I decided to go against my better judgment and scoop up the Samuel Adams Harvest Collection, the breweries fall variety 12 pack with six, yes SIX, different beers in it. I have to admit, I'm impressed that they would offer a 12 pack of beer with six beers in it- it's a great sampler and a great way to try out what the Boston brew house has to offer.
The two beers that I'm really looking forward to trying side-by-side is the Octoberfest and the Harvest Pumpkin Ale, a Harvest Collection exclusive. That's right, friends... you can only get this bad boy if you by the variety pack. Note: this was a major deciding factor in the purchase of this 12er; I just had to try it, and if I have to buy a ton of beers I don't want, then so be it, dammit!Ok, so I've already tried the Octoberfest (it rated 2/10 in my book) but I've decided to give it another shot... you know, in case I had a bad batch or something. My real interest is in the Harvest Pumpkin Ale, and right off the bat I'd say it looks pretty good.
Lined up next to each other, you can definitely see the difference in the two brews. The Pumpkin Ale is a very dark amber (ruby almost), while the Octoberfest has a hue leaning to the orange side- still dark, but the ale wins. While each has a great color, the obvious winner in aroma is the Pumpkin Ale- light, sweet pumpkin/spice while Octoberfest has a hard, malty sweetness to it. In taste, the Pumpkin is very sweet and spiced, with a distinct maltyness to it with some slight hops on the end. In my opinion, it's a better version of a Sam's Octoberfest- malty with a large addition of spice to it. I would have to say it's a very drinkable beer, I wouldn't mind bothering my local bartender for a few of these on a given night.
The Pumpkin Ale, at 5.7% ABV, is the clear winner here over the 5.3% Octoberfest. Sweeter and better drink-ability is what makes this Harvest Collection exclusive brew worth buying the fucking Harvest Collection in the first place.
After the two autumn brews, I poured up another good seasonal, the Irish Red. With color similar to the Octoberfest, this 5.5% ABV ale has a clear, deep red color to it- dark but not overly so. It has a roasted malt smell to it, on the sweet side but the sweetness is pretty subtle (molasses?). It tastes very similar to how it smells, but exceptionally better. I have to admit, I was surprised at how good this brew tasted. The carbonation was pretty strong, but the flavors you get from the beer are delicious: sweet with some bitterness, a nice roasted caramel flavor with that brown sugar/molasses, finishing up with some hops.
While the hops are not a prominent part in the taste of this beer, I feel that they really make it in the end, a good cut to the roasted sweetness. This is a beer I would seriously consider buying in bulk, it's that tasty. The only downside is the strange aftertaste, although I have a theory that you get this with ALL Sam's beers... must be the Bean-town water or something?
Next we have a beer that belongs in the "why the fuck is this in here?" category: the Black Lager. Schwarzbier in style, this 4.9% ABV lager is, well, pretty fucking black. Not quite Guinness black, but pretty dark. Holding it up to the light, you can get a nice purple/red/brown hue, but only if you get the light right on the damn glass. It has a great smell to it, roasted coffee and sweet toasted malt- not a bad smell in the least.
The taste is (again) surprisingly great. Very malty, with a nice roasted chocolate sweetness to it. The hops on the end give it a nice finish, but I can't help but think that this is a dry tasting beer- not necessarily a bad thing, but it kind of leaves me wanting more from it. It's a very creamy, smoky, drinkable beer and I must say that I quite enjoyed this Sam's. I'll add it to my list of beers that don't suck.
Up next was the breweries staple, the Boston Lager. I've never been a fan of this particular beer, and today is no different. A 4.75% ABV Vienna style lager (Dos Equis is also a Vienna lager), Boston Lager is light copper in color with the aroma of (noble) hops and a bit of sweetness (caramel?). Good smell and look... but that's where the goodness ends for me. I don't like the taste whatsoever- the bitterness, while not overpowering, is still there and considerably noticeable. The hops are nice, but I just can't get away from the bitterness.
So the beers I tried today, while not coming from my favorite brewery, were actually pretty good. My main problem with Sam Adams is the fact that they are a large scale, mass producing brewery... but claim to be a craft brewery. This simply isn't the case. While they do have a couple of beers I enjoy, and, more importantly, would actually buy at a bar, the majority of their stuff just isn't that good. If you're a Sam's fan, I recommend buying this 12 pack. If you're not, I'd still recommend it because you get to try and nice smorgasbord of beers, some of which are actually pretty damn good.
Pumpkin Ale 7/10
Octoberfest 4/10 (changed my mind a bit on this one, it's not a 2, but not a 5 either)
Irish Red 7.5/10
Black Lager 6.5/10
Boston Lager 4/10
Dunkelweizen 7/10
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