Merry Beermas, Pt. 3

Hello all, and welcome back to the third night of Beermas. How long is this going to run? How many beers will I review this week? I have no idea, I'm making this up as I go. Anyway, tonight's selection is yet another from the Sam Adams Holiday sampler pack: The ever so flavorful Holiday Porter. A whiff off the bottle top gives the drinker a strong smell of caramel and Bavarian Hops (medium), which perfectly mirrors it's initial tastes. A bit of a dry finish accompanies the drink, leaving once again the "I want a bit more" feeling. @ 5.8% ABV, this isn't going to get you extremely drunk all on its own, but is a wee bit stronger than my average taster.

The head on this porter is probably one of the nicer things about it; that's something to note, as it's not often a defining feature. For a simply devine aroma, a sweet-to-bitter dryness, and a nice warming quality often present in much stronger beverages, this Samuel Adam's Christmas creation deserves as 9/10.

Until Tomorrow and Hoppy holidays,
Devo

Merry Beermas, pt. 2

Howdy folks! Welcome to night 2 of the Merry Beermas celebration. Tonight's Sam Adams' selection is known as the Chocolate Bock. With an aroma emphasizing chocolate and coffee beans, you would think this would be the perfect dessert accompaniment to any holiday meal. Well, it certainly goes down smooth, and the variety of tastes don't hurt much either. Popping the bottle, the drinker is treated to a light chocolate smell (such as the label suggests), with a hint of caramel. The initial taste is also Cocoa sweet, with a light coffee bean flavor to go with.

There's a finish that's a bit nutty here. It's overall not too bad, but I wish there were more emphasized flavors than what the Chocolate Bock has to work with. I'd say through all, it still deserves a 6.5/10.

See you all tomorrow, and hoppy holidays!

-Devo

Merry Beermas, pt. 1

Welcome back folks, and Happy Holidays from Younge's Beer Review. You may recall that Last week I tried the ever-so-delicious Samuel Adam's Winter Lager,  and gave it a rather glowing review. Well, since I liked it so much, I decided to try out a week's worth of the Boston Brewing Company's extensive holiday collection (You can pick up a sampler pack at your local Grocery store in most states, or liquor store if you are in CO, or another Blue Law state)

So what did I pick for the first taster of this most festive week? None other than the interestingly named Old Fezziwig Ale, a merry-looking beverage that ought to put you in the Christmas Spirit, if nothing else will.

@ 5.9% ABV, Fezziwig is a tad stronger than the average beer that I review, but that is hardly the highlight. Popping the cap treats the drinker to a nice mixture of Caramel and Cinnamon tones. Upon the first taste, a heavy bittersweet taste hits your lips, a bit like drinking a mild Ale that's had a bit of dark cocoa powder mixed in. Continuing on, I detected a medium presence of ginger root in the finish, and a low-to-medium amount of bitterness from hops. This one really hits the stomach though; I'll admit I had it after dinner, but this Ale goes down heavy. Not a bad thing, especially if you want a nice brew to warm up with on a cold evening. I'd recommend it for any holiday party, without a doubt.

Overall, Old Fezziwig gets a seasonably reasonable seal of approval, with an 8.5/10. Nothing much missing, but I like to see a beer go the extra mile for that 1.5 additional points.

Hoppy holidays,
Devo

Back for the Holidays pt. 1

Welcome back, everybody, to the first Christmas Holiday edition of Younge's Beer Review! Tonight, i'll be looking at the first of a list of Seasonal Craft Beers up until the New Years. More on that soon, but I need to get something out of the way first. I want to apologize for missing the last few weeks of the review. I cannot really give a good excuse, but I've been a cheap bastard, and wasn't buying any beer worth reviewing. In any case, I am sorry for making you wait, so I promise this week will be a good one.

Tonight, we start off with one of my favorite Winter Brews, Sam Adams Winter Lager. I've typically been a fan of most of the creations of the Boston Brewing Company since I first tried the original Boston Lager. It's a bit of a standard bearer in American German-style Lager's in my mind, and the Winter edition does not disappoint in relation.

 Crisp and a fruitful to the nose, and with a lightly hopped, foamy first taste, the Winter Lager starts off very refreshing. That gives way to a wheat and oatmeal malt finish, leaving that pleasant quality of wanting just a bit more. It truly is mouthwatering, even to think about. In addition, the fruit aroma extends into a hint of flavor, likely owing to orange peel added to the recipe. Sadly, the promised Cinnamon hints didn't surface for me, at least not  during my tasting. Overall, this American Seasonal has a happy combination of just about everything that I like in a German-Style Lager, with a nice set of additional spices to add a touch of festivity. If there were anything to be improved upon here, it would be to make the spices more pronounced; they are rather subtle, at least to my tastes. Finally, it deserves a good rating for having just about all it needs to make a quality beverage.

Score: 9/10

Until next week,
Happy Drinking, and Happy Holidays!

-Devo