It is a bitter cold day here in New England, so perhaps not the best time to be delving into the Spring variety pack from Samuel Adams. But the name of the beer being highlighted today is certainly appropriate. It is the latest seasonal offering from Samuel Adams and is called "Cold Snap". 
It is advertised as a "white ale" but you can tell it's anything but. It is somewhat golden, and as you can tell is an unfiltered beer.
The first sensation when you drink it is that of a prickly spicy feeling on the tip of your tongue. This is followed by a light, citrus flavor. I detected either orange or lemon accents. 
As I continued drinking the prickly sensation translated to what I would call a peppery flavor. 
The beer is crisp and more suited to warmer spring weather I'd say. The flavor is on the light side and doesn't linger or have much of an aftertaste. 
I'd say it's the kind of brew you would enjoy drinking one of, but you wouldn't want to be drinking it all night long. The combination of pepper and citrus would begin to wear on you.
An interesting brew. I'm giving it 6 mugs out of 10.

Yes nothing too exotic or ground breaking today. 

I decided to use the Samuel Adams Boston Lager as an excuse to show off the drinking glass that was a gift from my elder son. He acquired it when he took the Samuel Adams brewery tour in Boston recently. And of course it ended up being a gift to dear old papa.

I couldn't resist showing it off with Boston Lager inside it. The lager of course is Samuel Adams original brew. It most likely was instrumental in the public's mind with igniting much of the renewed interest in microbrews and the beers that actually have character and taste.

It is easy to dismiss Boston Lager today as being somewhat staid and pedestrian, as being too basic. Some people opine it is in danger of becoming an example of the mass-produced swill for which it was the original antidote.

I know I have been guilty as charged. When I buy a variety 12 pack of Sam Adams there are always a couple of bottles of Boston Lager included. Often I either delay drinking them as long as possible, hoping someone else beats me to it, or I get them out of the way as soon as possible. It's more fun to explore the new offerings, or the other varieties you've sampled before but are not available as often as the Lager.

So sometimes it's good to remind yourself that this is just a very good beer. Nothing more nothing less. It is clean and crisp. It has that nice color and good head. It has good body and flavor. It is smooth and it is balanced. We should all be able to make that claim.

So it's not the sexiest beer around any more. It is not a hot trender. For someone who prefers IPA's it can seem a little on the light side or not hopped enough.

But it helped start a revolution, much as its namesake did. And if nothing else it is the standard against which other microbrews and good beers should be measured. If the brew is not at least as good as Boston Lager, then it isn't worth drinking. End of story.

I'll give Sam Adams Boston Lager a score of 7 mugs out of 10. 

You'll recall I'm a big fan of Southern Tier brewing as it is. And then I came across this brew. According to the Southern Tier brewing website it is part of their standard year round offerings. But I came across it in the variety pack of the Imperial series that included the Iniquity brew that was the subject of the last posting.
Either way - Standard or Imperial - I'm in love.
IPA is my favorite general category of beer. And with 2X IPA from Southern Tier I have found my new favorite in my favorite category.
Look at that head. How could you not like that?
And then you drink it. You get what you would expect from an IPA, that first rush of citrus-flavored hops. But then you are in for a real treat. 
Yes there is plenty of flavor. You would expect that from a beer with over 8% alcohol. But what really grabs you is how smoooooth this beer is. For a double IPA, with that high an alcohol content and there is no bitterness, no overwhelming bite. Rather this might be the most balanced beer I've tasted. Especially given the hops and the strength. Not bitter, but no lightweight and not at all sweet. You could drink this one all night, but I wouldn't - it packs a punch!
I give this 9 mugs out of 10. It is the new standard against which I judge all other IPA's, if not all other beers. Well done, sirs!

I'm a big fan of Southern Tier brewing. Maybe because I spent some formative years, from pre-school through the beginning of the 5th grade, in Vestal, New York outside of Binghamton. And people referred to the area as the Southern Tier. So naturally I figured this brewery must be near the Binghamton area. It is not.
Instead it in Lakewood, near Jamestown in the southwest corner of the Empire State. Hours from Binghamton. Heck it's closer to Buffalo.
Still the name did get me to try the brews once I saw them in the local package store that carries a wide variety of brews. And I've been a fan every since. Once all my holiday brews and Christmas gift beers had been consumed, the first beers I bought in 2014 were a variety pack of Imperial brews from Southern Tier. The one I'm writing about today is called Iniquity. It is an Imperial Black Ale. Iniquity is a strange name for a brew. The definition of "iniquity" is immoral or grossly unfair. Other definitions are wickedness or sinfulness, or the quality of being unfair or evil. 
Maybe they gave it that name due to the dark color. As you can tell this is one opaque ale. Or perhaps it's because this beer is "wicked" good, and sinfully awesome. Out of curiosity I did visit the web site and they named it Iniquity because it is "evil", the antithesis of what you would expect from an IPA. 
It starts with the 9% alcohol level. So this is not a shy brew, you can feel the strength. But at the same time it is very tasty, and for something so dark and powerful, extremely smooth. It goes down very easily. And yet the taste fills your mouth. I detected hints of caramel and even dare I say a faint trace of licorice in the flavors. But all I know for sure is that it was great! This is definitely one of my favorite beers of recent memory. I could drink it all year long, and fortunately for me this is one of the Imperial series that is available year-round.
If you have the opportunity to try any of the offerings from Southern Tier, please do. You won't be disappointed. You especially won't be disappointed with anything from the Imperial series. And if you are traveling somewhere in the southwest part of New York state try to drop in at Southern Tier. They give tours and have an attached brew pub as well. Maybe some day I'll make it out there from New England.
I'm giving Iniquity a score of 8 mugs out of 10. 

Lost Sailor IPA from Berkshire Brewing Company.
First a point of clarification. This was the last gift brew I drank this holiday season, but it was not the last holiday brew consumed. As you may recall from my previous post my holiday ritual, beer-wise, is that the first and last beer drunk every season is Sam Adams' Old Fezziwig Ale. And sure enough the last Old Fezziwig was downed shortly after the beer you see pictured at left. So the holiday season is now officially closed in our household. Until next year Old Fezzie!
But before that occasion I drank Lost Sailor IPA from Berkshire Brewing Company, which was one of several BBC beers I received as a gift this Christmas. 
The beer has a very pleasing amber color as you can see. And you've got to love that head. 
As with all BBC offerings I've ever tasted the beer is clean, crisp and fresh. You get that hoppy sensation indicative of an IPA, but the Lost Sailor version is definitely lighter than many IPA's I've sampled. The bitterness from the hops is there, but subdued. There's just enough to add character to the brew and complement the flavor. And the taste does stay with you, but in a good way, as in it's not so light that it disappears as soon as you swallow.
I could definitely see myself drinking this beer often, but also not going out of my way to get it, especially for the 22 ounce bottle. There are so many heartier brews for this time of year, especially in the IPA family.
Still Lost Sailor does advertise itself as a session beer, which would certainly explain the lighter body and taste and lower bitterness compared to many more powerful substantive IPA's. So the brewer's mission is accomplished in that sense.
I am torn as to the score, but given the intent of the brewmaster, and the good clean flavor, I will round up and award Lost Sailor IPA 8 mugs out of 10.
Until next time have a good one. Or two.