Samuel Adams Alpine Spring

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Big Ass Bomber (22oz) from Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Kellerbier, 5.5%

I'm excited to review the new Sam Adam's spring seasonal, the Alpine Spring. Before I dive in, some back story on Sam Adams and the Boston Beer Company:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also 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.

Today's beer, the Alpine Spring, is a bright, citrusy, unfiltered lager - at least according to the Sam Adam's website. The beer description says that this beer has the balanced maltiness and hoppiness of a Helles, the smoothness and slightly higher alcohol of a traditional spring Bock, and the unfiltered appearance of a Kellerbier. The beer is brewed with Tettnang Tettnanger Noble Hops, and Honey malts. This is a spring seasonal available from January to March, and packs 19 IBUs and 5.5% ABV. 

I was trying to figure out how to categorize this beer. Ratebeer has dumped this into their "Premium Lager" category, which is kind of a catch-all category. BeerAdvocate is a little more brave, categorizing this as a Keller Bier/Zwickel Bier. Let's quickly break everything down. 

The BJCP does not have a Keller Bier/Zwickel Bier category. But they do have a Helles Bock category. A Helles Bock is a strong, pale, malty lager beer, with some notable spicy and bitter hop qualities. This style also clocks in around 6.3% - 7.4% and packs 23 to 35 IBUs. Now, Sam Adams compares this beer to the Helles Bock in terms of balanced hoppiness and maltiness. But they also clearly define this beer as a Keller Beer. 

"Our brewers have always admired the excellence of a small group of German lagers, with their soft underlying maltiness, clear notes of Noble aroma hops, and clean bitterness. As a Kellerbier, Alpine Spring grants access to the privilege that all brewmasters share: the taste of great beer straight from the tank. Our drinkers will not be too far behind, as Alpine Spring goes to keg and bottle as a young beer, only a few weeks old, resulting in an unfiltered haziness and soft fruity esters of a beer fresh out of the fermentation tank."

So what is a Kellerbier? Since the BJCP does not have a category, I went over and checked out the Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines. According to them, a Kellerbier is an unfiltered German-style Altbier and  Kölsch (an Altbier or Kölsch is a beer that is warm fermented and aged at cold temperatures; crisp, soft, fruity). What differentiates a Kellerbier from a straight up Kölsch is that it is bottled with low to moderate yeast, resulting in an unfiltered beer containing yeast sediments. These are hazy beers with yeast characters, along with other flavors typical of the Kölsch style. The Sam Adams website suggests that this will taste crisp, slightly sweet, and with bright citrus and spicy hop notes.

I confess I already had this beer on tap, and it was very enjoyable with some very fresh citrus and a very clean profile. I'm excited to get it into a glass and really scrutinize over it, so let's get to reviewing. 

Samuel Adams Alpine Spring

I gave the beer a pretty aggressive pour, and wound up with a lot of head. I poured 5-fingers worth of foamy, white head. The head has medium-sized, soapy bubbles, and is actually sustaining. There is lacing on my glass as the head pulls away. This is a golden/yellow beer with hints of orange; that holds true in both lower and bright light. This beer seems to have moderate to high carbonation. Considering that Sam Adams is calling this damn thing a Kellerbier, this is almost completely filtered in appearance. There is a slight haze. Sam Adams has a habit of filtering the crap out of their beers, so I'm not surprised, just surprised given the style of beer this is. (It's been a few minutes and head retention is still nice, and there is a ton of lacing). 

The aroma on this is very nice, with some nice citrus-spice and some yeast. This is a clean yeast, maybe slightly grainy or biscuity. There are hints of super clean and dry lemons and oranges, some spiciness (maybe coriander), maybe a touch of earthy and herbal hops, and some clean honey. This is a super fresh, clean, inviting nose that certainly reminds me of Spring.

The taste is a pretty good follow through of the nose. You taste a wave of very clean honey, grain, and yeast. This is creamy and smooth, with light carbonation. Between the honey and yeast you pull out some light hops that are earthy and spicy, and you also get some refreshing and light citrus and lemon. Very clean and balanced, and super drinkable. 

This is light, smooth and creamy, super drinkable, and perfectly supported by light carbonation. This has wonderful palate depth, but moderate to low complexity. You don't feel the 5.5%, but the beer has some density and sustenance. The beer also remains very drinkable. You pull out smoothness, honey, yeasts, and burgeoning hops on the front; this rolls into that sweet middle, balanced by pleasant hops; the back end remains sweet and some of the grain notes pop up. The finish is refreshing, mellow, and maybe a touch dry.

Rating:  Above-Average

Score: 85%

I believe this was a touch more grainy and had slightly brighter citrus on tap. All things considered, this is an incredibly tasty beer. The smooth body and the light carbonation coupled with the honey notes and the 5.5% ABV give this beer a certain heaviness. This is not a light lager by any means, and still has some really bright flavors. I enjoyed drinking this on tap, and I'm enjoying drinking this now. This is sessionable, and affordable, so I will likely pick this up again in the future to enjoy as a lighter beer. This is a bright new addition to Sam Adam's lineup, and welcome Spring beer for 2012.