One New York Life

Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection — Stony Brook Red

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company
Brewed In: Boston, MA — also aged there, per the press release.
ABV: 9%
Type: Red Ale

What They Say: This unique brew defies traditional beer style definition. The rich, malty brew combines notes of tart fruit from the yeast with a toasty oak character from the barrel aging. The long dry finish is almost wine-like. This is a beer that is satisfying on its own and also pairs well with many foods such as braised or roasted meats, beef stews and strong salty cheeses. Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red starts out as a strong red ale fermented with a Belgian style ale yeast. This younger ale is blended with over 50% of our Samuel Adams Kosmic Mother Funk. The Kosmic Mother Funk is a Belgian ale that we age in oak casks and tanks for over 6 months. The beer in the oak vessels undergoes a secondary fermentation with brettanomyces yeasts and lactobacillus to give the beer a rich tropical fruit note and some sourness. Stony Brook Red’s resulting blend has an earthy, fruity, and estery character. The beer is also bottle conditioned which creates a secondary fermentation in the bottle giving the beer an extra smooth and balanced flavor

Why I Picked It: The final beer in the vertical tasting of the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection Series. One final thanks to fellow beer snob The Big Show for getting these to me.

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Presentation (5): Check out the first post to see my thoughts here. 5

Originality (5): This is pretty much a red, but with some of the Kosmic Mother Funk and oak-aged goodness. Like I said previously: this whole idea of the Barrel Room Series isn’t the top of originality — it’s the second-best in Boston alone after Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series — but I give Sam the points for trying. 3

Body (10): An opaque red pour with minimal head. Decent amount of carbonation and bubbling. The beer has the same oaken odor as bourbon-aged beers. The texture of the carbonation really manages to pull off the alcohol, successfully off-putting the burn. Really well done body for the type. 8

Taste (10): This is the beer that’s best managed to get mileage out of the oak flavors. As mentioned, the nose is sweet and the taste is an explosion of flavors — sourness from the fruits, sweetness from the oak, and bitterness from the malts. The aftertaste is sort of Belgian, but there’s so much else going on by the time you get there that it can be tough to appreciate. There’s red, Belgian, and oak all going on here. Complex and good. 9

Versatility (10): There’s a lot going on here. These single bottle, experimental beers range between tasty & accessible to tasty & WTF. This one goes more toward WTF. 3

Efficiency (10): Love this beer. The intense flavor forced me to take it slow, but high ABV kept it worth it. 7

The Snob Sez: My favorite of these barrel room collection beers. This won’t change the way anyone feels about beer, but it’s a good single bottle offering that isn’t disappointing.

Final Score: 35 (of 50) — Good beer.

Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection — American Kriek

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company
Brewed In: Boston, MA — also aged there, per the press release.
ABV: 7%
Type: Kriek, although Beer Advocate calls it an “American Wild Ale”.

What They Say: The intense black cherry character in this beer comes from Balaton cherries, which were discovered in Hungary and are now grown in Michigan. These special cherries are prized for their depth of flavor. The tartness from the cherries is balanced by a rich, malty character with toasted oak notes added from the barrel aging. Our American Kriek undergoes a secondary fermentation on a bed of Balaton cherries from Michigan. The taste isn’t like the jarred candy cherry flavor but instead tastes like the deep red ripe fruit. The resulting beer is blended with a small amount of our Kosmic Mother Funk™, to add another layer of flavor and character.

Presentation (5): This was part of Great Big Show Trade. I believe this one cost me a Black Ops. This is the second of three beers in the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection Series.

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Presentation (5): Check out the first post to see my thoughts here. 5

Originality (5): They seem to be using their Belgian recipe here and doing some other nonsense involving trademarked Balaton cherries and “Cosmic Mother Funk.” They get an extra point for non-ironically using “Cosmic Mother Funk.” 3

Body (10): It pours a rather nice red with a about a finger of head which dissipates quickly. Healthy carbonation which is probably necessary given the big flavors. The mouthfeel is is not heavy in the least, and it finishes more like a soda than a beer. Even though the carbonation is bold, it’s one of the few cases where the beer could use even a little more. I don’t know if that would take it fully over to cherry soda. 8

Taste (10): While I’m usually not a fan of Sam’s “Fruit The Beer” offerings, I have to say this one is pretty good. The aroma here is of cherry and yeast. The cherries are used as a subtle, sour flavor that helps the base recipe. In this case, the cherry flavor is a souring enhancement as opposed to the Cranberry Lambic (which I hate) and the Cherry Wheat (which I’m also not a fan of) where the sickly sweet fruity flavors are the star. I do struggle to find any flavor elements — or even aroma — from the oak. This tastes like a nice little ale with some cherry tartness. As an oak-aged beer, I do expect a little more, though. 7

