Sam Adams Winter Classics

I like what the Jim Koch has done with Sam Adams' brewery and ad campaign. It takes some institutional commitment to stand toe-to-toe against the Coors/Miller/Bud media presence with a fraction of the revenue. If there's gonna be one craft/regional/good brewery to fly the flag in the national spotlight I'm glad it's them. With dinner, ice cream, The Walking Dead, and a haircut the evening kind of got away from me. Here's a review of the whole Sam Adam's Winter sampler I had back in December.

Old Fezziwig Ale
Beeradvocate tells me this is a "Winter Warmer," which I don't think I've ever had before. I can't say how true to style it is, but I like this one. It's mostly malty with hops flavors, but no hops bitterness.  I can feel the alcohol and spices; it makes me wish it was cold here.

White Christmas
The holiday spices really pop on this Witbier. It's not bad, but it's a little floral for me, especially for just watching football. This is well crafted and certainly palatable, but not something I'd get outside of a sample pack.

Photo from barczys.com

Winter Lager
It's a dark wheat bock with a deceptively simple name. I was searching for adjectives, but I ultimately ended up just telling Sarah "this is a good beer." Maybe I've been living in Shiner Bock country for too long, but this style is becoming my ideal all-arounder beer. Flavorful the way beer ought to be, but not too bitter, heavy, or boozy. A hint of seasonal spices blended well. I'm sad to finish this one.

Photo from breweryreviewery.com

Chocolate Bock
It's no secret among those that know me that I'm not a fan of chocolate (with notable exceptions). However, I've never had an aversion to chocolates in brews. This is a pretty chewy and sweet bock; good for slow drinking after a meal. Kind of like a rich dessert; I don't think I'd ever have more than 12 oz at time, but it's nice to let it linger.

PRT & Coastal Wheat

Sarah arrived Wednesday evening and work on Thursday and Friday was brief enough to have lunch with her each day.  We have been doing the relatively new Physical Readiness Training (PRT) that I learned in basic training.  Most of the guys in my unit don't like it in contrast to some of the classic army exercises, but the command for everyone to do this exercise regimen has come from above.

Sam Adams' Coastal Wheat was on sale, so I gave it a try.  The Boston Brewing Company was one of the pioneers of the brewing renaissance that began in the 80s and since then, they've grown to stretch the labels of craft and regional brewery.  They're the only one to embark on a national advertising campaign with the image perks and drawbacks that accompany that.  Some folks deride founder Jim Koch for this self-promotion, but I think he's a good-spirited ambassador for variety and flavor in beer amongst the international Macrobrews dominating the pay-to-play world of advertising.  Coastal Wheat is one of their Brewmasters' collection and has been in production since 2009.  It's a wheat ale that's brewed with coriander and lemon zest from California.  The lemon flavors pop first and it's pretty refreshing while cold, but like other wheat ales and hefeweizens, it gets tiresome after one and especially if you let it get warm.  It's far from bad, but I probably won't get this again.