Samuel Adams Noble Pils

Brewery: Samuel Adams
Style: Pilsner
ABV: 4.9%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Another malty beer here. Sam Adams released this as an early spring seasonal. The name Noble Pils is a reference to the five noble hops that this beer contains. What is a noble hop you say? Noble hops are a series of aromatic hops from central Europe: Hallertau, Hersbrucker, Saaz, Spalt, and Tettnang. This pour was a pale yellow with a crystal clear body. It had a big fluffy head with thick lacing. Pleasing aroma that had some sweet lemon citrus, peppery spice, and earthy hops. Plenty of flavors hit all at once. The lemon, pepper zest from the aroma is certainly present. Herbal and grassy flavors are also noticeable up front. Taste is clean enough that the minerals in the water appeared in the finish. Speaking of the finish, it had more bitterness than I was expecting and was puckeringly dry. Its leaps and bounds better than most light beers claiming to be pilsners *cough*Miller*coughcough* though that isn't a high bar to judge by. A better way to put it is that this has to be the best pilsner I've had. It was greatly refreshing and I would certainly enjoy this again. Would be perfect on a hot day. A-

Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 5.9%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Poured a dark ruby-red color that had a big, thick, off-white head. Aroma was sweet with a little bit of spiciness. Flavor was an intense sweetness, with some hints of spiciness. Nearly no bitterness to speak of. Some of the familiar Sam Adams biscuit malt finish that I've become accustomed to. Familiar slick medium body and mouthfeel.

Honestly, this is almost identical to the Sam Adams Winter Lager. The only differences are that this ale was a bit sweeter and I was able to catch some of the cinnamon in the taste. I decided to check the Sam Adams website to find out more about the two. Both use Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe, Copeland pale, and Munich 10 malts. Both use Hallertau Mittelfrueh hops. Both use Orange peel, ginger, and cinnamon as special ingredients. There are a few hops and malts different between the two, but I'd wager that these are 90% identical. Still pretty enjoyable but I was hoping for something new. B

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Vienna Lager
ABV: 4.9%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

The flagship brew for Sam Adams, I had my expectations set high.

A bright coppery color poured out leaving a nice and big fluffy white head. Head lingered a while and left a good looking lace.

Aroma was wonderful. Sweet caramel upfront with plenty of citrus and floral hop notes throughout. I honestly didn't expect this much aroma making this a nice surprise. Certainly an enjoyable beer to sniff.

First sip brought plenty of the sweetness in the aroma to the forefront. Some nice spiciness was present as well, cloves perhaps? A good mix of hop presence throughout, grapefruit and nectarine. Less pronounced than in a pale ale or IPA, but adds a nice touch. Ends with a the biscuit malt presence and bitterness that I've come used to in these Sam Adams brews.

This was quite an excellent beer. Much more taste than a standard lager but not enough to drive away drinkers not used to the more potent styles. I'd have to say this my favorite lager I've had so far. Since this is also easily found on tap in many places, this will make a good default beer when out and about. A-

Samuel Adams Holidy Porter

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Porter
ABV: 5.9%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Poured mostly black with some brown around the edges. Aroma was mostly sweet and sort of medicine like, hard to place. Initial taste was very sweet, almost cola like. Finish was quite bitter as well though the two flavors were disjointed. This somehow managed to be both too sweet and too bitter at the same time. I also felt like the medium body was overly carbonated as well. I didn't care for this one at all and don't want the second one that came in the case. D

Samuel Adams White Ale

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Witbier
ABV: 5.2%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

One more from the Sam Adams winter mix pack. Poured a bright unfiltered golden color. Fluffy white head dissipates quickly leaving some thin circles of lace ringing the glass on the way down.

The aroma is sweet and spicy, with a hint of orange.
Orange and sweet malts upfront, grainy biscuit like malts and spiciness round out the finish. Medium body and carbonation. Another good one from Sam Adams though I have to say that this is pretty similar to the Winter Lager reviewed previously, the biscuit malts being the biggest similarity. This is better than the Winter Lager though as there are more flavors present throughout. While quite good, its still lacking a final "umph" to push it into the top categories. Certainly worth drinking though. B

Edit: Had this one again and it wasn't as good as I had remembered and I've had better Witbiers since so I'm bumping this down slightly to a B.

Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Bock
ABV: 5.8%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Still working through the winter ales from Sam Adams. Seeing how its a good time to overindulge on anything chocolate related, I figured the chocolate bock would be a good choice to guzzle down. A bock is a style of strong German Lager. Usually they are malty and lightly hopped. At only 5.8% this is a bit lighter than typical bocks which clock in at the 6-7% range.

Poured a dark porter like color. Mostly black body that carried some caramel coloring around the edges when held up to a light.

The aroma contains plenty of chocolate all over the place. Absolutely delicious smelling. This is up there with Founder's Breakfast Stout when it comes to great aroma. This smells like dark chocolate with a hints of alcohol and coffee, similar to a mocha liqueur, beautiful.

Lots of sweet malts upfront containing plenty of chocolate flavor. A medium body and light carbonation make this an easy beer to savor. A light bitterness gave way to a nice silky finish. This was a very delicious desert beer for a chocolate lover. Yummy! B+

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Bock
ABV: 5.6%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

Being that we are still in the grips of winter, I've picked up the Samuel Adams Winter assortment. 12 bottles of six different beers, hopefully there will be some good brews in here. First up will be the classic Winter Lager. This is classified as a bock (by Beeradvocate) which is a type of strong lager though at 5.6%, this is at the milder end of the bock spectrum.

The beer poured a dark, ruby caramel. This is a beautiful color for this kind of beer. A nice white head settles into a wispy, lingering lace.

Aroma is mostly faint. What scents are there are sweet, a little bready and a hint of orange.

Medium-light body, nice carbonation. Sweet malts. Smooth slick mouth feel. Goes down easy with light bitterness. Toasted, buttery bread finish. I tried to find the spiciness that the bottle claimed, but couldn't find any. Best characteristic of this beer is the creamy mouth feel, quite a treat. Beyond the body, the beer is lacking otherwise. I'd had this several years ago and I seem to remember more spiciness so I wonder if the recipe has been changed since. More holiday spice presence would certainly be a plus. Overall though, this is still a nice beer that I would have again. B-