Efficiency (10): This comes in slightly lower than the first review if only because the ABV is lower. At “only” seven percent, the cherry tartness can be overwhelming by the time you get to the end of the bottle. For myself, I want a 22 oz offering to be nine percent or better at a reasonable price for a full score. At 7% for 22 ozs, I’d need two of these to take me home. I’d rather only get one. 6

Versatility (10): This beer gets a few more versatility points than the previous offering. With a much gentler flavor, it’s more accessible for a wider audience. While the corporate marketing of the Barrel Room Collection is trying to get back the snobs they’ve lost, this may at least pick up the burgeoning market of the new “them” snobs while giving the old “us” snobs something to look down their noses at. 5

The Snob Sez: Surprisingly good offering all things considered. I usually have a strong dislike for fruity beer offerings. However, this beer uses the fruit as an enhancement rather than a star. That makes all the difference.

Final Score: 34 (of 50) — OK beer.

Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection — New World Tripel

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company
Brewed In: Boston, MA — also aged there, per the press release.
ABV: 10%
Type: Belgian (style) Tripel

What They Say: Pale gold in color, this ale is big, flavorful and complex. A special Belgian yeast strain adds tropical fruit and spice notes to the crisp dry ale, while Saaz hops add a subtle herbal note. (~10% ABV). Sadly, the neck booklet didn’t make it to New York on this beer.

Website: Other than the press release, I can’t find much info on this beer on their website. According to my newsletter, these are still available at the brewery but I don’t know if they’re anywhere else.

Why I Picked It: In various trades with The Big Show, I managed to get my hands on all three of these. I saw the press release a (long) while back, really wanted them, and eventually got them. They sat in my refrigerator for quite awhile waiting for the perfect weekend. As it turned out, Mets/Yankees Subway Series 2 + UFC + World Cup turned out to be that weekend. This is the first of three beers in the Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection series.

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Presentation (5): I love the whole idea of these bottles. I like the caged-cork, I LOVE the BRC logo, and I like the bottles looking vaguely like barrels. Sam usually does a pretty bang up job with the packaging of their specialty offerings and these are no exception. This is what being big enough to have a marketing department allows. 5

Originality (5): This is more “eh” in originality than the other two. I’ve mentioned this before: I’m not a huge fan of American breweries doing Belgian styles because, well, they really don’t do them better than the abbeys that have being doing them for, in some cases, hundreds of years. As also mentioned before, there is one brewery that does Belgians well, and it should, by law, be served on taps at every baseball stadium due to its location in Cooperstown. 2

Body (10): This smells, pours, and looks like a Belgian. The expected heavy-yeasty aroma is cut a bit by citrus. The beer pours a hazy gold with some yeasty, floating sediment. Decent head in a tulip glass that reduces with some nice lacing. It’s a satisfying thickness for the type, with a smooth, creamy mouthfeel that’s quite nice. The carbonation here is just right, but slightly difficult to separate from the burn of the alcohol. 5

Taste (10): I originally decanted in to a Guinness glass until I read the press release which suggested a tulip glass. The rest of the bottle went in to the tulip. The flavors and yeasty aromas really did become much more intense. Honestly, I had a hard time picking up any flavors other than the yeasts, alcohol, and a touch of fruit. Between the citrusy acid, the carbonation, and the strong alcohol it had a very warm finish. The barrel aging, if anything, took away some of the Belgian flavor. As fake Belgians go, the flavor here wasn’t my favorite. Ommegang, as usual, does it better. 6

Efficiency (10): The 10% claim almost seems low. It’s possible I was tricked by the strong alcohol warmness in the finish. I’m not sure if the aging process (about three months) made the alcohol more distinct, but this would be tough to call efficient. Due to the trading situation, I’m not really sure what this cost so I’m working on the assumption the bottles were $7 – $12. The pinnacle of efficiency for this type is Three Philosophers from Ommegang and, well, this just doesn’t get there. 6

Versatility (10): Incredibly low. This is a cute beer and I love Sam trying to claim some of the “we’re going to make some obscure stuff” title from Dogfish and Brooklyn but there are many better Belgian styles on the market. As a Sam completest, this was worth it for me, but I’d never recommend this over some of the other, better ones. 3

The Snob Sez: Acceptable beer, but like I implied in the review of Saranac’s Belgian: it’s a crowded market between real Belgians and Ommegang. If a brewery’s going to bring it, they need to bring it hard. This doesn’t quite bring it hard enough.

Final Score: 27 (of 50) — Good beer.

