Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable - Pumpkin Ale, 5.7%

Beer reviews are stupid and biased, and you should probably stop reading my blog right now because I'm just as susceptible to the same biases as everyone else who drinks beer. If the wine industry has taught us anything, it is that reviews are full of shit 90% of the time. I made that statistic up, so you see? I'm lying to you already.

Today I'm going to lay down some controversial shit.

First: for my palate, Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale is the best pumpkin beer I've had this year.

Second: In some ways, it's better than Pumking.

Harvest Pumpkin Ale is a fall seasonal available from September to October and in Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix pack. The beer uses ale yeast, and is brewed with 11 pounds of real pumpkin per barrel. The beer is also brewed using a spice blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice, along with East Kent Goldings and English Fuggles hops.

Suddenly, pumpkin beers are all the rage in the world of craft beer. Southern Tier's Pumking has been heralded as one of the best, if not the premiere pumpkin beer to get. The appeal of Pumking is that it tastes like Pumpkin Pie (it does, it really does). While it tastes like Pumpkin Pie, it is both sweet and heavy, and many reviewers report that it is a beer you want in moderation. Considering that Pumking clocks in at 9% ABV and drinks like the sweetest of sweet Imperial Stouts, you probably want to share it with a friend or two. Unless you're a pumpkin pie masochist.

Outside the truly unique beers like Pumking are all the other pumpkin beers. The problem that many people, myself included, have with pumpkin beers is that more often than not they don't actually taste like pumpkin. And if they do taste like pumpkin, the pumpkin notes are deeply buried behind a wall of spices. New Holland's Ichabod was a good example of a beer with pumpkin notes buried deep behind spices. Pumpkin beers are often too spicy, or the pumpkin notes just don't register.

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So here are my observations on Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale:

The beer pours with a nice caramel-red-amber body, with hints of orange escaping the beer when held in lower light. The beer yielded a nice 2-finger, toffee/caramel/copper head. The head is made up of thin bubbles, and dissolves into a thin coating of bubbles. Carbonation is moderate, there is no noticeable lacing, and the beer looks to be filtered/clear like many of Sam Adam's more main production beers.

The aroma is nutmeg, meaty pumpkin, pumpkin pie, ginger snaps, squash, cinnamon, allspice, and some pulls of malt that are toasty and caramel.

Samuel Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale

The taste is where this beer really shines. Right up front you get a big meaty pumpkin note, some pumpkin pie and nutmeg, and there is a huge malt balance on the front end including toasty notes. There are big pumpkin pie crust notes, pumpkin cookie notes, some subtle squash notes, and lots of spices like nutmeg and allspice. The spices are really grounded though with the smooth and slightly carbonated mouthfeel.

On the front of my palate I get carbonation, pumpkin pie, sweet malt, and pumpkin meat; this rolls into spices like allspice and nutmeg on the middle, and some toasted notes, pumpkin pie crust, and pumpkin cookie. The beer finishes with lingering pumpkin pie cookie notes and spices on the back end. The mouthfeel is smooth, the body is medium-full, and the beer has good depth across the palate. This is moderately complex as well, and very balanced. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 91%

 

And here is where the controversy starts. I think this is an insanely accessible pumpkin ale. This is a drinkable and balanced beer. This isn't cloyingly sweet like Pumking, and it is not assaulting my palate with over-the-top spices.

 

A lot of reviewers have called this beer "too watery" or "too light." Some reviewers have said this beer is "too spicy." Some reviewers have said this beer "doesn't have any notable pumpkin notes in it." I disagree, but then my palate is different than yours.

 

I offer a few theories. The first is that I'm an idiot. I believe this is a pretty sound theory. My second theory is that Sam Adams tweaked their Harvest Pumpkin Ale recipe between 2010 and 2011. My third theory is that the recent explosion of pumpkin beers in the industry has changed people's perspectives on what a "good" pumpkin beer is. My fourth theory is that people are just unfair to Sam Adams. Sam Adams is looked down upon by many craft beer drinkers (which is a damn shame, but we can save that rant for another day), so it is not surprising to see some clearly low-ball reviews for Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin. Meanwhile, Pumking has so much hype surrounding it, you would be an outcast to not rate it highly.

 

My fifth theory is the best theory, and it is that there are no fucking standards at all for pumpkin beers. Every pumpkin beer is a unique experience, so it all comes down to drinker's preference. Hence, all pumpkin beer reviews are bullshit. Some pumpkin beers dial up the spices, some dial up the pumpkin notes, some dial up cloying sweetness, and some actually taste like pumpkin pie. So far, I have yet to taste two pumpkin beers that are exactly alike. And so, what you like best will hinge on whether you want a nutmeg enema, a pumpkin pie injection, or something lighter and balanced. When it comes to pumpkin beers, evidently I like light, balanced, and refined; so in my dumb opinion, Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin meets those requirements.

 

To my palate, Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale tastes a lot like a toned down, more balanced version of Pumking. The spices play off the malts and the pumpkin notes to give off pumpkin pie and pumpkin crust flavors. But unlike Pumking, I want to drink two or three of the Harvest Pumpkin Ales.

 

Pumking is a really delicious treat. I quite enjoyed Southern Tier's Pumking when I tasted it, and I plan to enjoy it again next year. For my palate, Pumking was really big, sweet, and strong. It hit the "pumpkin pie" note home, for sure. It was a special beer, and a real treat. But I'm content with drinking half a bomber of Pumking, and leaving the rest for a friend. It's a great sipping beer, or a good dessert beer. But not something I want to session or drink with a meal. Sam Adam's Harvest Pumpkin Ale is balanced, has good flavor, and still reminds me of pumpkin pies and pumpkin cookies. That's why I would rate the Harvest Pumpkin Ale a bit higher.

