Samuel Adams Holiday Porter

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

 

Appearance: I worked out 3-fingers of head on this Porter. I could probably extend that to 4 with a bigger glass. Fuck I'm pretentious. Anyway...this beer looks dark brown or black in low light. In bright light this is definitely a reddish-brown beer that is clear, very filtered, and moderately to lightly carbonated. The head is tan or off-white. The head is thick and creamy and is leaving nice lacing. Being a Porter, I expect some head to hang around for the duration.

Samuel Adams Holiday Porter

Aroma: There is some caramel, some roast, and some light smoke on the nose. I'm also getting a subtle coffee and chocolate aroma. There is a touch of molasses on the nose as well, with maybe a really faint pull towards a dark fruit.

 

Taste: Creamy, smooth, fairly dense: this blossoms into a nice and subtle smokey and chocolate finish. I'm really happy with the roasty/smokey finish, because many Sam Adams beers tend to air on the lighter/watery side. I'm tasting pulls towards coffee, molasses and burnt sugar, a hint of caramel, toffee, bread, and even a twang of nuttiness. There is a light touch of grassy-herbal or earthiness, maybe from the hops. The finish is smokey and slightly bitter; nice.

 

Body/Mouthfeel/Complexity: This is full-bodied and pretty dense; almost slightly sticky. The carbonation helps cut through the density, and the dry finish cleans things up nicely. For a 5.8% ABV Porter, this has a good body. This is drinkable, and has moderate complexity. The front is smooth carbonation, sweet malts; the hops really blossom in the middle, even with some hints of fruity citrus; the back end is smokey with some touches of chocolate or coffee. A very nice progression from front to back and good support from the body.

 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 83%

 

Comments: I'm not sure what makes Sam Adam's Holiday Porter different from any other typical Porter, except that they slap the word "Holiday" in front of it. The beer has 40 IBUs, and uses East Kent Goldings, Fuggles, and Spalt Spalter Noble Hops. The East Kent Goldings hops are used for dry hopping as well, to impart the beer with additional "English hop" aromas. The beer uses a number of malts, including Flaked Oats for additional smoothness. Clocking in 5.8% ABV and packing 212 calories per bottle, this sounds like a typical Robust Porter.

 

Conclusion: Well...this was a surprise. For Sam Adams, this is stellar stuff. This is a dense, bold, and genuine Porter. I still don't get why this is a Holiday Porter? Is it because it is heavy? Is it because most American beer drinkers don't cross paths with Porters, so a "heavy" beer makes sense in the winter season?

 

Porters, Stouts, and Brown Ales all have tangoed in the past. So there is rich history and similarities there. But when I think winter - cold, long, windy, snowy, winter - I think about big boozy Stouts and spiced Christmas beers.

 

At any rate, I don't get it, but I'll go along with it. The Holiday Porter is thick and sticky, and it would be an appropriate companion on a winter night. I mean, I could drink this during the autumn or summer, but it wouldn't be my first choice. It's a good addition to the Winter Classics mix pack, and a wonderful entry from Sam Adams. It is easily one of the best beers from the Winter Classics mix pack.