m not one for cigars although I would love to start; this site does a nice job pairing fine cigars with fine drinks. Doesn’t everyone that smokes a cigar while sipping a scotch/wine/beer just look so dang relaxed, like they haven’t a care in the world? Must be nice ha, oh well, cheers my friend ‘cause it’s Friday all over again and we have plenty of time for some of that relaxing.

FourBoysBrewPub!

Samuel Adams Noble Pils

Ok, so I realized this afternoon I was in a bit of a pickle; for those of you not familiar with baseball or not from the south, that means jam, tight spot, trouble, you get the picture. It was the blizzard of 2010 in Macon GA and I had no beer. Actually, that’s not all true, I had three different versions of an IPA but I’m not a fan of IPA so I was leaving them for when one of my wanna-be beer connoisseur friends comes over and says “hey man, what kind of weird beer you got today”. See, a true beer connoisseur would never say weird and beer in the same sentence. But back to my ‘pickle’, I decided I better run up to the store real quick and get some beer, some to drink and some to review.

Then I saw it, screaming at me with neon lights like we were in the Red Light district of Amsterdam.

Samuel Adams Spring Seasonal - Noble Pils 

I know what you are thinking, has he lost his mind, it’s snowing outside and he is going to get a spring seasonal beer. Yep, I was and I did, boy did I find a winner. The scent of hops galore, the slight scent of summer, I could hardly wait. It pours a beautiful deep gold with a nice bountiful head. Ah, and the first swallow, one were you have to wade your way through the creamy head; it actually gave me a beer stache…got beer? Immediately I get the nice crisp clean taste of a pilsner, then the bitterness from the hops, even a slight citrus tang on the sides on my tongue. I found the motherload!

This beer boasts of being only one of a select few that use all five noble hops ("The German hop varieties in Noble Pils are: Hallertau Mittelfrueh, Tettnang Tettnanger, Spalt Spalter, and Hersbrucker Hersbrucker. The Noble hop variety from Bohemia in the Czech Republic is Saaz.") h/t The Beer Advocate. Each one of these adds a nice floral/citrus character to this beer, making it ideal for those warm summer days and why I felt it was perfect to brighten up my snow filled day. I even picked up one of those California Pizzas, conveniently located right next to the beer aisle.

Once again The Boston Beer Company aka Sam Adams hits a homerun, so if you want a head start on spring or summer, go out and give this beer a spin. If you’re not completely satisfied, I’ll take your leftovers.



FourBoysBrewPub