Samuel Adams Brown Ale: The People's Choice
Written: Feb 07 '06 (Updated Oct 17 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Nice balance and very good taste.
Cons: Not available on a widespread basis- yet!
The Bottom Line: Sam Adams has done it again, introducing a new product offering; this time brewing a brown ale at the request of its consumers
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Sam Adams Brown Ale |
Among all of the craft brewing operations in the United States and the world, there is one that stands out from the pack for the large number of products it offers. This brewery is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and it has a product line that presently includes almost twenty different products- many of which have won national and international recognition. The brewery I’m referring to is, of course, the Boston Beer Company and its latest new offering is Samuel Adams Brown Ale, a product selected by consumers.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
This beer is dark brown in color with an aroma of roasted malt and a head of foam that is average but leaves lace on your glass as you consume. The body of this beer is completely clear- even though dark- indicating that a good deal of filtering action takes place when this beer is brewed.
There is a toasted, biscuit- like flavor present in this beer with just a touch of nuttiness, roasted malt, and caramel. The finish hits you with the taste of a small amount of citrus and bittering hops and while the bitterness isn’t extreme by any measure, it sticks around long enough to balance out the sweet malt.
This beer is brewed using caramel malt, Harrington malt, Munich malt, Maris Otter malt, and roasted Carafa. Hops used include Goldings and Noble Spalt.
Food Compatibility:
This tasty beer would match up nicely with a baked pork chops, meat loaf, steak & potatoes, and most other beef dishes and a few other meats. It’s the type of beer that would taste good consumed with a multi- course meal or all by itself.
Final Thoughts:
Sam Adams is one of the great craft breweries in the United States. Its products are generally good, although not the greatest in the nation. But regardless of whether or not Sam Adams is considered the greatest craft brewery, it still deserves and commands respect if nothing else for the excellent job it has done in educating the public about the world of beer. Many other small breweries talk the talk, but Sam Adams walks the walk, with products that cover a very broad range of styles and a taste to match most anyone’s preferences.
Brown Ale is the latest offering by Samuel Adams and this one is unique in several ways. Number one, it is the first Sam Adams beer in this category. The company has brewed just about every type of beer imaginable but brown ale wasn’t one of them until now. Number two, this beer is unique because it was selected by consumers as the newest Sam Adams offering. What Boston Beer Company did was introduce this beer and one other selection- bohemian pilsner- at tasting events around the country. Named the Beer Lover’s Choice Program, Sam Adams asked beer lovers to vote for the beer they liked best. Brown Ale beat Bohemian Pilsner with about 64 percent of the total votes cast.
This brown ale is a good- tasting one with a medium body and enough quality ingredients and complexity to measure up against many other American brown ale. Boston Beer Company combines several different malts along with English and German hops to arrive at this taste. It reminds me of some of the brown ales I have sampled over the years at different brewpubs.
Sam Adams sells this beer in a multi- mix pack of either six or twelve bottles. This means there are only a couple of bottles of this beer to be enjoyed from each package. This is the same packaging method Sam Adams uses on other products too, like its Black Lager. But lo and behold, I have heard through the grapevine that the response to this beer was so strong when it was introduced that Boston Beer plans to start selling it in its own six packs very shortly (within the next month). This is great news for those who like this beer. It’s annoying to have to purchase mixer packs just to get a pair of bottles of the beer you enjoy best. Soon, beer lovers will be able to purchase Sam Adams Brown Ale in separate six- packs and enjoy this beer all by itself.
This brown ale isn’t the greatest I have tried but it is certainly a brown ale worth a sample or two. I like its balanced taste, its subtle nutty and roasted notes, and its other positive qualities. It makes yet another good brew for Boston Beer to add to its growing collection.
Be Sure to Click the Links Below to Read Reviews on Other Samuel Adams Products:
Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Samuel Adams Boston Ale
Samuel Adams Golden Pilsner
Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Samuel Adams Spring Ale
Samuel Adams Holiday Porter
Samuel Adams Summer Ale
Samuel Adams Scotch Ale
Samuel Adams Vienna Style Lager
Samuel Adams Black Lager
Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig
Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat
Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Samuel Adams Light
Samuel Adams Hefeweizen
Samuel Adams Cranberry Lambic
Samuel Adams White Ale
Samuel Adams Cream Stout
Recommended:
Yes
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