 

So there you have it. This review is useless. Every pumpkin beer review is useless. Stop reading this shit now. Go to your beer store and "mix-a-six," or whatever you call it, and sample a number of pumpkin beers. Because your results will vary, and there is a 100% chance* that what you like will be different that what everyone else likes.

 

I can say this: Harvest Pumpkin Ale is balanced, not cloyingly sweet, not super heavy, and has good spice/pumpkin/malt notes that work in harmony. Peace out.

* Yes, this is another made up statistic. How many times do I have to tell you: beer reviews are full of shit.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Vienna, 4.8%

There's not a whole lot to say about Boston Lager that has not been said by a million other folks. Boston Lager was the first beer brewed by Samuel Adams, and the original recipe was developed in St. Louis, Missouri by Louis Koch back in 1860. In 1984, Jim Koch brewed his first batch of Boston Lager in his kitchen. And the rest is pretty much history. You can read more at Wikipedia or at Sam Adam's website. 

A Vienna Lager is a malty, complex, and clean lager with some hop bitterness to provide a balanced finish. Boston Lager clocks in at a surprising 30 IBUs, and is brewed with Two-row Harrington, Metcalfe, and Copeland pale malts. This beer also uses Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Tettnang Tettnanger Noble hops.

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Samuel Adams Boston Lager

The beer pours with a wonderful amber-orange color. As with most Sam Adams Lager-style beers, this one has a light body with good clarity, and appears to be filtered. There is moderate carbonation in the clear body, and a nice 3-finger head was present after the pour. The head is nice and creamy and slightly off-white with hints of orange. I'm getting some lacing on my glass too. When the 3-finger head does dissolve, it leaves a nice 2-centimeter coating of bubbles and foam. Really nice stuff. 

 

The aroma on Boston Lager is nice and balanced. You get nice clean citrus and pine from the hops. The citrus and pine is complimented with a nice malt note, and I smell some light pale malts, some toast, and some bread. You also pick up on some of the Lager yeast which imparts a slightly "lager spice" quality. Over all, a very fresh, clean, and floral nose.

 

The taste profile is really nice. Very clean, smooth, and creamy. You taste some crisp pine, pulls towards citrus, big toast notes, slight sweet malt notes, and big Lager yeast notes which are quite clean and lightly spicy. 

 

This is a medium-light bodied beer, with a creamy and smooth mouthfeel that is complimented by the fresh hops and the clean Lager yeast. The carbonation is softer, and the finish is slightly dry but refreshing. On the front I get carbonation, sweet malt, and hops. The hops roll through into the middle, and finish on the back end with some toast, hops, and dryness. Super clean, super drinkable.  

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 91%

 

Again, there's not much to say here. I love this beer and would never turn it down. This is an American craft beer standby, and a staple to the movement. This is also an excellent Vienna Lager, especially when you consider the availability and the price. Sure, there are better Viennas out there, but Boston Lager is sold at just about every bar, restaurant, and 711 in the United States.

Boston Lager has saved me from having to drink BudMillerCoors on more than one occasion, and it is one of the beers that helped convert me into a craft beer fan. This is a wonderfully balanced, clean, and simple beer. What's not to love?

Two Brothers Domaine DuPage

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Bière de Garde, 5.9%

 

Today I'm doing another Two Brothers beer, their Domain DuPage. You can check out the Two Brothers website here for more info, or look into my past posts for info on the brewery. The Domain DuPage is a Bière de Garde style of beer. Two Brothers advertises it as a toasty ale with sweet caramel notes that has just enough hops to clean off the palate. Clocking in at 5.9% ABV and 24 IBUs, this is a year round offering. Domain "DuPage" is likely a reference to DuPage County, where the Two Brothers brewery is located. 

 

Bière de Garde is a French Ale, and is supposed to be quite complex. The aroma is supposed to be malty, toasty, and complex, with musty or woodsy notes. The taste is supposed to be malty with medium-low hop bitterness. Bière de Garde reminds me of a German Märzen as it historically was brewed in early spring and kept in cold cellars for drinking in warmer weather. The style originated in Northern France, and is related to the Belgian Saison style. 

 

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The pour gives way to a hazy, unfiltered, brownish/golden-orange/straw-colored looking beer. At pour the head is about 2-fingers of straw-colored bubbles, but it has receded into a nice thin coating of bubbles. Good cauldron effect. Bière de Garde is a style that not many American brewers try to tackle, and just looking at this beer, it is evident this has an interesting appearance. There is good carbonation in the haze, lots of clinging bubbles on the side of my glass, nice lacing, and I'm able to stir up some head while swirling the beer in the snifter.

I'm smelling some faint Noble hop-esque notes; some light citrus, maybe some fresh grass or straw, or an herbal tea-leaf note. I'm picking up on some grain, some toast, a little sweet malt, some candied fruits and light raisins, and some funky yeast akin to a Belgian beer.

Two Brothers Domaine DuPage

Like a wine, this is subtle and complex. I'm picking up some booze and woody/musty notes on the back end with some toast. There's caramel and toast in here, dried fruits and light/gold raisins, slight hop bitterness and a pull towards hoppy flower/grass/straw notes. Really big toast and even bready notes on the back end, and some funky yeast in the mix.

 

The woody/toasty notes on the back end combined with the slight bitterness make for a dry finish. To my palate this is slightly vinous and almost dusty. This is a medium-bodied beer with a medium carbonation. The mouthfeel is smooth and the carbonation is medium. At 5.9% ABV this is drinkable and would pair well with many different foods.

 

The front end is sweet malts and raisins with good carbonation; the middle rolls into more malts, dried fruits, hops; the back end is woody, almost dusty, drying. The back-back end is slightly boozy and really hits that vinous cellar note home.

