I had two of Sam Adams' Imperial Series beers last night while kegging 10 gallons of a nice pale ale with cascade and saaz hops. The firstbeer we had was the Imperial White which came off tasting more as alightly colored dubbel. It was over the top sweet, with a slight"witte" taste. I was hoping for something drier, more complex and...better. I know Sam Adams is commercial, but they have put out some big beers that are not commercial i.e. triple bock, imperial pilsner, and those beers do not disappoint; however, this one did. It is 10.3%, so I understand having some sweetness, but this was sickening; we didn't even finish the bottle.
Second, we had the Imperial Stout which brought back over into the SA big beer believer side. The aroma is bitter with chocolate undertones, like 80% cacao chocolate. The first taste complements these claims,but also adds a bit more milk and finishes with a nice heat in the back of your throat. The extremely thick mouth feel almost makes you want to grab a spoon or some Wendy's fries and dip them in. This was a good, solid Imperial Stout, with dark chocolate, hops, and heat notes which translates into a decently complex beer with a bitter smoothness that finishes with a little kick in the old punching bag thingy in your throat...okay, it's not that hot, but I like the analogy.
Needless to say, this tasting goes right along with my overall view of Sam Adams, some of their beers I am embarrassed to have tried whereothers rank among some of the best that I've had. Combine that with their support for the industry and for homebrewers and I call myself a fan, for better or for worst.
Second, we had the Imperial Stout which brought back over into the SA big beer believer side. The aroma is bitter with chocolate undertones, like 80% cacao chocolate. The first taste complements these claims,but also adds a bit more milk and finishes with a nice heat in the back of your throat. The extremely thick mouth feel almost makes you want to grab a spoon or some Wendy's fries and dip them in. This was a good, solid Imperial Stout, with dark chocolate, hops, and heat notes which translates into a decently complex beer with a bitter smoothness that finishes with a little kick in the old punching bag thingy in your throat...okay, it's not that hot, but I like the analogy.
Needless to say, this tasting goes right along with my overall view of Sam Adams, some of their beers I am embarrassed to have tried whereothers rank among some of the best that I've had. Combine that with their support for the industry and for homebrewers and I call myself a fan, for better or for worst.
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i had some pitchers in downtown bryan, texas tonight. i am typing slowly. a pitcher of lone star domestic lager was 6 bucks, while a pitcher of sam adams boston lager was 11 bucks.
ReplyDeleteguess which one i chose.
good post.
ReplyDeletei find myself being more and more interested in stouts these days. my first experience with a stout was not so good, so i stayed away from them for a long time. now, i'm back and i 'm loving it.