
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.