Beer Blogging - Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Today's looking like a pretty good day. I'm watching some football, writing a talk I have to give next week, and my beer fridge looks like this:
I think it's time for some beer blogging! First up: Samuel Adams Octoberfest. Yep, it's that time of year again, and I am very happy about that fact.
The pour: The head is fairly large and tan, and it sticks around for a few minutes before fading away into some light foam. This beer has a very pleasing color, kind of a deep amber mixed with some orange. As for the aroma, it promises very good things to come. Octoberfest beers are usually like a malty, dark lager, but this one has a nice strong hop aroma to it. There's also malt, and it smells very sweet (like a light molasses, maybe). It smells like a good, complex beer.
The taste: Mmm. It tastes like a good, complex beer too. The malt is right out front, and it's not as sweet as the aroma led me to expect; I would almost call it understated. The flavor is a little bit fruity, but I can't really put my finger on what it tastes like specifically. The hops follow the malt, but they're also pretty light and they get drowned out in short order by more fruity malt, as you'd expect from an Octoberfest beer. Overall it's a very refreshing Octoberfest, since there's a lot of malt but it's not too cloying.
The rating: since it's a solid example of the style, Sam Adams Octoberfest gets a 8/10. Since Sam Adams is usually all about putting a strong hop flavor into beers that don't traditionally have lots of hops, I'd have liked to taste the hops a little longer. Other than that, it's well done. I'd recommend it if you like Octoberfest beers, or if you like sweeter beers (like Marzens) in general.
I think it's time for some beer blogging! First up: Samuel Adams Octoberfest. Yep, it's that time of year again, and I am very happy about that fact.
The pour: The head is fairly large and tan, and it sticks around for a few minutes before fading away into some light foam. This beer has a very pleasing color, kind of a deep amber mixed with some orange. As for the aroma, it promises very good things to come. Octoberfest beers are usually like a malty, dark lager, but this one has a nice strong hop aroma to it. There's also malt, and it smells very sweet (like a light molasses, maybe). It smells like a good, complex beer.
The taste: Mmm. It tastes like a good, complex beer too. The malt is right out front, and it's not as sweet as the aroma led me to expect; I would almost call it understated. The flavor is a little bit fruity, but I can't really put my finger on what it tastes like specifically. The hops follow the malt, but they're also pretty light and they get drowned out in short order by more fruity malt, as you'd expect from an Octoberfest beer. Overall it's a very refreshing Octoberfest, since there's a lot of malt but it's not too cloying.
The rating: since it's a solid example of the style, Sam Adams Octoberfest gets a 8/10. Since Sam Adams is usually all about putting a strong hop flavor into beers that don't traditionally have lots of hops, I'd have liked to taste the hops a little longer. Other than that, it's well done. I'd recommend it if you like Octoberfest beers, or if you like sweeter beers (like Marzens) in general.
Labels: beer
posted by The Disgruntled Chemist at
12:18 PM
