Something new from Sam Adams?

I was at the beer store today and noticed some new offerings from Sam Adams. I picked up a bomber of Tasman Red IPA, The Vixen chocolate chili bock, and Griffin's Bow blonde barley wine. There was also a double IPA but I passed on that. I didn't even know these beers were out until I saw them on the shelves. Has anyone tried them yet? I'll be cracking the Tasman Red here shortly.

Cool!! I look forward to finding that barleywine

The Red was pretty good. Malt body and hops balanced well together. Lot of good flavor things going on (sorry I don't speak BJCP). If they put this stuff out in six packs, I'd buy it regularly. If they don't, I'm going have to clone this beer.

The Vixen did not knock my socks off. I had a hard time picking up on any chili taste. The chocolate was subdued as well, but I consider that a good thing. All in all, it came across as a decent sweet stout but nothing to write home about.

I'll probably give the blonde barley wine a go tonight.

I had the Bock the other night. I picked up the chocolate flavor, but it wasn't as pronounced as their Chocolate Bock in the holiday pack. The chili was lacking too, but I did notice just a slight bit of heat on the back of my tongue (I love spicy food, like habenero hot, so maybe that's why I thought it was lacking). I noticed they have batch numbers on the bottles so maybe batch #2 will have more of a chili kick.

I'm gonna try the others soon.

I did pick up a bit on the heat too but I was hoping for some chili flavor to go along with it.

huh. I saw the Tasman in my bottle shop and didn't even register that it was a SA product.

I gotta look around this area for them and should be able to find them, but if not, can someone save me the Griffin's barleywine bottle?? My sons name is Griffin and it would be cool to have around.
Tom

I'm drinking the Tasman now...MEH. Not impressed. I love Ipas, but this is just puckeringly bitter. Almost tongue burning so....It say it's supposed to be balanced with maltiness, but I'm not getting any of that.

I've got the DIPA as well, but if it's anything like this, I won't be buying it again.

I tried the blonde barley wine yesterday and didn't care for it. This does not means it's not a good beer, I just don't like strong malty beers without a good dose of hops (or roasted malts) to bring balance. There are plenty of highly regarded Belgian beers that I simply don't like for this reason. Either way, I'm glad to see Sam Adams continuing to branch out into new territory. They seemed to be getting passed by the rest of the craft brew community.

I tried the Double IPA and the Vixen Chocolate/Chili bock when they came out a few weeks ago. I enjoyed the IPA a lot and would buy it again if the price was right. The Bock was certainly a bit different for my taste but I'd drink it again. It left a burning sensation on the back of my tongue, certainly something I haven't experienced with beer before

I'm drinking the Double IPA right now...and again I don't like it. It to me is all bitterness with little actual flavor. I'm sure it's more the hop choice rather than anything else. But it's not enjoyable....In fact my mouth feels like it's been sliced by a dozen razorblades.

I had the Tasman Red last night, and I liked it. I thought it was pretty balanced. Nice malt in the front, and hop bitterness in the back end. It could use a little more hop flavor (instead of just the bitterness) though IMO.

I had the Tasman and thought it was a novelty beer. They put in cascades from around the globe . . . blah blah blah. I think this was a dry, bitter beer that was crafted on novelty rather than anything else.

I thought the Vixen was beautiful. I am in awe with bocks at the moment, but I thought this was a silky, smooth and complex treat. I think SA does amazing things with bocks.

The DIPA was nothing to write home about. It was better than the tasman, but a little below par for a DIPA and way below par for my expectations.

I haven't had the barley wine yet, but I think barley wines are one of the most subjective beers to rate, so I don't expect too much from it.

the barley wine is intersting,

medium thick in the mouth, with a lot of pineapple character. almost tastes like a pina colada beer. its not bad, just different. malt profile is smooth and full, but definitely on the lighter silkier side. no dark/roasted malt character to be had anywhere.

the tasman red was alright. nothing to write home about but not a bad beer from SA.

living where i do, i feel obliged to at least try all SA products. have a bottle of the DIPA and the bock, havent had a chance to try them yet though.

