last night's commercial beer experience

[OHIOSTEVE]

As a newer brewer I like to taste different types of beers to see what I want to attempt. My wife brought me a Sam Adams sampler pack last night. I hope no one calls me a beer snob ( again) but this stuff was TERRIBLE. Other than a REALLY bad homebrew my buddy made once that was completely undrinkable, the pumpkin ale was the second worst beer I have ever tasted. I actually dumped it after 2 drinks. The Rauchbier was fairly rough also but I choked it down. The Black lager while drinkable, was far from good.
NOW MY QUESTION. To those with more discerning palates. Are these typical examples of the styles? I have had 3-4 Pumpkin beers and did not like any of them at all. I have had one other black lager ( actually made by the same guy that made the undrinkable homebrew) that I really liked. But never had rauchbier or the irish red before.

 

[unionrdr]

Which sampler pack? All I've seen lately is the autumn sampler?...

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Which sampler pack? All I've seen lately is the autumn sampler?...

it is called the harvest collection variety pack

 

[unionrdr]

Either I missed that one at Giant Eagle,or they didn't get it. but I will say,from the autumn sampler,that it seems like they're using less carbonation to get the maltier taste then more malts & proper carbonation levels. Even their Oktoberfest has very little carbonation after the initial pour settles down.

 

[temptnmonkey]

Sam Adams beer is a touchy subject for many lol. They make some good beers and some bad beers, and it varies by individual taste and preference just as any breweries' beers will. But they get a lot of hate lately (just check out beeradvocate)

My favorite style by far is IPA, and I actually think the Latitude 48 is a good light IPA that represents the style well. Uses both domestic and nondomestic hops, not too malt heavy, but malty enough to balance out for someone who isn't really a big hop head.

Their Russian Imperial Stout is just dreadful though. Tastes like a combination of a Hershey kiss and wet charcoal. So I think for that style there are way better ones.

Their Oktoberfest is just average, the black lager is just average, their pumpkin beer is below average in my opinion, etc. I haven't had their Rauchbier but I don't like the style.

Anyway, Sam Adams has the position of being a gateway beer (good enough to make you realize how bad the BMC beers are) but not good enough to keep you from trying better gateway beers like Sierra Nevada and New Belgium. But yeah, beer styles are on their way out the window. There is always a category, but being traditional is not the cool thing to do right now (but it will eventually make its way back)

Taste around to see what you like!

/rant

 

[TRainH2o]

I had mixed feelings about the very variety pack you mention. I thought the Pumpkin just a bit off but I am not a big spice beer fan. To me, it's the spices you taste instead of pumpkin. I was expecting it to be a bit more malty. Terripin's Pumpkinfest is a much better pumpkin beer to me.

I enjoyed the Rauchbier. I liked the smokiness and the fairly dry finish. I thought it was one of the best in the pack, along with the Irish Red.

The Black Lager is fairly non offensive. I enjoyed it but it's not a huge favorite.

Basically it all comes down to what you like.

 

[unionrdr]

I like SA's summer ale,& I think the honey wheat was theirs too. But these autumn beers all seem to look red to me,& under-carbed to get a maltier profile that makes it come off as average. I'd like to find that harvest collection & give it a go. I've been wanting to try a rauchbier too.

 

[borden]

I enjoyed the Rauchbier. I liked the smokiness and the fairly dry finish. I thought it was one of the best in the pack, along with the Irish Red.

I liked the Irish Red as well, but thought the Rauchbier tasted like someone spilled liquid smoke into the fermentor. No nuance to it at all, at least when I tried it. To each their own!

 

[unionrdr]

I liked Killian's Irish red with ribs for a long time. I'll have to see what this one's like?...

 

[TRainH2o]

I liked Killian's Irish red with ribs for a long time. I'll have to see what this one's like?...

It's not going to be as sweet as Kilian's. The SA version is malty rather than sweet but it has a good hop balance. I like the SA version much better and it is available in 6 packs.

 

[MikeinCT]

I am a big Sams fan. I like their beer (almost all of it - not the summer ale). I think they have a great web site, particularly because they post their recipies. I also love the fact that their labels come off the bottles without much more then a soak. Now I have the exact same sampler pak at home but I have not drank any because I prefer my own Amber Ale. So because of this post I will try a few over the next few days and reply. Of course this is mostly a matter of personal taste.

 

[pickles]

I like Sam Adams Light and the occasional Boston Lager, but the rest are mediocre at best. I've had one Rauchbier in my life and it was very tough to drink. My initial thought was it would make a good BBQ sauce. I've never had Sam Adam's pumpkin but I can only imagine how bad it is. Come to think of it the Latitude 48 isnt too bad a beer.

