One New York Life

The Line-Up

• Vanilla Stout: 21
• India Brown Ale: 32
• Bohemian Pilsener: 33
• Belgian Ale: 27
• Extra Special Bitter: 39
• Season’s Best Nut Brown: 23

Best: Extra Special Bitter. If someone had told me that Ye Olde Holiday Stand-by ESB was going to come out on top in this pack, I would have thought them crazy. But there it is. Not only did the ESB come up huge in the clutch, but the holiday pack staple actually turned out to have an outside shot to crack my top ten.

Worst: Vanilla Stout. If the Vanilla Stout makes an appearance in next year’s 12 Beers I’ll have to give it a second chance. When I started this 12 Pack, I was expecting something to rival the sadly lost Caramel Porter. It’s possible any of the three new beers would have fallen to my sad rage.

Final Thoughts: The Pilsener and the Belgian were odd choices to include in a Winter sampler. As mentioned in the individual reviews, I expect winter samplers to have a bit more, well, winter in them. This particular sampler is much, much better than the trainwreck Samuel Adams Winter Sampler, half of which are beers available in normal rotation, but it didn’t quite hit the high of their 2007 offering (sadly unreviewed since I didn’t start doing this until a few months ago), which featured Chocolate Lager, Caramel Porter, Oatmeal Stout, and the absurdly awesome (and sadly missing) Winter Wassail. But, as always, points for making their two seasonal sampler packs into things where we can try new offerings from the brewery instead of thinly-veiled marketing strategies to get their big releases in more homes. Yes, Sam, I’m referring to your asinine need to put two Boston Lagers IN EVERY SAMPLER PACK.

In extra happy news, a bunch of the reviews for these are coming up on the first page in Google. In that vein, mission accomplished.

Average Score: 29 – Good sampler.

Name: Season’s Best Nut Brown Lager
Brewed By: Saranac Brewery
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Vienna Style Lager
ABV: 5.3%

What They Say: Brewed with a special blend of domestic and Belgian malts for a delicate nut-like character, you’ll love this Lager’s rich taste and signature hop aroma. The exceptional full-bodied taste reflects our Brewery’s extraordinary commitment to brewing beers of the highest standard of quality.

Website: Saranac passes my muster for a good website. Navigation on top, everything easily noticeable and findable without much work. Well done, guys.

Why I Picked It: The seasonal brew for this year’s pack. This replaces the pretty popular Winter Wassail, which was a staple of the 12 Beers for quite some time. The label on the bottle’s neck informs me that Each year we brew a batch of very special beer to celebrate the holiday season.

—–

Presentation: A very holiday-like red label with a green Saranac logo. A lovely watercolor of the stereotypical snow-covered lodge next to a babbling brook. The full moon is rising over the mountains in the background. Full disclosure: I’d totally buy this painting and hang it in my house. This deserves an extra point. 4

Originality: I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever had a nut brown lager as opposed to a nut brown ale. I don’t think I have. However, nothing we haven’t seen before. 2

Taste: While the name teases you in to thinking it’s going to taste somewhat like their brown ale, the tastes are about as similar as Sam’s Boston Lager to their Boston Ale. That is to say — not at all. The hops take the the forefront here, beating the malts in to submission. The flavor, though, is surprisingly bland. You don’t really get any hints of anything until a blast of hoppy bitterness in the aftertaste. I like a bit of a stronger flavor in beers. 5

Body: The beer pours a deep brown with a very thick and creamy head. The foam sticks to the side of the glass for the entire life of the beer. The head’s thickness teases a thick, meaty beer — and this just isn’t. The odd pairing suggestion on this beer’s information page — Minestrone and BBQ Pork Ribs — is not particularly helpful. Maybe my distrust of the whole experience is because I don’t really dig minestrone? Could be. Regardless, the very thin body doesn’t do it for me. 4