Sam Adams has to be the worst craft brewery in the country. Although they are huge, they don't seem to do anything right.

Remember Sam Adams Utopias? Utter garbage and a premo price...thank god I didn't pay for a tasting.

OldWorld said:

Sam Adams has to be the worst craft brewery in the country. Although they are huge, they don't seem to do anything right.[...]

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Not a trace of irony there. Nope....

Cheers!

I just had the barleywine tonight. I gotta say it's the best barleywine I've had to date. Every barleywine I've had in the past(Stone and Sierra Nevada Bigfoot to name a couple) have been so hoppy that I couldn't taste much of the maltiness. The ones I've had deserve to be called hop wines before they are called barleywines. With that said I may post tomorrow with a flavor description after my buzz wears off.

If I want hops and a big buzz I'll drink an IIPA.

Their chocolate bock is delicious!

I thought the Third Voyage DIPA was pretty good. The Tasman Red also pretty good. I've been tinkering in Beersmith to try to replicate it. I like malty somewhat hoppy reds. The Vixen didn't do much for me. A little too sweet for my taste and I didn't really detect much of the chocolate and none of the chili. Overall, compared the bland selections in their standard lineup, these were a better attempt at craft brewing.

TzeentchPlayer said:

I just had the barleywine tonight. I gotta say it's the best barleywine I've had to date. Every barleywine I've had in the past(Stone and Sierra Nevada Bigfoot to name a couple) have been so hoppy that I couldn't taste much of the maltiness. The ones I've had deserve to be called hop wines before they are called barleywines. With that said I may post tomorrow with a flavor description after my buzz wears off.

If I want hops and a big buzz I'll drink an IIPA.

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If you don't like the american ones due to to much hops, age them for a couple years.

Well, This saves me the get excited to try the new SA product only to be filled with buyer's regret. Sure I may like it but the folks here that already wrote up on it have made up my mind.

The one thing that is upseting about SA is that they used to make a lot of great beers. Now they have been reformulated for profit and all taste pretty much the same. Start with a SA boston lager and add in X ingredient/flavor. While this is not true for everything they brew, it does cover about 90% or more.

I find SA's beers to be some of the highest quality brews made. The only thing that I *kind of* disagree with them on is how tightly they generally follow style guidelines. I don't know that SA has changed over the years so much, but rather that my palate has changed (and changes still). This changes my perception of their beers. Yes, they have become the giant that they always fought, but they are still producing an amazing amount of quality brews at an amazing price.

Zamial said:

The one thing that is upseting about SA is that they used to make a lot of great beers. Now they have been reformulated for profit and all taste pretty much the same. Start with a SA boston lager and add in X ingredient/flavor. While this is not true for everything they brew, it does cover about 90% or more.

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I completely agree with this sentiment and it's basically why I don't purchase Sam Adams anymore. If I do, it's the Boston Lager. I always feel like I taste the Boston Lager underneath anything I'm drinking from them, but perhaps it's just my imagination. I'm glad somebody else gets that too though.

aseg said:

I find SA's beers to be some of the highest quality brews made. The only thing that I *kind of* disagree with them on is how tightly they generally follow style guidelines. I don't know that SA has changed over the years so much, but rather that my palate has changed (and changes still). This changes my perception of their beers. Yes, they have become the giant that they always fought, but they are still producing an amazing amount of quality brews at an amazing price.

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On the whole, I'd have to agree. I don't buy a lot of SA, but I generally respect what they do. I try to keep the whole broad field of beer in perspective. I think there are plenty of breweries making crap beer, plenty brewing the most ridiculous off-style "apricot ramen German Saison" stuff they can think of, and a handful of breweries that stick to strict guidelines and put out a reliable product all the time. Aside from the crap (and I don't just mean BMC), I'm grateful that we have such a wide variety of options. For my money, SA is far from the worst offender out there.

