I spent much of last week in Kentucky on business. First, let me say that the weather was nice and the people were too. However, Kentucky is not exactly a beer snob’s playland. Arriving at the hotel late Monday night, and well beyond walking distance from a “real bar,” I sidled up the bar and asked what they had in the way of beer. Their draught selection was something like Bud Light, Coors Light, and Guinness. I shuddered and asked what they had in bottles. Knowing that I needed to get up early for work the next day, and also knowing that I’d likely have way more calories over the next week than was my norm, I settled on Sam Adams Light.
This is far from the first time I’ve head Sam Light, but it’s been quite a while, and I’d forgotten just how close to real beer this one really is. Compared to the Bud Light I was forced to endure this past summer, it’s hard to see that these two beers are even in the same category, both calorically and style-wise. Sam Adams Light is a light lager, but it comes the closest to real beer of any of the various light beers I’ve tried over the years.
The pour is a light amber with almost no head. There is some malt in the nose, and a hint of hops as well. It tastes, well, like beer. That’s more than can be said for most light beers. The malts here are the predominant taste, but there is some hopping as well. The mouth feel is light and very bubbly. It goes down reasonably smoothly for a beer with this much carbonation. If faced with a selection of only light beers, this would definitely be the one I’d choose.
My Rating:
