Samuel Adams Juniper IPA

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts 
Purchased: 12oz bottle from the 2013 Sam Adams Winter Classics variety pack bought at Binny's in IL; 2013
Style/ABV: India Pale Ale, 5.8%

Reported IBUs: 50

I'm not going to lie, I snagged this year's Winter Classics variety pack just to try the Cherry Chocolate Bock. I'll review that tomorrow. About Sam Adams:

The Boston Brewing Company/Sam Adams is, of course, the brain child of Jim Koch (and Harry M. Rubin and Lorenzo Lamadrid). Founded in 1984, Jim Koch got the ball rolling after college when he decided to resurrect and brew his favorite family recipe. That recipe belonged to his great-great grandfather, Louis Koch, and dates back to the 1870s (where it was brewed in a St. Louis brewery). That infamous family brew is the Sam Adams Boston Lager, of course. You can read more about the history of the Boston Brewing Company HERE, or check out their website HERE.  

The Sam Adams Juniper IPA is a Winter Seasonal release, and part of the 2013 Winter Classics variety pack. This IPA is brewed with American hops (Columbus and Ahtanum), and finished with juniper berries. With a base malt of two-row pale malt and honey malt, this IPA punches in at 5.8% ABV and 50 IBUs. 

Samuel Adams Juniper IPA

The beer pours a transparent, amber/orange color, and kicks up one to two fingers of foamy, soapy, off-white head. The head is sustaining very well, and leaving a lot of residiual lacing as it drops off. Bright light confirms much of the same. This is a radiant, amber/orange beer, with a amber-tinted head. There's some nice carbonation in this, with mid-sized bubbles rising upwards.

As you might expect with the juniper, there's a lot of wood, pine, evergreen, and floral spice on the aroma. I'm also getting some pine, iced tea/tea, Christmas tree, wet leaves, and a little grapefruit rind. There's some biscuit and sweet malt backing the hop/juniper aroma as well.

This is pretty solid. Sam Adams isn't an iconic IPA producer, but this strikes a nice balance between citrus/pine and grains of paradise, with some herbal and woody pine, evergreen, and juniper-Christmas-spice. There's also a nice malty wash of bread, honey, and biscuit. The finish is bitter and woody, with some fruity hops that trail, and then a kiss of malt. It's actually really well crafted.

I'm finding this incredibly easy-going at 5.8%. Drinkability is high. The palate depth is good, but as I drink this I'm finding the assertive malt to be a bit muddling. The bed of bread, honey, and grain that backs this beer overtakes the hops and juniper, which results in a slightly off-balance beer if you preference hops. For reference: up front is a lot of pine, fruity hops, and bread/honey; that rolls into some pine, iced tea, herbal hops, and more grain/bread; the back end is trailing bread grain, with a woody, dry finish. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Light Light Above-Average on this beer. I do think this is a good IPA, and the addition of the juniper adds a little fruity twist and some woody notes on the finish. The balance on this beer seems a bit malt-forward, but I could be biased by all the overkill American IPAs I've come to associate with the style. Given how light and refreshing this is, you can pair this with pretty much anything that isn't too spicy or aggressive. A leafy burger and this beer sounds pretty nice right about now. Most importantly, this beer does remind me of the Christmas/Winter season. And to that, cheers.

Random Thought: It snowed this week, and I couldn't be happier.