I have a love hate with them. The Octoberfest and, I know its not liked around here, cherry wheat are good tasting beer imo. That said everything else seems so novelty to me.

They used to be, again imo, a "beer drinkers beer", a cut above the rest. But now they are just another beer. A notch above bud light and on par with corona, neither of which I like.

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nukinfuts29 said:

They used to be, again imo, a "beer drinkers beer", a cut above the rest. But now they are just another beer. A notch above bud light and on par with corona, neither of which I like.

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Now this I agree with almost 100%. I guess if I differ, it's in thinking not that Sam sold out but that the overall caliber of beer in America has skyrocketed. I know some of you are at least as old as I am, and remember when finding a place with Newcastle was as good as seeing Bo Derek nekkid!

Ive liked a few SA stuff but havnt tried alot but have hated some. I thought the Tasman was a good red ipa. It had great aroma hop flavor and bittering was all good,i liked the roasty dry tones of it,pretty balanced although i thought it was somewhat salty.And for a bomber the way the bottle looked i thought it said 1 pint .6 oz but a 22 oz for 5 bucks its definatly worth trying. I remember liking their winter lager last year in a resturant.

nukinfuts29 said:

They used to be, again imo, a "beer drinkers beer", a cut above the rest. But now they are just another beer. A notch above bud light and on par with corona, neither of which I like

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Once upon a time, choices of beer in the US were pretty limited. In fact, we're just now seeing anything near the pre-Prohibition number of breweries open in the US. When SA came on the scene, they definitely brought a fresh game along with them, and they threw down... and we should respect them for that.

I mean, look at the number of big name microbreweries that are only celebrating 14, 15, 16 years in business. Didn't Stone just release their 15 not too long ago? SA has been in business since 1984.

And with the expansion of breweries and brewing styles available to most consumers, tastes and palates are changing - and changing for the better IMO.

That said, you couldn't pay me to drink SA's Boston Lager (and I think a growing number of people feel the same way), but they seem to at least be reaching out, experimenting, dipping a proverbial toe in, if you will - and I think these beers represent that. If they stagnate, they'll perish, between InBev and they growing number of craft microbreweries.

I liked Griffin's Bow. I think it has potential. I'd also like to see how well, if at all, it would age.

The tart stout is actually pretty good

wife bought me the Tasman and DIPA for valentines day. I"m with Rev, when I first saw the bottles sitting on the counter I didn't even know they were SA products. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm kind of glad to hear the DIPA is bitter. The last few DIPAs ive had were too damn sweet for me (hoptimus from New Albanian comes to mind).

@ ao125

Couldn't agree with you more. They seemed content to just sit on their boston lager and seasonal rotation for years while other craft breweries were trying new things. They may as well have been InBev; they were dead to me. I, for one, welcome this new effort by SA. Despite the less than stellar reviews and not making Beer Advocate's top 50 Barleywine list, Griffin's Bow is my favorite barleywine to date. As they say, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." I also liked their DIPA, Third Voyage. Not the best DIPA around but I wasn't beating myself up over the purchase. I'll have to give that Red Tasman a try next time I see it sitting on a shelf.

Im still waiting for the Fat Jack to try.I busted a Gose and Rauchbock in my damn spare fridge,I used bungee cords for the broken door shelf things which I forgot and opend quick and boom 44 oz of beer on the basement floor,that really sucked to mop up.Bright side is they are only 6 dollar bombers so that made me feel a little better about the loss but damn that Rauchbock I was really lookin forward to! It shure smelled good after it busted. I almost lost a two brothers dopplebock I think it was it actually didnt bust but the cap sprayed half of it out saving half of the rest for me to drink after I cleaned up the hellish mess. It was interesting to watch a beer spray out as I helplessly just watched in shock.