Efficiency: If this beer actually is 5.3, the leanness of the taste should own the efficiency rating. I just don’t know if I could make a night out of this because it’s boring. I might have to add an relative boredom caveat to the efficiency rating. That is, I could drink this all night and probably get pretty messed up but I don’t think I’d want to. 5

Versatility: I don’t know what I’d do with this beer other than try it in the 12 Beers Of Winter. I wouldn’t recommend it as the “must have” beer out of this year’s sampler and, if anything, I’d tell people about how good the Winter Wassail was in last year’s pack. I can’t think of anything I’d cook with it — I probably wouldn’t think “hey, you know what I need with these ribs? Nut Brown Lager.” If you’re reviewing a 12 Beers Of Winter pack, though, you — uh — need to drink this. 3

The Snob Says: A disappointing seasonal offering. Their Winter Wassail was much better and this just doesn’t seem to add much to the party.

Final Grade: 23 (of 50) – OK beer.

Name: Extra Special Bitter
Brewed By: Matt Brewing Company
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Bitter Ale
ABV: 5.3%

What They Say: Bitters are popular pub beers in England and are closely related to the more well know Pale Ales. Saranac Extra Special Bitter has a rich, malty taste balanced by the pleasant bitterness of Williamette hops. The finish is dry with a hint of the floral English Fuggle and spicy Saaz hop. Enjoy!

Website: Saranac passes my muster for a good website. Navigation on top, everything easily noticeable and findable without much work. Well done, guys.

Why I Picked It: Part 5 of The 12 Beers Of Winter. The ESB has been in the 12 Beers as long as I can remember. I can’t remember ever seeing it in something other than this 12 pack. It’s actually one of the first “English Style” ales I ever sampled. Remember, up until the 12 Beers, my definition of “getting something good” was Killian’s instead of Busch. I’m going to go ahead and assume I didn’t like this 2000.

—–

Presentation: They must switch up the label on this beer every few years. The Beerlabels.com version has a red label with a white logo. The presentation link above sports a pale green label with a red logo. Mine sports a more foresty green with a red logo. They all share the same watercolor — a river log cabin with an attached boat garage actually IN the water. This house exists in my life goals. Extra point. 4

Originality: While it’s a beefed up version of their Pale Ale, it comes across as a Fuller’s Lite. Oddly, it works. Where the Belgian that appears in this pack seems like a knock-off of better Belgians — this seems more like a distinct recipe styled after British pub beers made a little more gentle for the American palette. 4

Taste: I probably didn’t like this beer in 2000, but I love it now. It has a mild, fruity flavor that seamlessly blends in to a spicy hoppy aftertaste. I’m discovering that I find Saaz hops the least offensive in my beers. Some reviews I’ve looked at for this beer claim a chocolate or caramel flavor. I don’t get that at all. I get a light, tasty beer without the heartiness boasted by the bigger English beers. 8

Body: Deep orange pour with a thick, creamy head. The head persists in the glass for most of the beer’s life. I love the level of carbonation here — it plays right on the border of too much and not enough and manages to hit it perfectly. While the flavor is light and refreshing, the body is hearty but not too much to be cloying. It’s bold in the mouth and strong on the tongue but not so much that you can’t enjoy whatever you’re pairing it with. 10

Efficiency: This beer lends itself to quick drinking. I finished the entire bottle before I got to this paragraph. It goes down incredibly smooth. The 5.3% ABV keeps me from calling it “dangerously” smooth. Great beer with a safe alcohol content. You don’t get full points for “safe” but you can at least get an honorable mention. 9

Versatility: Huge hit here. As I mentioned, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this beer outside the 12 Beers. Up until 2006, that meant one per year. Now it means two per year. As delicious as it is, you can’t get it on draft, in six-pack, or by itself in anyway. That itself is crime enough.4

The Beer Snob Says: It’s disappointing this beer doesn’t have a wider availability. I never would have guessed this beer as my home run winner in the 12 Beers, but there you have it. Wider availability and this beer cracks my top ten.

Final Grade: 39 (of 50) – Really good beer.