Rogue XS Imperial Red Ale

Brewed By: Rogue Ales
Brewed In: Newport, OR
ABV: 9%
Type: Red Ale, Imperial

What They Say: 8 Ingredients: Crystal 40, Chocolate, Rogue Micro Barley Farm Dare(tm) and Risk(tm) Malts, Rogue Micro Hopyard Alluvial & Williamette Hops, Free Range Coastal Water, and Top Fermenting Pacman Yeast. According to this beer’s web page, though, that appears to be a lie. The web page claims 12 ingredients and also offers the normal Rogue tasting notes: A big beer with a spicey [sic] fruity aroma, chewy mid palate of figs and spice and a long lingering finish. Deep burgundy in color with tremendous drinkability.

Website: Discussed in depth last week. Still love it.

Why I Picked It: This was purchased from the Whole Foods Bowery Beer Room on the same day I picked up the Half-E-Weizen. A box of small 7 oz bottles were next to the register. Since it was there, I grabbed one.

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Presentation (5): The “7oz nip”-sized XS bottles exist to be placed at the register and grabbed as an impulse purchase. It’s sneaky, but effective. Considering the presentation, in this case, was the only reason I bought it, it would be really dishonest to not go full points. Otherwise, it’s a Rogue-styled bottled with an odd painting of a mustachioed dude in a red cloak. 5

Originality (5): It’s an imperial red, so there’s nothing here setting it apart from others of the type. They also claim a proprietary style of hops on the bottle, but this claim is disputed by the website. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do know it’s a red with a high ABV. 1

Body (10): This pours a deep, almost-crimson red with a small head. I decanted in to a regular pint glass which, obviously, only filled about halfway. It didn’t seem to require a tulip glass. There’s a strong, spicy carbonation that pairs well with the heavy malts. Everything works pretty well together. 8

Taste (10): It smells and tastes malty. It’s really all about malts. I notice the chocolate first which struck me as out of place in a red. The raisin and fig flavoring come in well behind the bolder flavors. The conflicting ingredient lists are screwing me up here because I’m not sure what I’m tasting. Ultimately, the beer tastes like a mash-up of a high-quality, dense red bittered up with chocolate malt. Dry finish leaves the lingering flavor of chocolate. I love the flavors here, and they work together, but I don’t know how much of this I could drink. I guess that explains the serving size. 7

Efficiency (10): At nearly $1/oz ($4.99 plus tax and deposit for 7 oz), this beer would have to reach Utopias-levels of ABV to be efficient. It doesn’t have that. Really, it’s an overpriced sample. I complain about cask festivals that charge $3.50 for an 8 oz pour, so it would be disingenuous to not complain about it here. The 9% ABV saves a little face but, really, why would I pay bar prices for a high ABV beer when I could, you know, go to a bar? 2

Versatility (10): Incredibly low. What am I going to do with a bunch of 7 oz bottles that cost $5 each? These are like the Coronitas… except if an 8 pack of Coronitas cost $40. They exist so people can look at them and go OHHHHHHH THEY’RE SO CUTE!!!!! There’s hardly enough in the bottle to get into. Just as I started enjoying it, it was over. 1

The Snob Sez: A tasty beer destroyed by its serving size. I’d support the idea of sample-sized bottling. I won’t support it at bar pricing. If the Bowery Beer Room ever gets this in Growlers, we’ll revisit.

Final Score: 24 (of 50) OK beer.

Rogue Mom Hefeweizen

Brewed By: Rogue Ales
Brewed In: Newport, OR
ABV: 4.8%
Type: Wheat Ale
Awards

• Bronze: World Beer Championships – 1994, 1996-1999, 2005, 2008
• Silver: World Beer Championships – 1995
• Gold: World Beer Championships – 2003
• Silver: Australian International Beer Awards – 2004
• Bronze: Australian International Beer Awards – 2008
• Pacific Northwest Champion: U.S. Beer Tasting Championships – 2002, 2003
• First Place: California Brewer’s Festival – 2002

What They Say: This Belgian-style blonde ale is an unfiltered fusion of wheat and barley malts, spiced with coriander and ginger.

Website: Of all the beer websites I’ve seen, Rogue’s might be the best. A clean newswire service (without an RSS Feed) on the front page to keep people updated with current events. The navigation is contained in a nice, thematic header with links decreasing in importance from left to right. The videos aren’t auto-play, letting the user decide if he wants to read or listen. Each “Meeting Room” includes a menu, map, and description. Events are actually up to date. In fact, the only error I could find is that their “Home” and “Blog” link in the upper right both lead to the same page. I’ve found another disciple of Don’t Make Me Think.

