Sam Adams Summer Ale 2010?

[redalert]

I give props to Sam Adams for being one of the first truly Microbrewery to go mainstream and have success. That being said, In my opinion I think their beers are average at best.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

I give props to Sam Adams for being one of the first truly Microbrewery to go mainstream and have success. That being said, In my opinion I think their beers are average at best.

i agree with you, mostly...but i have to say, the Noble Pils is definitely above average...one of the best pilsners i've had

 

[danculwell]

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?

My parents just toured the Boston brewery. Apparently they only do R&D in Boston. Also they just recently expanded their other brewerys. They claim that now they brew 95% of their own beers. Maybe that has something to do with the lower quality

I havn't had the summer ale before this year but I didn't really care for it. I don't know why they switched out the spring seasonal (which I love) so early in the year.

 

[munche]

I really liked the Summer last year, not into it this year. I miss the White Ale as the spring seasonal. I have a pair of White Ale pints that laugh at me.

 

[JonW]

I had the Summer Ale at an Outback Steak House last night. It had a taste to it that I generally associate with extract homebrews (homebrew twang).

 

[mh-brews]

i just wish they could sell me a keg of stout: cream or imperial would be fine!

 

[BeezBrew]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but there is likely a 90% chance the recipe is the same. Breweries rarely risk changing recipes due to risky profit margins. More likely is your taste perceptions have changed from last year.

 

[beerchemist]

Tastes the same to me, both on tap and in bottle, although they should have just made Noble Pils a year-round thing.

 

[bmckee56]

I had the Summer Ale at an Outback Steak House last night. It had a taste to it that I generally associate with extract homebrews (homebrew twang).

I have visited 2 different Outbacks in 2 different states and both places had a bad taste in my opinion. I had the waiter take back the Summer Ale when we were in Myrtle Beach, SC. The manager came out and tasted it and told the bartender "Whoever said this is bad doesn't know their beer". She wasn't aware I was right behind her (oops). She left for a bit, then returned and poured a new glass of the Ale for me and apologized, saying the keg was almost empty and that is why it tasted bad. The new beer was on her she said. I politely told her she could drink it, as I knew it wasn't from being at the bottom of the keg that it tasted badly.

I like other Sam Adams brews, but the summer ale is different, maybe it is just the place you get it from.

Salute!

 

[SwampassJ]

A bunch of the bars around here have resorted to taking off regular sam adams and just selling the summer. I don't like the summer, there is kind of bite to it, too much carbonation or something.

 

[Zamial]

I agree with soapy dishwater mixed with beer...I took 3 drinks just to be sure and dumped the bottle...

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

After drinking a few I can definitely say the taste is different this year. I've never been a summer ale fan, but my gf loved it in past years. She agrees it tastes like piss this year.

 

[Mmenges]

It's definitely a little different this year, I've had a twelve pack that I've been trying to finish since the beginning of May. It almost seems like it has too much lemon, almost like one of those half lemonade half beer beers.

 

[Displaced MassHole]

I went to the SA Brewery in Boston when I was back home in July, this years SA Summer Ale is completely unfiltered. It's the first time that they have done that. Yes the brewery in MA is only for R/D and any specialty beers that are only to be served/sold in Boston like the Boston Brick Red that is only available on tap in bars in the city (awesome btw) They also brew the Utopias there in Boston, I took all that I had in me not to try and roll a barrel out the door with me.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I think one of the prime reasons for SA Summer to not being up to par any longer is due to a few things... Out of the keg... sits too long or improperly stored or transported by the entity serving it to you, this also goes for the bottles. Also since most of the brews are actually now made in the old Latrobe brewery in PA they are using their water there... I don't know how much actual treatment goes in over at that brewery, but they are in the same water area as yuengling, lion's head, and keystone...

There's a reason why Yuengling is refered to as Pottsville Pisswater.

 

[permo]

It has an odd sour or astringent bite to it for sure, reminds me of when I ferment Nottingham Ale yeast on the cold side. I haven't had a good SA for quite some time. 5 years ago there Octoberfest was one of my favorite beers...now it is so watery and uneventful.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

It has an odd sour or astringent bite to it for sure, reminds me of when I ferment Nottingham Ale yeast on the cold side. I haven't had a good SA for quite some time. 5 years ago there Octoberfest was one of my favorite beers...now it is so watery and uneventful.

I agree about the Oktoberfest as well...

Used to be much better a few years ago... I now stick with Paulaner and my local favorite from Thomas Hooker Brewing...

 

[jpsloan]

Every year, it feels like the Summer Ale takes forever to roll out of rotation. I'm not necessarily defending their Oktoberfest, but it's my favorite of the four SA seasonals, and it seems to take forever to get past those summer ales.

 

[j1laskey]

SA had the best Winter Larger around 1997...hasn't been the same since....Thank God for Harpoons' Winter Warmer...always the same, and always delicious

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

SA had the best Winter Larger around 1997...hasn't been the same since....Thank God for Harpoons' Winter Warmer...always the same, and always delicious

Amen to that... thats my favorite winter beer... if you don't count in my barley wines and Wee heavy's

 

[beerchemist]

Also since most of the brews are actually now made in the old Latrobe brewery in PA they are using their water there... I don't know how much actual treatment goes in over at that brewery, but they are in the same water area as yuengling, lion's head, and keystone...

There's a reason why Yuengling is refered to as Pottsville Pisswater.

Latrobe is on the opposite side of the Commonwealth from Pottsville and Wilkes-Barre, and in a completely different watershed, on the opposite side of the Eastern Continental Divide. It is physically impossible for them to share a natural water source.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

my appologies... I am speaking in regards to Pottsville with Yuengling... I have issues with Yuengling, Lions Head and Rolling Rock.... Personal issue not related... thanks for pointing out the correct geography.

 

[beerchemist]

I have issues with Lions Head... every time I drink it, I end up doing stupid things.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

I've only drank it twice... Once because I'd never had it and the price of $10.36 per case of 24 seemed like a killer deal, and a second time because I was drunk, in college and didnt care what it tasted like... After getting sick on it both times, and tasting pretty much the same profiles in Yuengling, Rock, and Keystone, I've got a very big chip on my shoulder about the quality and or taste of the Mass produced PA beer.

 

[tfrost12]

Don't know if it's been mentioned, but there is likely a 90% chance the recipe is the same. Breweries rarely risk changing recipes due to risky profit margins. More likely is your taste perceptions have changed from last year.

I am almost positive blue moon changed their recipe slightly this spring to be a little more orange than before, at least in their bottles. It felt like they put a little orange slice in the bottle.

 

[doctorRobert]

I was under the impression that recipes are always changing, to account for different yields from hops and grains

Also, for bluemoon, the recipe has changed many times over the past few years because they keep moving where its brewed. A recipe brewed in mile high colorado and that same recipe brewed in the south, will come out very different.

 

[Zmoney]

I used to like it but now I think it tastes like soap. It's sad cause it used to be one of my fav's of summer. I don't know what is different but no longer a fan.