I had the chance to visit the headquarters of the Boston Beer Company--known by its mightily successful Samuel Adams beers. A very decent tour finished with a taste of three beers. It was very interesting to taste the Boston lager comparing it with my distant memories of it from bottle--freshness indeed makes a significant contribution. Also found it very interesting that only around 20,000 of Sam Adams' 1.2 million beers are actually made at the Boston location--most are made by cooperating breweries in Pennsylvania and Missouri. Very interesting flavor to the place, and though the Brick Red was the only one that captured my fancy, the beers were forthcoming with flavor.
- Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Boston, Massachusetts (vienna lager) - appears amber caramel with off white head, tons of lacing, smell warm caramel malt, mouthfeel tight carbonation, medium caramel thick, even and subtle carbonation, taste slight caramel, good balance, good flavor, tasty if a bit sweet and straightforward, acceptable
- Samuel Adams Octoberfest. Boston, Massachusetts (octoberfest/märzen) - appears dark red, thick cream head, smell slight grapefruit, nice freshness, mouthfeel slightly thick, good body, fantastic carbonation, very nice touch about it, taste great concentration of flavor, less caramel than I'd expect from appearance, tangier, good introduction, but despite the light bitter touch, doesn't go the distance, approachable, but one beer would not drive me to drink another
- Samuel Adams Brick Red. Boston, Massachusetts (irish red ale) - appears brick red, oddly enough--it really has that distinct color!, smell sweeter malt, rich spice, quite nice, but on the sweeter side of spices, mouthfeel thinner and focused, taste good broad base, not too rich, but still rather easygoing, darker drier finish, very likable, I'd drink this again, still on the easygoing approachable side of things, but tasty
A few bottles . . . and a growler.
- Cisco Brewers Sankaty Light. Nantucket, Massachusetts (american blonde ale) - appears deep golden brown, smell off-tart fruit, sweet tarts, slight mint, different and nice, mouthfeel heavier and thicker than expected, firm and even bubble flow, frothy, taste light easygoing hops, easy and soft, this is okay, not exciting but an okay crossover beer
- Cisco Brewers Whale's Tale Pale Ale. Nantucket, Massachusetts (american pale ale) - appears cloudy brown, amber, smell hopsy syrup, mouthfeel thin, tight carbonation, small feel, taste watery faint flavor, easygoing but lacks excitement, soft, okay but certainly lacks any interesting bitter qualities, falls short
- Cape Cod Porter. Hyannis, Massachusetts (american porter) growler - appears dark brown black, smell roasted earth, dark, slightly fruity, nice, mouthfeel thin with strong carbonation, taste earthy, nice, winey with chewy stems, good tarter side of porter, nice
And a cask-conditioned IPA and witbier on tap at Eli Cannon's Tap Room in Middletown, Connecticut, a fine place to drink beer . . .
- Berkshire Brewing Lost Sailor India Pale Ale. Deerfield, Massachusetts (english india pale ale) - appears orange gold, smell warm with lots of prunes,very soft, very nice nose, mouthfeel is medium thick with decent grip, taste warm even hops, refreshing, even cool at times, good balance and good crunch, nice, an ipa that works even on a summer day
- Allagash Brewing White. Portland, Maine. (Witbier/Belgian white) - appears grapefruit/pineapple gold, smells super warm, warmer citrus fruit, taste even grapefruit rind, clean, somewhat boring, but with even spices, some white pepper, firmly defined edges, fine beer