Why I Picked It: I’ve been a fan of Rogue for a long time. My first ever Rogue purchase was a joke. From high school through my mid-twenties, I went camping every Memorial Day weekend at Lake George; a small tourist town in Upstate New York’s Adirondack mountains. In general, people go to Lake George because it’s one of the few places in Upstate New York that has a beach… or what passes for a beach when one doesn’t grow up near the ocean. It’s also one of the half-dozen places that Rachael Ray claims she’s from dependent on what she’s making. In this case, she graduated from the high school and worked in one of the town’s many hotels before becoming the little juggernaut we know today. The first year we turned 21 and didn’t have to smuggle beer in to the campsite, my friend Chris and I went to the beer store that’s across the street from the campground. Inside, we were introduced to the world of craft beer bombers (though we didn’t know it at the time). We purchased Rogue’s Dead Guy Ale and Young’s Dirty Dick Ale because, well, they were funny. Ten years later and Rogue is my favorite underrated (on the East Coast) brewery. Amazingly, this is the first Rogue I’ve reviewed on here. At Whole Foods last weekend, it was between this and Brooklyn’s Buzz. I’ve been in a rut with Brooklyns, so I went Rogue. This was on the Whole Foods growler board as “Half-E-Weizen”

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Presentation (5): I got this from a tap, but the 22 oz version is a typical Rogue bottle with the image of, presumably, somebody’s mom. I’d suggest the person on the bottle looks more like the average grandmother, but whatever. Rogue’s bottling is pretty creative — managing to be unique while the images are always stylistic enough to be very obviously a Rogue bottle. On this particular beer though, it’s labeled as a hefeweizen, is claimed as a Belgian-style on the website, but fits neither of those profiles. BeerAdvocate claims it as a witbier and that seems probably the most correct. 4 for the uniquely Rogue presentation of bombers, but minus 2 because of my inability to figure out what I’m drinking. 2

Originality (5): By the bottle definition of it being a hefeweizen, my gut instinct is to say “low.” However, the description and the tasting notes suggest it’s a fusion of Belgian-style and hefeweizen, with a sprinkling of blonde wheatness. I don’t know if “Mom Hefeweizen” exactly covers everything that’s going on here. 4

Body (10): The first clue that this is neither a Belgian or a hefeweizen is the body. It doesn’t have that thick, dense quality of the Belgian nor does it have the floaters of the hefeweizen. Instead, it features the thinner, golden, clear amber of a wheat. The head pours nicely and dissipates quickly, which prefaces the lowish carbonation content. Given the body, I’m not sure how much the Belgian yeasts really add. It seems to make the beer a little dryer than it needs to be. 6

Taste (10): I see what they’re doing here. There are flavors of all the things they suggest. I get the aromas of the Belgian-style and also the nice mix of citrusy flavors from both styles. The yeasty bite of the Belgian half hits you in the finish, but the citrus and the wheat malts really work to defeat the dryness associated with the style. The coriander and ginger flavors lend it a much more refreshing, summery taste — the citrus jazzing up a pretty strong yeasty presence. There’s a lot going on here. It’s not bad, but I don’t know if it’s the most fabulous pairing of flavors. 7

Efficiency (10): While I can’t beat the price of $7.99 for a half-gallon-o-beer, the 4.8% ABV, while it’s standard for the type, makes this relatively low on the efficiency scale. If I’m going to be drinking hundreds of empty calories, I’d rather them not be accompanied by 4.8% ABV. I mean, it’s hardly worth it at that point. I’m pretty sure you could drink this beer forever and hardly catch a buzz. For instance, my whole growler went down with nary a whisper. 2

Versatility (10): On the other hand, this is a fantastic summer beer. While the flavor is a bit complex, it goes down easily. Consumed ice cold out of the tap, most folks probably wouldn’t notice the complex flavors. Consumed a little warmer and snobs can try to pick out everything going on. One strike I have: purchasing options of “bomber” and “keg” probably doesn’t address every need. 9

The Snob Sez: It’s not Rogue’s craziest offering, though the blending of three distinct types is right up their alley, but it’s a decent summer beer. I have to say, if I had to choose one 22 oz bottle of summer to bring to a cook-out — this would be pretty high on the list. Solid, if not rockstar, offering from Rogue.

Final Score: 30 (of 50) Good beer.