Rating: Above-Average
Score: 85%

 

I like this beer a lot. This is a really bold attempt at a traditional French style Ale. The Two Brothers brewery is just a town over from me, and just a few towns over from Chicago. Domain DuPage is a beer that is available, affordable, and not very hard to get if you live in the Illinois area. When you consider that a 6-pack of this stuff is between 8 and 12 dollars, I would consider this to be a pretty good deal

 

I would pick this up again as a subtle, complex, non-obtrusive dinner beer to serve with a meal. This would probably go better with more toned down food as opposed to something that is super spicy or greasy. Worth checking out, especially if you have easy access to the Two Brothers beer.

Boulevard Double Wide IPA

Brewed By: Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri

Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from the Boulevard Smokestack sampler from Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Imperial/Double IPA, 8.5%

Boulevard Brewing Company hails out of Kansas City, Missouri. They have a very nice website that is cleanly formated, informative, and is not loaded with Java and Flash scripts. The company was founded officially in 1989, but began in 1988 when founder John McDonald began construction of the brewery. In 2006 the brewery had a major expansion, which allowed for additional brewing capacity. You can find more info on the brewery's history HERE.

According to Wikipedia, Boulevard is the largest craft brewer in Missouri, and the 10th largest craft brewery in the United States. Today I am drinking a beer from their "Smokestack Series." The Smokestack Series looks to be a series of high-quality, signature beers. Originally these beers came exclusively in 750ml bottles, but the more popular releases are now available in 12oz bottles. I found a "Smokestack sampler," and figured this would be a good introduction to the brewery.

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Some essentials before I pour: Boulevard advertises this as a bitter beer with toffee and caramel notes. They describe the hops as ranging from minty and citrusy, with hints of pine. This clocks in at 71 IBUs, which is fairly contained for an Imperial IPA. This is brewed with amber malt, brown sugar, dextrose, palte malt, and five hops including bravo, cascade, centennial, chinook and CTZ. Just looking at the big malts used and the fairly conservative IBus leads me to believe this is going to be a balanced Imperial IPA. I actually question the categorization just looking at the stats. But let's see how it holds up. 

Boulevard Double Wide IPA

Wow, the appearance is really nice. The body is a dark, dark copper-orange color with hints of brown pouring out from the beer. More dark brown in low light, and dark orange in bright light. There is a massive, thick, bubbly, 4-finger head when you pour the beer. The head is tan-khaki in color in low light, and more orange in bright light. The head is slightly soapy in consistency, but is actually very thick for a soapy head. The head is also sticky, leaving lacing on my glass already. There is moderate carbonation in this slightly hazy beer, but the orange color clarity is absolutely gorgeous when you hold the beer up to light.

I was greeted with aroma during the pour, and this beer smells absolutely potent. I'm picking up a lot of sweet hop aromas, including peaches and grapefruit. I'm also smelling some spicy esters: nutmeg and brown sugar. Along with the spices you do get a minty smell which is really exotic and awesome. Really interesting mint, nutmeg, and brown sugar. I smell grapefruit, tangerine, a little booze, and some hints of toffee and caramel. A superbly fresh and exciting nose, if this tastes half as good as it smells we will be in good shape.

Damn! This is off the hook. This has a huge, complex, multi-dimensional profile. All sorts of interesting components are hitting my palate, including hops, malts, mint, brown sugar, and some nice booze on the back end.

On the front of my palate I'm getting big hop notes and some burgeoning mint and brown sugar. This rolls into some huge mint, brown sugar, caramel and toffee notes in the middle. The back end finishes drying with hints of caramel and even some bready/doughy notes, and slight bitterness. This is a full-bodied beer that is super complex, but it has good carbonation to keep it drinkable. This also is bitter at 71 IBUs, but it isn't blasting my palate like a Stone Brewing beer or some of the more extreme IIPAs.

I'm tasting orange and grapefruit rind; orange and grapefruit; hints of pine but more of the citrus. There's definitely some minty, spiced notes in here, and definite brushes with brown sugar. There is a lot of big caramel, brandy cake, toffee, and some dough. I am really digging the fresh, lively, and floral nature of the hops. This beer is bitter, but it is not extremely bitter. It's actually as well-balanced an IIPA can be. Remember, Imperial IPAs are not supposed to be balanced...they are usually a display of hops. This beer has plenty of hop qualities, but I am really impressed with the malts.  

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 89%

This one is just a tad too hoppy and bitter to be a true IPA, and so I believe it does fit into the Imperial IPA category. But I'll be damned if this is not one of the more balanced and robust Imperial IPAs I have had. Huge malt flavors including brown sugar, toffee, and caramel balance the big, bright, fresh citrus and mint hops. 

What impresses me the most is the drinkability. This is drinkable despite having such a complex and full mouthfeel. The ABV is pretty big, but the carbonation and bitterness helps make it work. I will be buying this again, and recommend you do the same.

Maredsous 10 Tripel

Brewed By: Duvel Moortgat in Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium 
Purchased: Single bottle (11.2oz) from a 4-pack bought at Binny's in Illinois; 2011
Style/ABV: Belgian Tripel, 10.0%

Let me tell you a story about Duvel. A long time ago I was a noobie beer drinker, and I was interested in trying some "exotic" beer. I saw a big old 750ml bomber of Duvel at the store one day, so I brought it home not knowing what to expect. I did know that the beer clocked in at 8.5% ABV, and I had 750ml of the stuff. Being new to beer I was understandably a little nervous. I opened that bottle of Duvel up, poured a glass of the glorious gold creation, and was blown away forever. Duvel is still one of my absolute favorite beers, and I consider it a beer you could never do wrong by drinking.

