Sam Adams Summer Ale 2010?

[tfrost12]

Has anyone else found that this year's Sam Adams Summer Ale tastes significantly different than in years past. I know my brother has had the same sentiments. This year it seems to have a weird bite to it, or almost astringent. It used to be a top five favorite and it has now declined to a point where I no longer want to buy it. Anyone know why it may have changed?

 

[bkov]

i picked up a case, i was disapointed with it

 

[bmbigda]

yea man it's definitely different

 

[zurcj20]

I thought the same thing. I got one on draft last week and thought it tasted different. i thought it was just the difference between bottle and draft.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

it doesn't taste bad...i found that it's a good re-hydrating beer in between heavy and hoppy beers...doesn't say much for the summer ale though

 

[l1ranger]

we had a few this weekend.
I didnt notice any weird flavors, thought it was pretty decent and my dad liked it a good bit.

 

[robtotten]

I didn't like it, the citrus flavor is gross and tastes synthetic. I'm sure they use real lemon zest (or whatever) but it tastes gross.

 

[doctorRobert]

I think it taste the same as prior years. I use to love it, not so much anymore, but I think it's pretty much the same and more of my palate changing to more maltier yeastier wheats, like seirra nevada's kellerweiss.

 

[StoutattheDevil]

I've noticed this in MY summer ale I brewed to start the season as well. I haven't changed anything in the recipe and I'm using the same yeast I've always used and ended up with the same subtle astringancy as the Sam's summer ale. I'm almost positive they cultivate their own but I'm not half wondering If theirs something going on with a strand of hefe yeast this year.

 

[jpsloan]

I think it taste the same as prior years. I use to love it, not so much anymore, but I think it's pretty much the same and more of my palate changing to more maltier yeastier wheats, like seirra nevada's kellerweiss.

YES! The maltheads shall rise again!

 

[mosquitocontrol]

Yes, I had to buy a 12pack after both my kegs kicked. I could barely drink it. I though I had a skunked batch or something. I know my tastes have changed but the recipe must have been modified. It almost seemed to have a strong fake vanilla taste in it? Glad to see its not just me.

 

[tfrost12]

It may depend on where people are. I wonder if where it is brewed may be changing the character of the beer?

 

[doctorRobert]

It may depend on where people are. I wonder if where it is brewed may be changing the character of the beer?

This could be the most likely answer. I know they're "outsourcing" a lot of their beer production and almost none of their popular beers are brewed in Boston anymore.

 

[Marko73]

I heard A LOT of similar complaints about their Winter as well. People thought is was significantly different with some kind of off taste.

I don't know if being local to the brewery makes a difference, but I haven't noticed a real difference.

 

[hibbleton]

I've had Summer Ale from several different bars, both bottle and draft, and find it significantly worse than I remember. Several of my non-beergeek friends said the same thing without even being asked.

 

[jpsloan]

This could be the most likely answer. I know they're "outsourcing" a lot of their beer production and almost none of their popular beers are brewed in Boston anymore.

I've outsourced my Summer Ale to myself, and am much happier with the results.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

I've outsourced my Summer Ale to myself, and am much happier with the results.

way to bring it back to homebrew, homes

 

[gtpro]

Drank a keg of it last weekend, its definitely different, I know Sam gives a lot of leeway to their brewers from season to season but maybe they need to get better correspondence between the sales people and the brewhouse.

 

[bovineblitz]

Haven't had it this year. Last year it was great. Two years ago it tasted like Lysol.

 

[NorCalAngler]

I had a couple bottles this weekend in Disneyland. After a long day of walking with a 2 year old they both went down just fine. The lemon peel was subtle and refreshing. It was a good beer after a tiring day. I know setting can have a big influence on perception of taste so maybe that's why I thought it was a good summer brew.

 

[Toga]

I had a nice tall mug of it last night. It was not what I remembered from previous years but I did not find it to be undrinkable. I found after a few pulls off the mug I was kinda digging it. It went down very nice with teriyaki burger & fries.

 

[beerloin]

Does anyone else here think that it tastes "soapy"?

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

To be honest... SA Summer Ale has been slipping for the last couple years. 2-3 Years...

Its not what I remember back then, and now its something that I'd rather order a Stella over it when given the choice... Never did that up till this year... My summer Ale is much better...

 

[ForRealBeer]

I've outsourced my Summer Ale to myself, and am much happier with the results.

Exactly my plan. I'm going to brew it w/ Safale-05, because I got busy going to a brew fest in PA and then catching back up at work and forgot to make a starter...so...2-3 packs of Safale it will be later tonight.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

i'm actually a bit surprised to hear that a lot of Sam Adams isn't brewed in Boston anymore...why is this? are they that big? and are these other places sam adams/boston brewing or are they separate companies with a "license" from sam adams?

 

[doctorRobert]

i'm actually a bit surprised to hear that a lot of Sam Adams isn't brewed in Boston anymore...why is this? are they that big? and are these other places sam adams/boston brewing or are they separate companies with a "license" from sam adams?

According to the wikipedia machine:

"As of late 2009, The Boston Beer Company has over 350 employees and owns breweries in Boston, Cincinnati and Breinigsville, PA"

I think they also outsource beer production to other companies as well, no idea if they are partially or fully owned subsidaries or not.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

ah, good ole wickerpedia...thanks, Doctor

 

[CenturyStanding]

Does anyone else here think that it tastes "soapy"?

I think a lot of wheat beers have a soapy quality to them. It's a byproduct of the yeast. Sam Summer is more-so because of the lemon. Makes it a bit dish-soapish.

That isn't to say it's a bad thing, I love Sam Summer.

And I definitely don't think they changed the recipe. Tastes the same to me as it always has. It has more to do with changing tastes than any differences in the recipe.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

I think a lot of wheat beers have a soapy quality to them. It's a byproduct of the yeast. Sam Summer is more-so because of the lemon. Makes it a bit dish-soapish.

That isn't to say it's a bad thing, I love Sam Summer.

And I definitely don't think they changed the recipe. Tastes the same to me as it always has. It has more to do with changing tastes than any differences in the recipe.

this could very well be the case...the first time i had widmer's broken halo IPA, several years ago, i wasn't crazy about it...i had it again a few weeks ago and now it's one of my favorite IPAs...though i understand their recipes change slightly every year, but couldn't have been that much different

i have a summer sam in my fridge now, think i'll go try it again

update: drinking one now...pretty enjoyable stuff

 

[mgortel]

I cannot compare to other years.....becaus ethis is the first year I have tried it.....actually on tap at a York Revolutions baseball game.....anyway, I really liked it....I drank it the whole nite.