Kona Brewing’s Fire Rock Pale Ale

Brewed By: Kona Brewing Company
Brewed In: Kona, HI via Portsmouth, NH
ABV: Bottle claims 6.0% — Website claims 5.9%
Type: Pale Ale

Awards

• 2009 Bronze Medal: American Pale Ale category, U.S. Open Beer Championships, Georgia
• 2008 Honorable Mention: American Style Pale Ale category, United States Beer Tasting Championships
• 2007 Gold Medal: Pale Ale category, Portland Spring Beer & Wine Festival, Oregon
• 2007 Bronze Medal: American Style Pale Ale category, Australian International Beer Awards
• 2005 Gold Medal: Pale Ale category, Capital Food & Wine Festival, Washington

What They Say

• Website: Fire Rock Pale Ale is a crisp, refreshing “Hawaiian-style” pale ale. Its signature copper color results from the unique blend of specialty roasted malts. The pronounced citrus-floral hop aroma comes from the liberal amounts of Galena, Cascade & Mt. Hood hops added to each brew.
• Bottle: Active volcanoes on the big island of Hawaii leave visitors awestruck by their power. The glow of lava as it meets the ocean is an amazing site [sic]. Our Fire Rock Pale Ale is inspired by this place with a bright copper color and rich roasted malt taste. Aloha! Since 1994, Kona Brewing Co. has been committed to making handcrafted ales and lagers of uncompromised quality. We invite you to visit our brewery and pubs whenever you visit Hawaii. Mahalo!

Website: Mostly OK. I’m not a fan of the autoplay music on the front page but their flash apps load quickly and all the beer info is easy to find directly at the top of the page. Their “About Us” page is a bit crowded and it uses a little too much Flash but, other than that, it’s a really well done website. The site did crash my browser, but that’s likely more to do with Firefox’s suspect Flash handling than bad code… as I step ever closer to moving to Chrome and turning my browsing history over to Google, too.

Why I Picked It: I’d been hearing about Kona’s stuff for a few months and have been told it’s relatively good. On my last trip upstate, I finally came across it at, of all place, the supermarket I used to work at. Small world and all.

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Presentation (5): The label has an island sunset painted on it. It’s a rather beautiful look and thematic as the beer pours a similar color. Great job matching this particular label with the beer and it’s an enticing look. 5

Originality (5): Not particularly. Since I usually err toward an average score trending high when it’s of a type most craft brewers have, I’ll do so here, too. 3

Body (10): The beer pours a cloudy copper with very little head. I didn’t get much lacing while drinking so if you’re big in to “head performance” (I’m not) this would be annoying. Because of the slight head, I wasn’t expecting nearly the amount of carbonation I got. This is a pretty hefty pale ale, actually, with a thick body and a burly, mealy mouthfeel but with the carbonation to make it pleasant. The only reason I’m deducting a point here is because I’m not quite sure it tastes like a pale ale. 9

Taste (10): The Munich malts are the easy star here while the hops sit in the background. Again, I love this flavor, but I’m having a terrible time equating this to other pale ales. The odor is malts and honey and it has a distinctly German flavor. The aforementioned honey only slightly sweetens the malty dryness. I love the way this tastes, my only strike is that it doesn’t quite fight off the burn of 6.0% alcohol and malts are just a little too strong in the finish. Otherwise, I’m pretty sure I love this. 8

Efficiency (10): Very high. The beer is delicious and it’s right on the 5.9/6.0 sweet spot. The flavor is fantastic, highly sessionable, and wrapped together in a nice ABV. This beer could honestly crush you given a night of consumption. I desperately want a taste of this beer on draught somewhere… unfortunately I don’t see myself going to Hawaii anytime soon. A brewpub in Portsmouth, please? 10

Versatility (10): The opposite of high. This is a beer snob beer. The taste is too bold for folks who don’t enjoy craft stuff. On the positive, there’s enough flavor here that most everyone who likes craft stuff (save for folks who claim to only like beers that make their face turn inside out with hoppy bitterness) will like this. Those people are wrong. 4

The Snob Sez: Weirdly, if the name of this was “Fire Rock Copper Ale”, I think I’d like it better. Mostly the lower ratings are coming from trying to equate this beer with other pale ales and failing. However, if I was comparing it to, for example, Copper Hook, it would seem better. Strange, I know. All that said: the awards — I get it.

Final Score: 39 (of 50) Really good beer.

Brooklyn Dark Matter

Brewed By: Brooklyn Brewery
Brewed In: Brooklyn, NY
ABV: 7.5%
Type: American Brown Ale

What They Say: I got this in a growler and, in fact, I’m not sure if it was bottled at all. I don’t see anything on their website proper, but they have a lengthy blog post with a similar theme as the Black Ops. The relevant highlight is as follows: Anyhow, they say that back in 2007, a small amount of Dark Matter was created alongside Black Ops, but very few people had an opportunity to taste it. The Brooklyn Brewing Team decided that this shortage was unfortunate – plenty of Dark Matter for themselves, but not enough to share with all their friends. So last autumn they decided to recreate Dark Matter and open up the Brooklyn Barrel Room to a wider world..

Website: I’ve mentioned in other Brooklyn reviews that I’m a fan of their website. We can leave it there.

Why I Picked It: A recommendation from the Big Show, followed by a drunken sample at Rattle n Hum, plus a sighting of it at the Whole Foods Growler station. That’s pretty much the universe telling me it’s time to sample. Sadly, a combination of circumstances (including a trip to central New York and a fresh, once-a-year growler of Wagner Valley Maple Porter kept this growler in my refrigerator for almost two months before I finally got to it.

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Presentation (5): So far as I know, this is draught/cask only. (N/A)

Originality (5): Maybe it’s increasing awareness on my part, but it seems like Brooklyn is attempting to grab a small corner of the “we do crazy stuff with beer” market currently cornered by Dogfish Head, which makes it even more strange to me that Mario Batali went to Maryland (Dogfish) and Sonoma Valley (Russian River) for his new Eataly Birreria restaurant instead of across the river to one of the Brooklyn brewers. Regardless, in this case, not only did Brooklyn decide to age stuff in bourbon barrels, but they decided to take the bourbon barrels that they previously aged the Black Ops in and use them again to see what happened. Can’t really go wrong there. 5

Body (10): The beer is an opaque brown with a very small head. The carbonation is incredibly soft and stays entirely out of the way of a smooth, creamy mouthfeel. The odor is almost entirely bourbon, with a consistency bordering on a porter. I usually imagine “brown ales” to be really thin and heavily carbonated (Newcastleish). That isn’t the case here at all… the barrel-aging entirely changes the characteristics of the ale… I’m not quite sure if it’s for the better though. 7

Taste (10): The flavor here is a lower-keyed Black Ops. It looks like they took a recipe — possibly their standard Brown Ale recipe — and just decided to see what happened. The flavor is a blast of bourbon and vanilla from the barrel with hints of alcohol around the edge. Most of the brown ale flavor is killed by the barrel, with nearly all the flavor coming from the barrel’s previous residents. Since the flavor is so similar to Black Ops, which I loved, it’s hard for me to deduct points for it here. The problem is this comes across as a slightly less powerful version of that beer. I like Black Ops as it is… I don’t know if I need a brown ale that tastes like it, too. The bourbon and vanilla also combine to form something that might be a touch too sweet for me and there’s not any carbonation or bitterness to tone it down. 8

Efficiency (10): It’s hard to argue with a 7.5% ABV for a regular-priced growler. Whole Foods is sadly moving on to a graduated pricing scheme with their growlers. Instead of $8.99 across the board for 64 oz, they’ve started to change the price based on the ABV and adding a cheaper 32 oz version for the wusses of the world. In this case, the alcohol seems a little more noticeable than the Black Ops and the sweetness is a little tough to take after awhile. The ABV is high enough that I got multiple sessions from one growler, but by the third I wasn’t looking that forward to it. 6

Versatility (10): Sadly, low. This is never going to be something non-snobs would enjoy. This is, generally, one of those Dogfish-Head type experimental things that folks like me can’t wait to try, but aren’t going to get out of the snob-subculture. Someday, when I have my man room in my 4 bedroom house in the suburbs with 3 kegerators, I’d love to have this in one of them. Unfortunately, the folks who would drink it would be limited to other writers on this site and maybe some of the readers. 4

The Snob Sez: A relatively decent brown ale with flavors that get lost in the barrel. Glad to try it, but not sure if I’d go out of my way to get it again.

Final Score: 30 (of 45) = 33 (of 50), good beer.

Sixpoint Redd

Brewed By: Sixpoint Craft Ales
Brewed In: Brooklyn, NY
ABV: 5.0%
Type: Red Ale

What They Say: Nothing. This beer was brewed specifically for the Whole Foods Beer Room, launched at the Bowery store and eventually included in the new Tribeca Beer Room. Which, hey, I get Sixpoint’s weird desire to be Whole Foods pet beer (and, why not?).

Website: I really hate Sixpoint’s website. I hate their cutesy newspaper motif. I hate that their “types” section is called “Creations”. I hate that it was “temporarily disabled” when I was there (there is never an excuse for that. It’s called a “staging server”. If it’s a company doing it for you, fire them). I hate their font. I hate the newspaper motif with no explanation to why they use it. I love their logo, but wish that the brewer/nautical hybrid symbol fit the site’s motif. Did I mention I dislike their newspaper motif?

Why I Picked It: I bought this growler back around New Year’s because, website motif aside, I saw a new Sixpoint at Whole Foods and couldn’t turn it down.