Maredsous is actually a different branding under Duvel Moortgat. The bottle states "brewed in accordance with the Benedictine tradition of the community of Maredsous Abbey." And then in small print on the side it says "Brewed and bottled by Duvel Moortgat." The Maredsous Abbey is a legit Benedictine monastery founded on November 15, 1872. The abbey licenses its name to Duvel, who makes the Maredsous beer. So that's kind of gimmicky, but you can't blame Duvel, a Belgian company, for jumping on the Abbey beer trend.

Duvel was founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat. The brewery is probably most famously known for their absolutely kick-ass, divine Belgian Strong Ale, Duvel. Duvel has seen increasing sales, and is now the second largest brewer (in terms of revenue) after global leader Anheuser-Busch.

That's the history, but what about today's beer. Today's beer is Duvel's Abbey Tripel. Appropriately branded under the Abbey Maredsous, this is a typical take on the Tripel style. And when I say typical, I mean "hahahaha....shiiiit." I had three bottles of this stuff back in July, and it was good. Lots of subtle banana and spice, and huge candied orange notes. But this beer absolutely walloped my palate with the 10% ABV. Tripels are supposed to be high in alcohol, but the alcohol is supposed to be sneaky and subtle. This beer was anything but, and I was picking up a ton of heat. I don't mind heat, and I'm willing to adapt, but I wanted to see how this beer would fare in a couple of months. So here we are trying the Maredsous 10 Tripel. Will it still be super hot? 

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The pour yields something that already looks "outside the box." For a Tripel, this beer is very orange. The pour gives way to a giant, fluffy, 4-finger head that is orange-white in color. The body is hazy and super carbonated; this is a very effervescent beer. But the big draw is the gorgeous gold-orange color you get from the body of the beer. Excellent clarity, even if it's a little darker than you typically expect.

A beautiful dark orange color.

The aroma is big big candy orange notes. I smell candied oranges and candied lemons dusted with light white sugar. There are big characteristic Duvel pale malt aromas, fresh coriander and big clove, some pepper, subtle banana-vanilla with touches of sugar, orange tea, orange juice, and mild perfume esters. Very, very nice, and no alcohol this time around. Yay!

Well...there is definitely some alcohol in the taste. It has mellowed out a bit over the past few months, and I imagine if you cellar this it will continue to calm down. The bottle has a 2013 expiration date, and this was bottled sometime in 2011 most likely. The taste is full of big pale malts, some dough, perfume, big orange candies, orange liquor, a wallop of clove-alcohol and pepper-alcohol, some astringent nuttiness, veggie notes, or even some woodiness, and some soft fruits like peach or berries. Complex with the malts playing a big role, and boozy. 

Maredsous 10 Tripel

The mouthfeel is pretty fucking viscous on this beer, especially for the style. I would call this a medium-full beer with moderate depth and big complexity. I would also call this a viscous warmer. I'm getting a big warming feeling in my stomach and on the back back stretch of my palate. The front of my palate is getting carbonation, clove-alcohol, pepper-alcohol, and candied oranges. The middle roles into more spices and some dough/grain. The back end has alcohol, spices, astringency, and some of those veggies, woody notes, and soft fruits. I think a lot of the unique flavors are the result of the big alcohol. 

Rating: Average
Score: 73%

3 months does not a cellaring make. I probably should have slept on this beer for another 6 to 9 months. But this is a Tripel, a style that is supposed to have a lot of alcohol and deliver you that alcohol in a subtle and quiet way. I appreciate the 10% ABV, I really do. Sometimes you want a beer that is big and bold, and I think this beer would cut through a lot of heavy cheeses or a big hearty dinner meal. And I really appreciate the complexity of flavors in this beer. This is by far one of the most complex Tripels I have tried. In some regards, this is better than the New Belgium Tripel because it isn't as spice-assertive.

So here's my final thought: this is a good beer, but an okay Tripel. It's a bit too boozy for the style. I would like to try a bottle that has been aged for 1 or 2 years to see how it stacks up. Considering that a 4-pack of this stuff costs anywhere from 15-20 dollars, I would say you can find a better Tripel elsewhere. Still, this is worth trying and it will not let you down if you like boozy and complex beers.

Shitty Beer Tuesday #6: Coors Light

Brewed By: Coors Brewing Company (MillerCoors) in Golden, Colorado

Purchased: Single, big-ass, bomber can (24oz) from Jewel-Osco in Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: Pale Ale/Lite American Lager, 4.2%

Another week...another shitty beer. Thanks to Miller's "man up" advertising campaign, I feel like another round of shit-slinging is needed. Miller and Coors are of course one and the same. The two companies are going to finally merge...or are they already merged? Who the fuck knows; it's hard to keep track of the business side of big beer. What is clear is that the larger international company, SABMiller, is at the top of the food chain, with smaller regional companies like MillerCoors turning out beer.

Coors Light has been my preferred cheap beer of choice for a long time. I swear this stuff tastes pretty decent, especially coming from a bottle. But Coors Light is also the most gimmicky beer on earth. This is the beer that is "frost brewed" and transported to your local grocery store by an ice train driven by scantly clad women. This is the beer with "cold activated" mountains. This beer is colder than Ice Cube. This beer is so full of shit it could only be served in Coor's "Silver Bullet" can.

"I thought it said Coors!"

Today I want to address an issue that I brought up last week during my Shitty Beer Review of Miller Lite: beer commercials. But before I launch into my commercial rant, I want to point out the best thing that Coors Light has done: sponsored one of my favorite TV shows, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The gang on It's Always Sunny are constantly drinking Coors, talking about Coors, or boldly displaying Coors-branded stuff. In one episode, Charlie mistakes a "Closed" sign for a "Coors" sign. Hilarity ensues. So, I guess....thank you Coors Light. That is the one example of good advertising from Coors. Beer advertising is bookoo bucks, and millions of dollars are spent each year on advertising beer. So I want to take a brief moment to reflect on some of my favorite and least favorite beer commercials, and look at who makes them.