Name: Saranac Belgian (style) Ale
Brewed By: Matt Brewing Company
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Belgian (style) Ale
ABV: 5.9%

What They Say: Saranac Belgian Style Ale is deliciously fruity. It is brewed with a generous amount of Belgian aromatic malt, hand selected hops, and a traditional Belgian Ale yeast. Brewed in the “trappist” style.

Website: Saranac passes my muster for a good website. Navigation on top, everything easily noticeable and findable without much work. Well done, guys.

Why I Picked It: Part 4 of The 12 Beers Of Winter. This was definitely in last year’s incarnation of the 12 Beers and, according the website, this is it’s only availability. Another odd choice for me in a winter pack because I’ve always filed Belgians in the warm weather folder.

—–

Presentation: A light red bordering on dark pink label. The watercolor of choice for the Belgian is a small bit of whitewater with a rowboat off to the side — obviously to remind the drinker of Belgium. 3

Originality: It seems like every brewery is in a rush to get out a Belgian (don’t you DARE say Trappist) Ale of some sort. Very few of them (read, only breweries located near the Baseball Hall Of Fame) do them particularly well. With the relative robust availability of Chimay, Leffe, and Corsendonk — I really don’t know why American Breweries waste their time. 1

Taste: The primary reason I never really go out of my way to find great Belgian beer is because I find most of them taste the same. I like the flavor, but they all follow the same early citrus, late clove, bitter drymouth at the end formula. I like the beer, I like the experience, but most of them end up being OK interpretations of 1000-year-old recipes. They do a fine job duplicating the flavor here, but it’s not an addition to the 12-pack I’d miss. 7

Body: If you’ve had one of these, you’ve had most of them. The relative weight of a Belgian’s body remains hard for me to nail down. It feels lager-thin when you pour it and drink it, but by the time the aftertaste rolls around, it feels like you’ve eaten a meal. I’m just a simple caveman, I don’t understand your complex brewing processes. 6

Efficiency: 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. 8

Versatility: The relative difficulty in obtaining this beer in anything other than the 12 Beers significantly limits its versatility score. You wouldn’t use it to impress your friends. You wouldn’t show up at a Belgian (style) party touting it as your favorite Belgian. If anything, it’s a cheaper imitation of really good Belgian ales. Unfortunately, since you have to buy a 12-pack to get two of them, the regular Belgian 22s probably work out to be cheaper by volume. 2

Final Grade: 27 (of 50) – Good beer.

Bohemian Pilsener
Brewed By: Matt Brewing Company
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Pilsner
ABV: 4.8%

What They Say: Saranac Bohemian Pilsener is a medium bodied Pilsener crafted like the original Pilseners of Czechoslovakia. Brewed with the finest Pilsener malt and Saaz hops, you will find this beer has a crisp, clean taste and leaves you wanting another. Enjoy!

Website: Saranac passes my muster for a good website. Navigation on top, everything easily noticeable and findable without much work. Well done, guys.

Why I Picked It: Another new beer making it’s debut in the 12 Beers and the third of a six-part series. This new apparently eliminates their Scotch Ale, of which all trace has been removed from their website and may now only exist in my head.

—–

Presentation: The Bohemian Pilsener goes for the relaxing light tan hue with a painting of mountain, pine trees, and whitewater. I will say — kind of an odd selection for a winter sampler pack. Pilseners seem somewhat spring/summery to me, so I don’t know. 3

Originality: I don’t think originality is what they’re going for with this beer. It’s a Pilsener. A standard, golden, tasty pilsener. 2

Taste: I’ve never really gotten the whole pilsener thing. Like, it tastes fine. It’s inoffensive. It’s got a crisp, clean flavor and finishes plain. Nothing fancy — just a watery kind of almost American-type ale deal. It’s tasty and satisfying without that weird sort of tinny aftertaste found in some pilseners. I like it, but it’s kind of boring. If you’re a pilsener guy, though, this is a pretty good one. 7