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Presentation (5): Nothing to rate here. It’s a Whole Foods only, growler only offering. So, their only presentation ideas is the name and the logo which, while good, isn’t really enough for a fair rating. N/A

Originality (5): There are a couple of different things going on. First, I have to give them credit for the Whole Foods only growler idea. I don’t know why, but it strikes me as a good idea for both parties. Otherwise, it’s a less malty, more hoppy twist on a red ale. 3

Body (10): It pours exactly like iced tea, with about the same head and lacing. The lack of head led me to assume the carbonation-level would be much higher. It’s a totally unexpected and strange body and not one expected in a beer. If not for the carbonation and huge blast of hops, it’s barely beer-flavored. 5

Taste (10): I was out recently with PLR (and, in fairness, I’m writing this in early February and it might not go live until April) at the awesome Rattle n’ Hum bar in New York City where I sampled Sixpoint’s Oktoberfest (why they had it in February, not sure). The semi-hazy notes in my Blackberry say “Pretty tasty Oktober. Hoppier then a normal Oktober. Not like Germany. Resample Redd — very similar.” As is usually the case with me, I can really only smell hops off the rip but with further searching can pick up the slight odor of caramel malts. Maybe. This obviously isn’t hopped like some of the absurdly overhopped offerings out there but it’s not a flavor I’d go out of my way for. It’s tasty enough, vaguely sessiony, and inoffensive. Just not for me. 6

Efficiency (10): Here’s the weird thing. I can’t say that I love the taste of this beer (and I don’t hate it either) but I quite like drinking it. I like how it finishes and I can kinda/sorta chug it. It’s a relatively low ABV at just 5.0% but I can’t stop drinking it. Maybe that’s a crazy session? I don’t know. 6

Versatility (10): There’s no pairing suggestions that I can find, but a hopped like this I would assume is good for the pizza and beer combo. That said, there’s a small market for this. You’re not going to convert anyone to a sixpoint fan with it and you’re certainly not going to use it as the prototype red ale. Perfectly inoffensive and tasty, but nothing earth-shattering. 4

The Snob Sez: The score is low but it’s OK. I don’t know if I’d buy it again, but it’s not bad.

Final Score: 24 (of 45) = 26 (of 50) – Good beer

Samuel Adams Noble Pils

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company
Brewed In: Boston, MA/Cincinnati, OH
ABV: 5.2%
Type: German Pilsner

What they say

• Bottle: Samuel Adams Noble Pils is one of the only brews made with all 5 Noble hops from the world’s oldest growing regions. Its brightflavor and lively, citrus hop character reminds us that the warm days of spring are just a few weeks away. Cheers!
• Website: Samuel Adams® Noble Pils is brewed with all 5 Noble hops for a distinct hop character and fresh taste. Deep golden in color with a citrusy hop aroma, Samuel Adams Noble Pils is a traditional Bohemian Pilsner. The honeyed malt character from traditional Bohemian malt is balanced by delicate yet pronounced citrus, floral, and piney notes from the Noble hops. The winner of our 2009 Beer Lover’s Choice election, this beer was chosen by over 67,000 drinkers for its crisp complexity and refreshing taste.

Why I Picked It: My parents gave me a 24-pack of this for my birthday. Seriously. I might have a problem. This appears to be replacing White Ale and Spring Ale as a single January-to-April seasonal from Boston Beer.

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Presentation (5): Standard Sam seasonal presentation here, right down to the blue label. Seems like all the seasonals have blue labels with any other colors pushed off in to the outer rim of the label. I don’t recall if “Seasonal Brew” has always been included on the label or not. 2

Originality (5): Points for style — this is one of the Sam recipes on which their current ad campaign is based. The one in which they try to still sell themselves as a plucky, craft brewer even though they’re, you know, a publicly-traded company and all. The plucky, small craft-brewer with only 0.9% of the US beer market share — which translates to something like 20-25% of the craft beer market. This would be one of the cases where they’re “big enough to get fancy ingredients” and “small enough to try something different.” 4

Body (10): Pours the beautiful golden color of a pilsner with almost no head in a pint glass. Slight qualification here: I don’t own a pilsner glass so I poured in to a pint glass. I think this is fair because this is Sam’s new spring seasonal. Majority of places serving a Sam Seasonal tap aren’t serving pilsners out of proper glassware. At best, they’ll be serving it out of the Boston Lager glass. All that said, I usually expect Pilsners to be a little more carbonated than this one. However, even with the light carbonation, it seems like the flavor is a little TOO light for even the small carbonation. I get a very gentle citrus hint in the odor — but almost no hops. The body is appropriate for the style, but nothing to write home about. 7

Taste (10): Anyone who’s read more than a few of my blog posts know that I’m a bit hop-sensitive. When you tell me that something is brewed with a bunch of hops to show off the flavor of the hops, I expected a certain thing. But I didn’t get it. The hops in this blend together in a nice pilsner flavor with a little citrus. I don’t get any of the suggested floral or honey notes — which is fine because I find them unnecessary. I did not take part in last year’s vote that pitted this against Sam Adams Ale for this seasonal slot, but I can totally see how this won a vote. The flavor isn’t intense. It’s just… pleasant; like a gentler Boston Lager. 6