 

[bmeyer46]

pumpkin ale = too bitter, lacking pumpkin character
Rauch Bier = too weak for a rauchbier IMHO
Black Lager = I actually liked this one the best
Latitude IPA = not bad, but I'm not a big IPA fan
Amber Ale = too bitter again
Summer ale = can't recall

 

[Guden]

From what I remember the pack was as follows:

-Irish Red: Decent but I prefer Smithwick's.
-Black Lager: Again okay, but not overly exciting, haven't had others of the style
-Oktoberfest: Malty and drinkable, not amazing but a solid beer and fairly typical of style
-Pumpkin Ale: Not a fan, overly spiced but pretty typical for style
-Rauchbier: I liked it a lot but very much like drinking a campfire, haven't had others of the style
-Boston Lager: well this is their tasty classic

 

[rodisian]

Personal preference is the Black Lager is a great example of the style (schwarzbier). dark, flavorful, not too roasty, goes down easy.
Irish Red is decent, and the craft beer scene probably owes a fair portion of its popularity to Boston Lager as gateway to moving beyond BMC

 

[elaeace]

No one has mentioned Sam Adams Winter Lager and its great spice flavor or the Hops Heads dream beer...Sam Adams Noble Pils...both great beers

 

[unionrdr]

Don't think I've seen either one of those.

 

[pickles]

No one has mentioned Sam Adams Winter Lager and its great spice flavor or the Hops Heads dream beer...Sam Adams Noble Pils...both great beers

Are you saying that Noble Pils is a Hop Head's dream beer?

 

[crazyseany]

I bought the winterlager & enjoyed it quite a bit

kinda off topic... I bought a 6 of (i think) roscoe brewery IPA and really enjoyed it.

also got a variety 6 of Shorts brewery (northern MI) and thought most were horrible...

 

[DGibb]

also got a variety 6 of Shorts brewery (northern MI) and thought most were horrible...

If you're a Hop Head, Short's Huma Lupalcious is awesome. I also love their Soft Parade. Great berry character, and you'd never guess it is around 9% ABV.

 

[djfriesen]

Just had Sam Adams Black and Brew Coffee Stout and their Holiday Porter. I really enjoyed both.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

I drank one of the Oktoberfest beers tonight. I liked that one all right.

 

[spam]

I got that same harvest pack a week ago and almost could not drink it,,,yuck!! the sams boston larger was the only one that I liked.

 

[elaeace]

Are you saying that Noble Pils is a Hop Head's dream beer?

Well, I'm saying that it's made with all five noble hops and has a very hoppy taste, but I'm not a beer expert. I enjoy it because of it's hoppy flavor! I know...I know...everyone on this board has probably had better... But I don't have the bank to try a thousand different beers

 

[mychalg9]

Sam Adams variety packs, along with Goose Island variety packs, opened the door to craft beer for me a few years ago. Usually they will not be the best example of the style, but will give you an idea of which direction to head so you can pick up other beers in that style the next time you shop. I honestly dont even consider buying Sam Adams anymore but its still a great value and a wonderful gateway to bigger better beers

 

[pickles]

Well, I'm saying that it's made with all five noble hops and has a very hoppy taste, but I'm not a beer expert. I enjoy it because of it's hoppy flavor! I know...I know...everyone on this board has probably had better... But I don't have the bank to try a thousand different beers

I'm not knocking you, I thought you were saying that they made a beer called Hop Heads Dream I don't think its very hoppy though.....

 

[unionrdr]

The added bonus of buying 12'rs of Sam Adams,Leinenkugel's,magic hat,& Dundee's is the solid,sturdy boxes they come in. Leinenkugel's also has separators. I toss the twist off bottles,& use the thick walled cartons for my good pop tops. So I get some better than BMC beers,& better,less space consuming boxes for my bottles/beers.

 

[buffcoat]

SA Noble Pils is a pretty good beer. Their Imperial Double Bock ... holy hell is it awful. Its like drinking sugar. Its definately a desert beer that you can drink by the spoonful. If I had my druthers I'd just stuck to the plain 'ol Sam Adams Boston Lager.

I've stayed away from their Irish Red just because most every one that I've had was a bit to sweet for me. I'll give this one a go if its a bit on the dryer side.

 

[Pdeezy]

Sam Adams Wee Heavy (Imperial Series) is a good one. It was actually my first wee heavy, and opened up yet another style for me. I guess that's kind of their M.O. - they have the distribution and resources to make lots of styles and reach a lot of people while maintaining the "craft beer" feel, but it seems they are getting too big to maintain their quality at every style.

 

[cadarnell]

I can drink my body weight in sa oktoberfest while it's available each year .. I love that one .. it does get harder to do each year though .. I wonder why?

 

[tennesseean_87]

I liked the 12 pack of Noble Pils I had a spring or two ago. It got me into IPA's.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I like the red. The black and boston lager is ok. The rest were not good.

The winter pack is sure to be a pile of fail. I did like the chocolate bock but I think we have bottles of the holiday porter and the winter warmer from last year's pack somewhere in the house.

 

[moose123]

The latitude 48 won gold at the great american beer festival in the classic english pale ale category was a bit surprised by that.

 

[StophJS]

I had a similar reaction to Sam Adams Boston Lager the other day. Tasted like chilled wort with no hops.

 

[DynamechGT]

The first time I had a SA Summer Ale (Draft) I loved it. Next time was crappy because of dirty keg lines. Next time out of a bottle wasn't bad but wasn't quite right either.

I enjoy the Boston's but I'm not a big fan of their other offerings.