Body: As previously mentioned, the pale straw flavor and decent head starts and finishes crisp and clean. It’s refreshing, if a little boring. I’m having trouble with the pilsener in a 12 Pack that’s supposed to have winter beers, but isn’t really something to penalize here. 7

Efficiency: They claim 4.8% ABV. I am right on the border of calling shenanigans on that claim. While I’m usually one to rate beers that you can drink all day pretty highly for efficiency, when they literally go down like water, with the same effect. Not a lot of points here. Boring beer with low ABV is not something I’m going to go out of my way to drink. Ever.4

Versatility: Start drinking this at five o’clock and you’ll still be going strong at five the next morning. I used the two of these in the sampler pack as palette-cleansing buffers between the other heavy beers. This feels like a beer you could drink until you got bored. It’s even called “Bohemian” so you can show your snobby friends how edgy you are. 10

The Snob Says: The pilsener is good. I really don’t like its inclusion in the 12 Beers Of Winter. I expect this case to be filled with stouts, porters, and dark ales. This would have been much better suited as a premiere in their 12 Beers Of Summer. Just not a winter beer for me.

Final Grade: 33 (of 50) – Good beer.

India (style) Brown Ale
Brewed By: Saranac Brewery
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Brown Ale
ABV: 6.0%

What They Say: Taking an India Ale to the next level, Saranac India Brown Ale has the malt backbone to carry the hoppiness you expect in an India Ale. Carefully selected malts from North America and Europe are decoction mashed to highlight their character and the brew is complimented with generous amounts of citrusy Columbus, Cascade and Centennial hops. Cheers!

Website: Saranac passes my muster for a good website. Navigation on top, everything easily noticeable and findable without much work. Well done, guys.

Why I Picked It: Part two of the 12 Beers of Winter series. This is another new beer making its debut in the 12 Beers. We’ll say this replaces Oatmeal Stout since they’re trying to sneak the same label painting past us. Quick aside, this is one of the reasons I love Saranac’s Winter and Summer Samplers. They actually use it to debut new stuff. The 12 Beers Of Summer this year will debut FOUR new beers. Compare this to Sam Adams’s sampler packs which offers two Boston Lagers and two Sam Lights. This almost makes up for the decision to drop from one each of 12 beers to two each of six beers. Don’t they realize that having one each in a 12-pack could get me through THREE MONTHS of columns?

—–

Presentation: Saranac goes for the brown label here with a autumn looking brown scene with a lovely little stream with the mountains in the background. In the foreground is two cute lil bears. 3

Originality: I am sure someone else has done this beer. The idea of “let’s take an IPA and mess with it and try to make it beer” can’t be new. Regardless, I’m pretty sure it’s the first time I’ve seen someone market something as an India Brown Ale, so points there. 3

Taste: It’s funny how things work out. I was really excited by the Vanilla Stout and ended up indifferent to it. I was really not excited about the IBA and loved it. The deep maltiness totally counteracts the brutal hoppiness that makes me hate IPAs. The hoppiness is still there, but it isn’t the first, last, and only taste. All the stuff I like about browns is enough to kill off the hint of pine-coney awful that I don’t. 7

Body: This beer’s body isn’t setting the world on fire. It’s thin and hoppy like you’d expect from an India-style Ale but has the brown malt’s strength. The problem I have is too much of it sticks around too long because of the India Style. I’m not a huge fan of the dry-mouth IPA factor and this has all that combined with dry-mouth brown ale feature. Not a huge fan of either, but points for trying. 6

Efficiency: The beer is a sneaky 6.0. Sneaky because it’s really tasty and really easy to drink and it’s right on the edge of being a Big Beer. The problem is the India style hoppiness is present enough to give you that annoying IPA dry-tongue. The strong ABV isn’t quite enough to counteract the lingering IPAness, but it’s close. 7

Versatility: If anything, this beer would make a good punchline if you could buy it in a six-pack. You could bring it in to a room of snobs and when they ask you about your IPA, you can laugh at them and tell them you don’t drink that crap. Then you can laugh maniacally and reveal that you actually have an IBA and smugly tell them if you wanted a pinecone, you’d go outside and eat one. 6

Final Grade: 32 (of 50) – Good beer.

