Samuel Adams Wee Heavy (Imperial Series)

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: Single bottle (12oz) from a 4-pack bought at Jewel in Chicago, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Scotch Ale/Wee Heavy, 10.0%

Holy crap! A Sam Adams beer that pushes the envelope? Yeah, they make those. Tonight...we dive into the depths of Sam Adams' "Imperial Series."

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.

The Sam Adams Wee Heavy is a Scotch Ale, and a big one at that. You can read up on Scotch Ales at the BJCP, or read my ramble about them here. Basically, Wee Heavies/Scotch Ales are giant, malty beers, with peaty/earthy/smoky notes. If you check out Sam Adams' Wee heavy page, you can get some info on this beer. This beer is inspired by traditional Scotch ales and Scotch whiskies, and combines deep roasted flavors with an earthy smoke character. This beer uses dark, caramelized malts, which is typical for the style. It also uses peat smoked malt, an ingredient found traditionally in Scotch whiskies. This is an unusual ingredient for the style, and it will be interesting to see how it tastes. To get peat smoked malt, the malt is smoked over peat, which adds earthy and smoky flavors. Clocking in at a giant 10.0% ABV, 30 IBUs, and 350 calories per 12oz bottle...this beer is brewed with a bunch of malts, and some Zeus Hops. On a final note, Sam Adams does a good write up on the history of the Scottish/Scotch ale:

Scottish brewers have been renowned for their strong Scotch Ales for centuries. Their characteristic taste comes from the large amount of highly roasted malts to flavor and sweeten the beer rather than using brewing sugars or crystal malt. Barley is a signature ingredient of Scotland as used in their whiskies and its character comes through in their beers. By contrast, hops cannot survive the short Scottish growing season and are thus only used in limited amounts for these beers.  

With all that said, let's get this into a glass and see what is up. On a final note...I have no idea how old this bottle is. I have noticed that the Imperial Series tend to sit on shelves for a while...not that it matters. At 10.0% ABV, and being a Wee Heavy, this is a beer you can toss in your cellar for a little while. It will do just fine.

Samuel Adams Wee Heavy

The pour, in low light, yields a deceptively raisin-brown looking beer, with a raisin/tan colored head. You get a pinky's worth of head, but it doesn't hang around for long. In bright light, this beer has ruby red highlights, and appears to be reddish brown. It also has quite a bit of carbonation and effervescence (though it is not transparent). There are big alcohol legs on this, and you can stir up the head when you swirl the beer. There is a nice cauldron effect.

The aroma on this beer is huge, and sweet. Giant caramelized malts hit your nose, and they are sweet. You get raisins, plums, brandy; the caramelized malts flavor wheel. You also get some booze, but it's not Fusel alcohol-y. And maybe a hint of peat, but it is fairly elusive. 

The taste is interesting...if a bit surprising. Maybe I'm lucky, in that I'm guessing this is an older bottle. The malts seem fairly mellow, and I'm getting more malts than booze. The malts come across first, and in a thick/dense/sticky way. My first impression is that this drinks like a liquor. On the back end, you get those peated malts. The peat smoked malts give off more than just earthy and smoky notes: you get some meat and bacon. Yay, Rauchbier! I'm definitely getting warming on the back end, but again: it's not aggressively boozy or Fusel-y. I'm pulling out raisins, caramel, molasses, and then earthy peat malt.

This beer's mouthfeel is somewhere between medium full to full. It's fairly sticky and dense, and sugary as all fuck. Palate depth is good. Complexity is just okay. The 10.0% ABV seems elusive; but it's possible this bottle is anywhere from 6 months old to one year plus. Up front is a big wave of malts, with some dark fruits; this rolls into more caramel, and some peat; the back end is lingering peat, some smoke, drying/cloying sweetness, and then a warming finish. 

Rating: Average 

 

I'm feeling a decent Average  on this. I wonder what one of these tastes like when it is hot. For me, this drinks more like a dessert liquor. The peat smoked malts are noticeable, but don't hold a torch to the huge, sugary, caramel malts that dominate this beer. I know this style is inherently one-dimensional, but I kind of expected a little more in terms of balance and complexity. It's also a bit cloying on the finish...which is fine. This is definitely a sipper, and a beer to pair with dessert or something heavy (goulash anyone?). It's not a bad beer by any stretch, and it's a good take on the style. And the peat malts are intriguing...when you do get a kick of smoke, peat, or bacon, it's a welcome flavor. Given how easy it is to find this beer, this beer may be worth trying.