Beer Commercials

The Good:

• Bud Light's real men of genius commercials are hilarious, as evident by this. 
• Bud Light Swear Jar. This is the best commercial ever, I literally laughed out loud. "**** you Bob." "Ha, **** you, Jim!" 
• Budweiser Frogs 
• Bud Lizards
• Bud Light Fridge Tunnel. "AHHHHHHHHH" 
• Bud Light Hawk. This hawk is my hero. 
• Coors Light Coach series. These are funny, but they lose their comedy potential with repeat viewings.

The Bad:

• Budweiser WAAAAZZZZUUUUPPPP. Seriously, fuck this joke. 
• Coors "Love Train" Light. Cold, hard, and made out of steel. More like the Coors dildo.
• Most Miller commercials. "Triple Hops." "Great taste." Blah blah, where the hell is the funny?
  

The Ugly: 

• ALL the Miller Lite "Man Up" commercials. These commercials are sexist, homophobic, homoerotic, racist, stupid, and not funny. 

You're probably wondering where I am going with all this. Maybe you're thinking, so what? These are beer commercials, who gives a shit. But there's a really interesting trend if you look at the most memorable and funny beer commercials. The real funny commercials are for Bud Light and Budweiser beers. Anheuser-Busch is doing something right with their advertising department. The Bud Light Swear Jar is the funniest fucking beer commercial I have seen in America in a long time. Meanwhile, MillerCoors is busy advertising Triple Hops and calling everyone a homo who doesn't drink Miller Lite. Strange times, right? 

Let's see how Coors Light stacks up compared to the Miller Lite and the other Pale Lagers out there. I need a beer break anyway.

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Again, I opted for the over-sized can instead of a 6-pack. I actually don't mind sessioning Coors Light, and I was tempted to pick up a sixer, but I purchased this bomber with the Miller Lite bomber so I figured let's save a few dollars. 

First off, props for calling it Coors Light and not Lite. Lite is a slang word, and that fact is something that people seem to be rapidly forgetting. The beer pours a golden-clear color. This one isn't quite as watery looking as the Miller Lite, and has an okay gold-yellow color. There is a lot of carbonation in this beer as evident by the big bubbles rising upwards and the crackling carbonation during the pour. The head is white and quickly dissolved from 2-fingers to nothing in about 10 seconds after the pour. There is absolute no head on the beer, but still a ton of rising carbonation. 

12 ounces of Coors Light nets you around 105 calories. That means 24 ounces of this stuff only sets you back 210 calories. Some Imperial Stouts push 300+ calories per 12 ounces. But is the calorie deficit worth it?

Coors Light

The Aroma on the Coors Light is corn/rice adjunct big time, some white bread, grain, maybe some very very subtle hop notes (tea-like hops, maybe lemon?), and a soft and subtle metallic/metal note. There's no fruitiness (DMS, Apples, etc.) or cloying/astringent smells, so the nose is pretty clean. 

The taste is grainy with some white bread notes, lots of rounded green apple notes, corn/rice adjunct flavors, mineral water, and some sweetness but not your typical cardboard-caramel or cereal sweetness you often get in Pale Lagers. Although watery, I find this beer to have good bread and apple notes without the obnoxious sweet notes corn/rice adjuncts often give off (I'm looking at you, Budweiser....). There's very very mild hop notes imparting some lemony flavors in the background.  As the beer warms up I do taste a little cereal-cardboard, but no cloying or astringent notes found here.

Rating: Above-Average
Score: 83%

Despite the gimmicks and the shitty advertising, this is one of the better Light Pale Lagers/Lite American Lagers. There is good flavor here, especially for 105 calories per 12 ounces. This beer is light on the mouthfeel, watery, not remotely complex, but has okay depth on the palate for the style. There's actually a lot more flavor here compared to Miller Lite. The front end is carbonated, sweet, and grainy. The middle rolls into rice/corn, white bread, and apples. The back end is more adjunct and grain and finishes refreshingly.

This is a good, cheap beer to drink with pizza or bar food, to play drinking games with, to get drunk by, or just to kick back with on a hot day after mowing your lawn or while watching a baseball game. Sometimes you want a beer like this. 

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Compared to Budweiser or even Heineken, I find Coors Light to be fairly clean and restrained. Budweiser might have a leg-up in making funny beer commercials, but Budweiser is nasty shit when it warms up or if you have to drink more than 2 of them. You can drink 12 Coors Lights in a night, and still sort of feel like a champ. You might have a headache the next day, but that comes with the territory.

I just need to end with one last thing. I want to go over all the Coors gimmicks:

Super Cold Activation - There are two stages of cold. "Cold" and "Super Cold." The beer turns "Cold" when the beer is below 39 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not sure how cold the beer is when it is "Super Cold," but anything below 39 is impossible to taste because it numbs your taste buds. Is this an admission that Coors tastes like shit when it warms up? Well, most Pale Lagers taste like shit when they hit warm temperatures, so drink 'em cold. But below 39 is ridiculous.

Vented Wide Mouth - My can says it has a "Vented Wide Mouth." There is a little vent thing and the hole in the can is a little bigger than your standard can. I guess this helps you drink the beer more quickly, or it allows you to fuck the can if you are packing below-average heat. I doubt it helps with taste, and you really should pour your beer into a glass anyway. At least Coors knows its target demographic: underage fratboys who are going to chug beer. Here's some advice for all the bro-douche-frat bags out there: punch a hole in the bottom of the can and shotgun that shit like a man. This should be negative points to Coors for making the frat-douche experience less fun.