Saranac gets a pretty bum rap amongst beer snobs. They just kind of plug along, make a bunch of new stuff every year, hit a few home runs, and I guess they produce too much to be considered real snob beers. Besides, can the brewery that makes Utica Club really be that bad? I bought the 12 Beers of Christmas The Holidays Winter variety pack way back at Christmas time and stashed it in my townhouse’s refrigerator until such time as I’d be home to review it. This starts a six week series of the 12 Beers Of Winter 2008.

Vanilla Stout
Brewed By: Saranac Brewery
Brewed In: Utica, NY
Type: Sweet Stout
ABV: 4.8%

What They Say: Few ingredients rival vanilla’s ability to add richness and roundness to food. Blended with a traditional blend of caramel and chocolate malts plus roasted barley, the result in Saranac Vanilla Stout will surpass your expectations. Enjoy the brew on it’s own or with a bite of dark chocolate for a real treat.

Website: Saranac passes my muster for a good website. Navigation on top, everything easily noticeable and findable without much work. Well done, guys.

Why I Picked It: The 12 Beers Of Christmas has been around for my entire drinking life. They unfortunately bowed to PCness and changed it to the 12 Beers Of Winter a few years ago. I try to buy it every year and it’s produced a couple of my faves including the Caramel Porter on my personal Top Ten.

—–

Presentation: The 12 Beers of Winter dates back to 1996. As recently as 2005, the 12 Beers was actually one each of twelve different beers. Later, they dropped the beers that are readily available all year, choosing instead to go with two each of six limited release or seasonal beers. They do the sampler better than a lot of other breweries and I’m pretty sure they did it before anyone else in the northeast. Every year, they treat the 12 Beers unveiling as a big deal, so major marketing points for them. Saranac’s individual bottles, though, I’ve never understood. The Saranac logo is always the same, but the labels are different colors with some peaceful Adirondack painting on each one… that usually has nothing to do with the type of beer it is. But, you can always spot a Saranac bottle, even if you have to wonder what a watercolor painting of an Adirondack river has to do with Vanilla Stout. 3

Originality: I usually only rate the originality of the idea in this space. But, usually the idea lines up with the taste somewhat. While the idea of the Vanilla Stout is really original, it didn’t really come across in the flavor. The vanilla is hardly noticeable, if at all, and this winds up tasting much like any other stout you’ve ever had. 1

Taste: Disappointing. This replaced Caramel Porter. To pull it for anything other than something else that’s ten levels of awesome is a sin. The description says it’s a traditional blend of caramel and chocolate stout with a hint of vanilla. I don’t really get the hint. I get a standard stout. Which, while good, is not what I was expecting and not what I signed up for. 4

Body: It’s really a generic, run of the mill stout that pours dark with a negligible head. A bit more carbonation (read, a detectable amount) than most stouts. It’s not terrible, not great, and pretty much an average stout with no discernible difference to other stouts — or oddly even their Porter. 5

Efficiency: It’s a standard stout with an ABV that doesn’t breathe on 5.0%. Heavy, thick beers with low ABVs are really the exact opposite of efficient. 3

Versatility: You all know what things stouts are good for and what they aren’t. I wouldn’t be breaking any new ground here. The body of the stout keeps it from being something to consume in mass quantities, but it’s enjoyable in small quantities. 5

The Snob Says: If they just marketed it as a stout, I probably would have liked it more. It didn’t strike me much different than their standard offer stout or porter (called, conveniently, Stout and Porter). Maybe the bigger problem is that I’m considering the replacement for the Caramel Porter. And nothing could replace the Caramel Porter.

Final Grade: 21 (of 50) – OK beer.