Okay so this past Labor Day weekend I violated one of my cardinal rules of beer drinking. I indulged in fall/harvest brews while it is still summer. I purchased the Samuel Adams Harvest Collection and the Harpoon Tailgater variety 12-pack.
Normally I eschew the fall brews until there is a definite nip in the air, the leaves have begun turning, and/or the calendar says it's autumn. I hate seeing Octoberfest beers in stores when it's mid-August and I'm walking around in shorts and flip flops. Don't worry I'm wearing a shirt as well.
But I had an excuse. I was providing beer for the annual Fantasy Football League draft. I wasn't sure what beers to bring, so when I saw the Harpoon Tailgater how could I pass that up? And then knowing that 12 brews would not be sufficient I decided to stick with the theme and picked up the Sam Adams fall variety pack as well.
The draft went well and everyone enjoyed the beers. For those who might be curious I have Matthew Stafford again as my premier quarterback and Ray Rice as my top running back. They were on my team last year as well and I made the playoffs so I'm hoping that's a good sign. Besides this year I also landed Calvin Johnson to team up with Stafford, so even better. And all this while having the 8th pick on an 8 team league. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. We're making the move this year from a scoring only league where you only received points for touchdowns, extra points, field goals, etc. to a more traditional league with points for rushing and receiving and passing yards as well as scores. So we'll see how that works out.
Normally I eschew the fall brews until there is a definite nip in the air, the leaves have begun turning, and/or the calendar says it's autumn. I hate seeing Octoberfest beers in stores when it's mid-August and I'm walking around in shorts and flip flops. Don't worry I'm wearing a shirt as well.
But I had an excuse. I was providing beer for the annual Fantasy Football League draft. I wasn't sure what beers to bring, so when I saw the Harpoon Tailgater how could I pass that up? And then knowing that 12 brews would not be sufficient I decided to stick with the theme and picked up the Sam Adams fall variety pack as well.
The draft went well and everyone enjoyed the beers. For those who might be curious I have Matthew Stafford again as my premier quarterback and Ray Rice as my top running back. They were on my team last year as well and I made the playoffs so I'm hoping that's a good sign. Besides this year I also landed Calvin Johnson to team up with Stafford, so even better. And all this while having the 8th pick on an 8 team league. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. We're making the move this year from a scoring only league where you only received points for touchdowns, extra points, field goals, etc. to a more traditional league with points for rushing and receiving and passing yards as well as scores. So we'll see how that works out.
My team name is Pumped-Up Kicks from the song that was popular last year. I was thinking of changing it. But when I got in the car to make my beer run prior to the draft and turned on the radio guess what song was playing? You guessed it, "Pumped-Up Kicks". Now if that's not a good omen for my fantasy league season I don't know what is. I had to stick with the name after that.
All of this a long-winded way of explaining why I would be writing about tasting a fall brew on Labor Day. The brew I'm writing about was a new one I had not seen or heard of before from the Samuel Adams roster. And as many can attest I'm quite familiar with the Sam Adams lineup. Still I had never heard of Ruby Mild.
Let me begin by saying they chose the name well. I poured it into the tall Samuel Adams glass that my son who lives in Boston had given me as a present some time ago. And it definitely has a reddish tint. It looked good in the glass with a decent head as well. Ruby. Check.
And it was definitely Mild. It had a decent flavor and went down smoothly. I had no trouble finishing the glass that's for sure. Just a touch of bitterness from the hops, but basically nothing strong or overpowering.
But still by the end of the glass my overall impression was of disappointment. Not that I would avoid drinking Ruby Mild. It is not a bad beer. As stated above it goes down easy and has a decent taste. But ultimately it just wasn't all that interesting. By Samuel Adams standards it's almost bland. Which as they say is damning with faint praise. I believe there may be another bottle left in the group so I'll give it another shot, but there are so many better and more intriguing beers out there to pour into your glass. And that includes other brews from the Samuel Adams family.
All of this a long-winded way of explaining why I would be writing about tasting a fall brew on Labor Day. The brew I'm writing about was a new one I had not seen or heard of before from the Samuel Adams roster. And as many can attest I'm quite familiar with the Sam Adams lineup. Still I had never heard of Ruby Mild.
Let me begin by saying they chose the name well. I poured it into the tall Samuel Adams glass that my son who lives in Boston had given me as a present some time ago. And it definitely has a reddish tint. It looked good in the glass with a decent head as well. Ruby. Check.
And it was definitely Mild. It had a decent flavor and went down smoothly. I had no trouble finishing the glass that's for sure. Just a touch of bitterness from the hops, but basically nothing strong or overpowering.
But still by the end of the glass my overall impression was of disappointment. Not that I would avoid drinking Ruby Mild. It is not a bad beer. As stated above it goes down easy and has a decent taste. But ultimately it just wasn't all that interesting. By Samuel Adams standards it's almost bland. Which as they say is damning with faint praise. I believe there may be another bottle left in the group so I'll give it another shot, but there are so many better and more intriguing beers out there to pour into your glass. And that includes other brews from the Samuel Adams family.
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