Frost Brew Liner - I guess this liner on the can protects the beer or keeps it cold or something? It sounds like Coors is just making shit up at this point. I was with you guys on the Blue Mountains and the Wide Mouth, but what the fuck is a Frost Brew Liner?

The Verdict: MillerCoors are one and the same. Miller advertises their beer by attacking your manliness. They also advertise "great taste, less filling" and "triple hop brewed." It's all bullshit. Coors is the other side of the bullshit coin with their "our beer is so fucking cold and it is delivered on a silver train!" Both beers are predicated on gimmicky bullshit instead of actual brewing techniques, and it's a damn shame that Budweiser tastes like shit and Coors Light doesn't, because I would love to throw Coors under the bus. At least Budweiser makes funny commercials.

I've gone on for long enough. Coors Light actually tastes okay, but do you want to support MillerCoors and their unfunny, gimmicky advertising by purchasing their beer? What option does Joe-average really have? Budweiser tastes like shit, and not many craft breweries are turning out Pale Lagers. I'll be getting some Bud Light soon to see how it stacks up compared to Miller Light and Coors Light. In the meantime, enjoy your Shitty Beer!

Samuel Adams Black Lager

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Schwarzbier, 4.9%

It's Sunday, or football and beer day. So what better time to review another beer from the Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack. Tonight I'm reviewing their Black Lager. The Sam Adam's website does a good job describing the Schwarzbier style. Schwarzbier literally means "black beer," and is a traditional German style of beer that uses bottom fermenting lager yeast. Schwarzbier utilizes darkened, roasted malt as a foundation for the beer's color and body. It is a dark lager, so it should be a clean and smooth beer while still having a good malt profile.

According to Sam Adam's website, this beer packs 19 IBUs, uses two varieties of Noble hops, and is brewed with Samuel Adam's lager yeast. This is a year-round offering, but seems appropriate for Autumn being somewhat malt-forward. Speaking of malt, this beer uses five types of malts including Weyermann dehusked Carafa malts. The Carafa malts intensify the aroma and color of dark beers; I wonder if this is the malt that contributes the subtle chocolate notes reviewers report in this beer. I guess we will find out, eh? 

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The pour reveals something spot-on with the BJCP's suggested description. This is a fairly carbonated, soda-dark beer, with a 2-finger head that dissolves pretty quickly but leaves a good centimeter or so of coating. The beer is not really black, more like soda dark-brown, with lots of ruby red highlights when you hold the beer up to light. In lower light this might look like a stout or a porter, but it's quite thin. The body looks to be filtered and would be transparent if it wasn't so dark. The head is tan and medium-thick and dissolves into that nice coating which hangs around the duration.

This is standard stuff, but it actually looks a little better than the Guinness Black Lager and the head is hanging around for longer.

Samuel Adams Black Lager

The aroma isn't huge, but there are malts and lager yeasts on the nose. Definite lager yeast notes, SURPRISINGLY some slight smokiness, some caramel and toast, pulls towards chocolate, and definite hints of noble hop notes that are perfume-like, floral and even citrus-orange, but really subtle and hard to place. There's a coffee-roast note as well.

The taste is malty sweet, with lots of interesting pulls towards smoke, chocolate, roasted notes and toasted bread. The beer has a clean yeast profile, and drinks smooth despite having a slightly sticky or dense profile. I'm not picking up on a ton of bitterness, but there seems to be a fresh Noble hop note towards the middle or back.

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 79%

 

Not very complex, this beer is about the big sweet malts with hints of smoke and chocolate. Hints of Noble hops pop up but they are pretty hard to place. The mouthfeel is on the heavy side of light, or the light side of medium; take your pick. There is moderate carbonation, the beer drinks pretty smooth, but there is a slight denseness to the body. The beer has medium depth on the palate; but this isn't very complex and it seems sort of light or watery.

The front of the palate is roasty, toast, smokey, sweet malt and chocolate. The middle rolls into some more roasted malts with some drying. The back end continues the roasted malt with more drying. You get some flashes of hops on the back-end and some lingering chocolate afterthoughts.

Denser and more flavorful than the Guinness Black Lager. This is a solid execution of the style, if not moving beyond the baseline with some good chocolate aftertaste. This is available year-round and does come in 6-packs. I would pick this up over the Guinness Black Lager, and this is probably priced about the same if not cheaper (Guinness stuff is really expensive...). 

Worth trying if you are in the mood for a dark lager-style beer. This is also an okay Autumn beer, so I'm happy to see it included in the Harvest mix-pack.

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Oktoberfest/Märzen, 5.3%

Moving onto beer number three from the Harvest fall mix-pack, we have the Sam Adams Octoberfest. This is an Oktoberfest style beer, spelled with a "C" for us Yankees I assume. Oktoberfests are big malty beers, and I touched on the history when I reviewed Two Brothers Atom Smasher.  

For a quick refresher, Oktoberfests are an adaption of the Vienna style. Oktoberfests were traditionally brewed in the spring and then stored in cold caves during the warm summer months so that the beer could be consumed during the fall celebrations. This is lager style of beer with big malt characteristics. 

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Let's dive in! The pour yields a strictly October/Autumn beer. The color of this beer is a bright orange-gold color. The beer has moderate to high carbonation, and it is both filtered and transparent. The pour resulted in a bold 3-finger, slightly off white head that was pretty thick and creamy. The head has settled down into a thin coating of bubbles. I thought there was some lacing, but I was mistaken.

 

Samuel Adams Octoberfest

Sam Adam's Octoberfest is brewed using Two-row Harrington pale malts, Metcalfe pale malts, Munich-10, Moravian, and Caramel 60 malts. It also uses two varieties of noble hops. This is straight up lager brewed with Sam Adam's lager yeast.

