I picked up the Samuel Adams Winter Classics sampler pack this weekend. This is one of my favorite collections of seasonal beers and has been for several years. I suppose it helps that I tend to almost always like Samuel Adams seasonal brews. This year’s winter offerings are no exception. Thus far I’ve worked my way through four of the five seasonal brews included, and I think all of them I’d classify as good or better. Let’s begin with the Black Lager.
From the bottle,
This traditional lager is medium in body with a deep roasted character. Its dark color and rich malty flavor come from specially roasted caramel and chocolate malts. The brew is lightly hopped with Noble Bavarian hops for a soft spiciness and a smooth clean finish.
I am a big fan of darker beers with a lot of flavor. The roasted malts definitely shine through in this beer and give it a flavor that really plays on your tongue. I drank this with a simple sandwich at lunch while watching football and the turkey was no match for this dark treat. Not quite my favorite of the four reviewed here, but definitely a close second.
Next up is the Cranberry Lambic. As the name implies, this beer has a generous helping of cranberries which give it a nice holiday flavor. Definitely this beer would have worked better with my turkey sandwich, but I guess I’m not quite that smart. In fact, I drank this with a ginger beef stir-fry and it actually complemented that quite well. According to Mr. Koch,
Our version of a traditional Belgian lambic is brewed with native American cranberries, a unique top fermenting yeast and a touch of maple syrup. This is a special brew for the holidays. Cheers!
Fruity beers are good when the mood is right and this Lambic is one of the better ones I’ve had. It doesn’t compete with Uncle Sam’s Cherry Raspberry, but it’s quite nice. As I said, I tend to prefer darker beers so I’d have to rate this only as a very good. Definitely worth trying, but not an every day sort of brew (which is probably why it’s only available in these sampler packs).
My favorite so far has been the Holiday Porter. I like porters and stouts, so I’m probably a bit biased, but this is just so good. There is a wonderful malty flavor here and this beer is probably strong enough to stand up against some very flavorful foods. I had this with a sausage and white bean stew and it more than held its own. From the label,
Samuel Adams Holiday Porter is a full-flavored porter inspired by the famous drink of London’s Victorian era luggage porters. Brewed with generous portions of Caramel, Munich and Chocolate malt, this hearty porter finishes with traditional English Fuggles and East Kent Goldings.
I could drink this beer night in and night out and not grow tired of it. Some of my favorite beers have been porters and this is no exception. This rates as a near-excellent for me. I’ve had some better porters, but not many. The Sam Smith’s Taddy comes to mind as topping this one, and I also favor Uncle Sam’s Stovepipe Porter. That said, this is still the highlight of the collection for me. Too bad I can’t seem to find a six pack of just this one.
I’m drinking the Winter Lager as I write this review and so far I’m quite pleased with it. This is the most commonly available winter seasonal for Samuel Adams and it’s a very good beer. As this post is already growing a bit lengthy, I think I’ll save a write up of this and the other limited release in the sampler, the Old Fezziwig Ale, for another night.