Efficiency (10): I’ve said in some previous review that the perfect American Ale is one that can be consumed for hours on end by college students without actually making the consumer feel full or realize that they’re actually thirsty for something else. Coors Light has pulled this off to a tremendous degree. I feel like this beer is like that. Not in flavor, because it’s much more “beer-flavored” than Coors Light, but I feel like I could drink this forever and neither get full nor put off. It’s like Blue Point’s Toasted Lager in that way. That said, paying the Craft Beer premium for a gently flavored pilsner with a relatively low ABV isn’t something I’d recommend. 5

Versatility (10): This is going to sound insulting — and you’ll have to take my word that I don’t mean it that way — but this is a good, corporate beer. It’s completely inoffensive without a bold taste or any fringe characteristics. Putting it up in a national taste-test by visiting (if their NYC stops are any indication) one-and-done* bars pretty much tells me they wanted this one to win. It’s a great shareholder beer and, for that to happen, it has to appeal to everyone. It does. 10

The Snob Sez: It’s an inoffensive beer, but I don’t think it’s better than the Spring Ale it’s replacing. My future spring plan probably will involve lots of Blue Point. However, this is why this scoring system works out, because I would still rate it high-good even if it’s not one of my personal faves.

Final Score: 34 (of 50) – Good beer

* – I coined the term “one-and-done” bar for places around Grand Central Terminal that overcharge for drinks because they cater to a crowd grabbing one drink while waiting for their train. So, since the bulk of their crowd is only having one, they soak them for it. Feel free to apply it to any bar around your office where folks from an office go for one drink before going home.

I really need to figure out a way to get Saranac to ship Those Beer Snobs an early release sampler. I mean, I’m within the state so it doesn’t break any laws and it would behoove them to get me one early so I can suggest people buy it while it’s still for sale. This is better than my current strategy of “Go home for Thanksgiving, buy it, set it in my storage shed until Christmas, review all six over three days, post until it’s not for sale anymore.” There’s also a tentative plan on the table for The Big Show and I to live blog the reviews next year — unedited. Which could get fun around beer six… or could be unreadable.

• Belgian Ale: This was included in 2008’s 12 Beers, too. I find Belgians to be near the pinnacle of craft beer efficiency. Their flavor is generally light and refreshing with only a moderately bitter aftertaste. Even that bitterness is generally countered by the citrus clovey sweetness of the other ingredients. The only downside is they generally dry your tongue and wear out their welcome. This beer is no different. The flavor is fantastic and the sandpaper-tongue is muted terrifically. That said, other Belgians do this with much stronger ABV. 27
• Maple Porter: This is quite possibly my favorite Saranac brew outside their Caramel Porter which had graduated out of the 12 Beers to its own sixpack for a while. Great thing to try if you love maple. Terrible thing to try if you don’t. 41
• Winter Lager: As winters go, pretty high. The flavor is gentler then other winters and yet somehow pretty complex. The body is rich, yet carbonated and light. Sometimes, when a beer does a lot of things pretty good instead of one thing really well, it makes for a better product. Call it the Blyleven argument. 37
• Black Lager: True snobs won’t like this because it’s not a bold schwarzbier. The label promises strong flavors that just aren’t there. Non-snobs aren’t going to like it because the flavors something they don’t expect. It falls in to that random gray area of weak session beer for low-level snobs. 25
• Rye P.A.: Similar to the Black Lager, this beer sits in a strange gray area. It’s going to get crushed by IPA-nuts for not being disgusting. It’s going to get beat up by people like me for being too hoppy. It’s not going to ever really be available for mass consumption because of its placement as former seasonal. 33
• Big Moose Ale: I can’t find a discernible difference from the Pale Ale, except a slightly stronger flavor of hops and a lower ABV. If I had a choice, I’d grab a sixpack of the Pale Ale or the ESB and leave this one on the shelf. 24

Average Score: 31.2 (of 50)

Best: Maple Porter. They had to come up with some kind of awesome replacement for Caramel Porter. It took them a couple years but they finally managed.

Worst: Big Moose Ale. It’s not really “bad”, it’s just boring. No one will be missing out on life if they never tried this beer.

Final Thoughts: I had to do the math a few times to make sure I was doing the average correctly since it seemed like it should be higher. Alas, no, but it did beat out last year’s by two points. Another great Winter sampler by Saranac and further proof that the 12 Beers of Winter remain the tastiest investment for the winter seasonal dollar. I’m looking forward to maybe having next year’s done by May. Two home runs in this pack with the Maple Porter (replacing Caramel Porter as the Beer To Look Forward To in the 12 Beers) and their new Winter Lager and everything was OK or better. Great job again by Saranac.