 

You do smell some crisp or fresh qualities imparted by the Noble hops. I smell toast, grain, metallic, wet leaves or wet forest, light caramel, hints of grass or an herbal quality/tea I cannot place. 

 

As far as taste goes, there's a lot of sweet malts, caramel, and some herbal or grassy pulls from the hops. I'm getting light nuttiness, a metallic quality, and some grain as well. The sweet malts impart some interesting fruit notes: I'm getting slightly astringent canned fruits note; peaches; and maybe some veggies. 

 

The mouthfeel of this beer is light-heavy to medium, with a slightly oily or syrupy body. There's enough carbonation and not a ton of "umphh" to this beer, so despite the slightly thicker mouthfeel the beer stays grounded. The front end is lightly carbonated, and I pick up on sweet malts and hops. This rides into the middle, and finishes with some metallic/peaches/veggies/astringent stuff on the back. Not complex at all, not bold, and low depth on the palate.

 

Rating: Average
Score: 55%

 

Clean. Solid. Standard. Uninspired. These are good descriptors of this beer. There are some good things going on here: solid malt characters, some interesting non-typical notes like canned fruits.

 

This beer doesn't scream "celebration" or leave the impression that it has been waiting in a cave for several months. It stretches a bit thin in terms of depth and complexity, and even approaches being a tad watery towards the middle and back of the palate.

I can recommend this beer for its cheap price and availability, and this is an okay addition to the Harvest fall mix pack. There are better Oktoberfest beers out there.

Samuel Adams Bonfire Rauchbier

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Smoked/Rauchbier, 5.7%

Continuing onward with the Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack, tonight I am knocking out the Bonfire Rauchbier. Bonfires and rauchbiers make you think about smoke, Oktoberfest, and autumn. 

Rauchbier is an old German style of beer dating back to the 1500s. Green malts are dried over an open fire of Beech wood to impart a smokey flavor. The Beech wood smoked malt is used in this beer to create a Märzen-style amber lager. According to the BJCP, the smoke character of the malt varies and some breweries produce their own smoked malt. The word "rauch" is German for smoke, so a Rauchbier is a "smoke beer." Drinking beer has truly bolstered my cultural knowledge...anyway, here is the review. 

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Samuel Adams Bonfire Rauchbier

The beer pours with a nice 2-finger tan head (not apparent in picture because the glass barely fits 12oz of beer). The head has thin bubbles. The color of the beer is a nice amber-brown-copper-rust color. There is mdoerate carbonation, and the beer is super transparent and filtered.

There's a lot of smoke, bacon, bacon-grease, meats, sweet caramel, malt, and some hints of wood for good measure. The sweet malts impart a sort of smokey aroma that could be interpreted as a pull towards fruit. Overall, the aroma is a nice balance of smoke with sweet malt. It's not overpowering in either direction.

The front of the palate is a blast of smokey bacon, bacon grease, and sweet malts. There is a really assertive smoke-meat flavor up front, but it balances nicely with the sweet malt. I'm tasting lots of sweet caramel, malt, smoke, bacon, bacon grease, lager yeasts, and other cured meats.

This is medium-light, and maybe on the lighter side of what you might expect for the style. There is a good lager yeast profile to this beer, and a nice balance of malt and smoke. This has moderate to low complexity, and moderate to low depth on the palate. The mouthfeel is carbonated, smokey and meaty, and drinkable. Moderate carbonation, smoke, sweet malts, and some bacon dominate the front of your palate. This rolls into smoke, meat, and sweet malt on the middle. This beer finishes with smoke and meat on the back end.

 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 76%

 

Flirting with Above-Average and Average, this beer wins because it is balanced and has that nice lager yeast backdrop. This is a solid fall beer, and would be an appropriate accompaniment for that fall barbecue.

I've had a couple of smoked beers now, and I've decided that meat is a prominent flavor you get with the style. Okay, I dig. This isn't an everyday beer, but I can imagine this beer would hit the spot if you were in the mood. A good execution of the style, not overpowering, and fun. Recommended.

Samuel Adams Irish Red Ale

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from Sam Adam's Harvest fall mix-pack purchased in Chicago, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Irish Red Ale, 5.8%

It's hard to believe I have come this far without reviewing a Sam Adams beer. Last year I tried out Sam Adam's Harvest mix-pack and their Winter Classics mix-pack. At that time I wasn't documenting my beer adventures, so I don't remember very much. I do remember I loved the Sam Adam's Dunkelweizen. That was some good shit.  

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently Sam Adams is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States (in contention with Yuengling). Sam Adams is also, by far, the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info, but be warned you get a double prompt asking to verify your date of birth (I could go on a rant about how retarded the Age prompt is...).

Samuel Adams is well respected among beer drinkers for being one of the earliest companies to rise up and challenge BudMillerCoors. Sam Adams have revolutionized craft beer, and Sam Adam's Boston Lager is available everywhere these days (and Boston Lager is delicious!). So there's that. Sam Adams also are known for helping other craft brewers by supplying hops and malts and other ingredients. There are a lot of reasons to love Sam Adams: and that includes their beer. Sam Adams makes a lot of great baseline beers, and they brew a lot of different style of beers. While many of their beers are average affairs, you have to give them a ton of credit for constantly trying new things and making their product available and cheap.

Tonight I'm mulling over Samuel Adam's Irish Red Ale. Irish Red Ales are malt-focused ales with lots of caramel and toffee notes. They often have a light buttery quality, which lends itself to toffee or butterscotch flavors. These are easy drinking beers that are supposed to be clean and smooth. The BJCP calls these easy drinking, but 4.0% to 6.0% ABV is a big range insofar that a 6.0% ABV beer is not as easy drinking as a 4.0% ABV beer. Especially after you have three or four of them under your belt. Sam Adam's Irish Red clocks in at 5.8%, so let's see how she holds up.

Samuel Adams Irish Red Ale

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This pours more like "Irish Rust" than Irish Red. The beer has a red-copper-rust color to it. This beer is quite transparent and is clearly filtered. Carbonation is pretty light, but there are a few bubbles rising upwards here and there. I was able to get a huge three-plus finger head when I poured the beer. The head is thick and creamy, leaving lacing on my glass, and has a nice orange-tan tint.

The aroma is lots of sweet malts, sweet caramel, some toast, maybe a hint of nuttiness, light grain, metallic, slight buttery-ness, stewed vegetables and cabbage.

My impression upon first sip is that this is a nice and smooth beer. Very smooth, not carbonated, and quite buttery. I am tasting butter, toffee,  butterscotch, sweet caramel, slight metallic notes, stewed vegetables, light toast, light grain and pulls towards fruitiness here and there. There's really impressive lacing being left around my glass as I work my way down.

This is medium-bodied and smooth with a slightly buttery quality to the mouthfeel. This has really good depth across the palate. This style of beer is not inherently complex, but there is actually quite a bit of things going on with this beer. The front end is smooth, buttery, malty, and I'm getting some light fruit. The middle is where a lot of the toffee, toast, light grain, metallic, and stewed veggie flavors are coming from. The back end is slightly drying and very buttery. This is very drinkable and you don't notice the alcohol, at least not after two of these.

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 83%

I was mentally preparing to type up my "Sam Adams makes so many average beers" speech. But this is actually pretty tasty for the style, and this is widely available. So I'll put that speech on the back burner for now. 

The buttery, vegetable stew flavors in this beer are going to undoubtedly turn some people off. But this beer has a lot of flavor and would pair well with a lot of Autumn or late winter/early spring foods. This beer would go well with some hearty potatoes, a good beef stew, lots of German or Irish cuisine, or just for getting piss drunk on the weekend.

This was pretty, pretty, pretty....pretty good.

Corsendonk Pater (Abbey Brown Ale)

Brewed By: Brouwerij Corsendonk in Turnhout, Belgium
Purchased: Single bottle (11.2oz) from a Corsendonk mixer from Friar Tucks in Urbana, IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Belgian Dubbel, 7.5%

 

Last night I reviewed Corsendonk's Abbey-style Tripel, Agnus. Tonight I am reviewing their Abbey-style Dubbel, Pater. If you want to check out the history of Corsendonk or read the Agnus review, check out my post here.

I'm not going to make the same mistake I did last time, so I have the bottle right here. This is a bottle-conditioned "Abbey Brown Ale." According to Corsendonk, it is dark, robust, rich and malty, and has notes of raisins, black chocolate, yeast, fruit, slight smoke, and port. I want to pay extra attention to the "port" note because these bottles have been sitting around for a bit. They aren't past expiration, but they aren't hot off the press either. Port and sherry notes are the result of oxidation in aged beers; it is not really a defect as the flavor is typically desired or expected with aging. You often get a leathery, musty, earthy, stale, or dusty quality. My bottle of Corsendonk Agnus was a little bit dusty and had that slight aged feel. 

Both the Agnus/Tripel and the Pater/Dubbel clock in at 7.5% ABV. Belgian Dubbels are a dark, malty variety of Belgian ales. They have complex malts, hints of chocolate and caramel, and fruity esters. Dubbels are more malt-foward than Tripels, and feature darker fruits. Let's see how the Pater stacks up. 

The beer's real color.

The beer pours a seemingly dark black or purple color. I have a new habit of shining light through all my beers to try and capture their true color: and this beer actually has a gorgeous red color. This beer looks quite a bit like a wine or some sort of dense red drink. In fact, even in moderate light you can see tons of reddish hues escaping this beer as well as some hints of purple. The beer poured with a massive 4-finger root beer float/tan-colored head. The head has settled into a nice 2-centimeter coating. I poured ALL the beer into my glass, and as a result there is quite a bit of yeast sediment floating around. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I prefer the sediment. It's hard to tell if there is carbonation, but the beer has some clarity as light does pass through it. Obviously not filtered.

The smell is of really nice malts and fruits. I smell plums, pomegranate, grapes, definitely a wine or port note, some sugar, some dust or powder, maybe a hint of toast or smoke, roses and perfume, raisins, and maybe some molasses. There are also some pulls towards black chocolate and yeasty notes as well.

The taste is very mellow and complex, and again the alcohol is not present or noticeable. There is a great dry black chocolate finish on this beer followed by some nice warming on the back palate. Lots of plums, port-grape, and dusty powdery notes are present on the front of the palate. There are raisins and yeast notes, some light apple notes, dried berries; I'm also pulling out a light touch of toast. 

Corsendonk "Pater"

This is medium-light in terms of body, with a dusty and medium-depth mouthfeel. This has medium depth on the palate, but is amazingly complex. There is really a wine-like quality to the beer, and subtle chocolate notes on the back of the palate. The front of the plate is smooth, carbonated, fruity and port-wine like; the middle is malty, yeasty, and dusty; and it rolls into the back end which features some toast, raisins, and subtle dark chocolate. Very nice. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

Score: 91%

 

This is another subtle, complex, and mellow beer from Corsendonk. I'm really impressed with the powdery, dusty, and wine-like nature of this beer. This beer would make an excellent addition to a red sauce pasta dish, or any rustic meal really.

 

This is a bold and complex beer, but it shows maturity and restraint. I enjoyed this beer quite a bit, and I think this would be a great beer to keep stocked in your cellar. I will drink this again, and I do recommend the Corsendonk Dubbel. 

Having said that, this is a top-tier, divine Dubbel. I really dig the complexity of this beer, but appreciate the fact that it is mature and restrained.