Old Fezziwig

This week’s Thirsty Thursday is a bit late, but better late than never!  The next two weeks will be a two-part series featuring the Samuel Adam’s Winter Classics pack, which contains 6 different beers from the Boston Brewing Company.  To kick off the review, we start with Old Fezziwig, which according to Sam is an “ale brewed with cinnamon, ginger, and oranges”. I was trying to determine just exactly what this beer smelled like.  It’s definitely wintery, and has a vague hint of gingersnaps and candycanes.  Once it actually gets in your mouth, however, you get none of these – the beer definitely contains sweetness indicated on the bottle, but it’s somewhat acidic and burns on its way down.  It has a strong alcohol taste on its way down that’s very offputting, and the aftertaste has a hint of cloves in it. Old Fezziwig certainly will warm you up on a cold winter night; however, living in Phoenix I don’t know the meaning of a cold winter night!

The Boston Lager

Next on the list is the Boston Lager – an oldie but goodie that got both founding members of Beersurfing through college with nary a brain cell lost for it.  This beer, being mass-produced and available in most grocery stores, isn’t something I’d normally review, but it was included with the Winter Classics pack and it came out of the fridge at random, so what the hell – I’m not one to let beer go to waste!  I like this one more than the Fezziwig, if only because it’s familiar and it really does taste better. It’s smooth and easy to swallow, but like the Fezziwig, it has a strong alcohol taste on its way down that you can definitely taste for a few minutes afterwards.

Coastal Wheat

Finally, we come to the Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat, which is apparently a new hefeweizen created by the American brewer. After the first couple of drinks, I have to ask myself how this passes as a hefeweizen? It’s kind of sweet in a way that only a hefeweisen can be, but it’s far from great.  It is a very weak hef without much of that hef flavor, and it leaves a very subtle lemon flavor to it.  On the other hand, that’s almost exactly what it says on the bottle, so I guess I can’t be terribly disappointed with it. This reminds me more of lemonade and sunshine than anything wintery, so I leave myself wondering why this is included with the Winter Classics pack. This is a good beer, but if you like hefeweisens, stay away from it – much better hefs can be had, though for the price you get what you pay for.

I’ll see you all again next week to wrap up the Winter Classics pack.  Stay tuned for the Holiday Porter, the Winter Lager, and the Cranberry Lambic from the Boston Beer Company.  Thanks for reading! (Update: This article is the first of two reviews on the Samuel Adams Winter Classics pack. Continue reading the rest of it here.)

Samuel Adams Winter Classics - Part 1

First, a shoutout – I had the opportunity to celebrate my grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary with a good chunk of my family this past weekend: congratulations, Dean and Edna! Let’s hope you have some more parties in you – you have a beautiful thing going!

In more bittersweet news, I’ve been working overtime all week – suffice to say, it’s been a great week for beer and I’ll try not to disappoint! First up on the list is Snake Dog IPA, from the Flying Dog Brewery in Frederick, Maryland. According to their website, “Snake Dog India Pale Ale is a Colorado-style IPA, power hopped with specialty hops from the Pacific Northwest. This is the brewery’s hop monster, and the citrus fruit aroma will hypnotize the senses of the most hardcore craft beer drinkers.” If you like IPA’s this one certainly doesn’t disappoint – it’s bitter in that way that only hops can be, but I’ve certainly had hoppier stuff (such as Two Brother’s Hop Juice or Stone’s Ruination), and you can definitely taste the citrus mentioned in the description. In true IPA style, the 7.1% alcohol-by-volume provides a bit of a bite, so don’t go too nuts! A bottle of this beer can be yours for $1.29 at Total Wine.

The Yeti

Next on the list is “The Yeti”, from Great Divide Brewing. I picked this one up for my dad.  Dad doesn’t just like dark beers – he loves them. Dad seeks the darkest beers that he can possibly find, and then scrapes it off the bottom of the cask. I took this as a personal challenge, and sought out the darkest beer that I could find. The Yeti was a winner – described as “viscous” and “inky”, the Yeti “opens with a massive roasted, almost chocolate, coffee malt that gives way to rich toffee and caramel notes.” It goes on to mention that it’s packed with American hops, but trust me – you won’t even notice it. This beer is loaded with flavors galore – there’s coffee, toffee, chocolate, and caramel, with a little bit of hoppiness to throw you off.  This beer may well change my opinion of other dark beers – if only they tasted like this one!  The downside (or perhaps the upside?) is that the Yeti comes in a 22 oz bottle and is packed with 9.6% ABV. Even sharing the bottle someone else generated a pleasant buzz – this beer should be savored, slowly and lovingly.  This one is a bit on the pricey side, and will run you $6.99 at your local Total Wine.

Snake Dog IPA and The Yeti

To finish off the evening, I met up with a group of friends this evening to sample one of our fine local drinking establishments.  Dave’s Electric Brewpub recently opened in Tempe, AZ and serves craft beers brewed in Bisbee. Dave has four beers on tap – Dave’s Electric Lager, Industrial IPA, OK Ale, and Oatmeal Stout; he also brews seasonal beer in-house. Alas, OK Ale and Oatmeal Stout were not available, so I got one pint each of the Electric Lager and the Industrial IPA.  Dave’s Electric Brew is 4.9% ABV; it’s light, tasty, cold and refreshing after a long day at work.  It was less flavorful than I expected, but the hint of hops that hit you on the way down was a nice touch.  The IPA fared much better – it was quite a bit more flavorful and tastefully more bitter than the Electric, and harsher going down – exactly what I expect from an IPA.  The IPA has a bit of a bite to it alcohol-wise, but still on the lighter side compared to the others.

That does it for Beersurfing’s second Thirsty Thursday.  We’ll see you next week!

Alas, the Beersurfing blog is being painfully neglected.  To spice things up a little bit, Beersurfing is going to try something new! On Thirsty Thursday, we will be reviewing at least one new beer each week.  On tonight’s menu, we have the Spanish Peaks Brewing Company Variety Pack, which I purchased for about $12 at my local Bevmo.  12 bottles of beer – 4 bottles each of 3 different brews.  Not a bad deal, but was it worth it?  Keep on reading to find out how we fared!

Black Dog Crystal Weiss

Billed as “The World’s Best Wheat Beer”, it sure doesn’t taste like a wheat beer.  It sort of smells like overripe fruit but has a hint of a fruity taste to it.  I’m not complaining, as it goes down fairly smoothly but feels harsh on the tongue. I probably wouldn’t like the Crystal Weiss very much if I was after a true hef, but being the first beer of the evening, it sure hits the spot after a long day at work. I’m going to enjoy the other three!

Black Dog Ale

Billed as an “English Style Amber Ale”. This tastes more like a weak porter than an amber. I’m not big on porters, especially when I’m expecting something else.  It’s like eating an M&M when expecting a Skittle. Black Dog Ale has a burnt, smoky, and almost woodsy taste to it. I didn’t believe it was actually an amber because the bottle was so dark so I poured it into a glass to confirm.

The Black Dog Ale

You win this round, Spanish Peaks, but I’m on to you! This is a pretty stiff drink, and the alcohol content is making it difficult to type.

Honey Raspberry Ale

This beer is much more about the raspberry than the honey.  It tastes almost like cough syrup on its way in and almost as appetizing on its way down.  It has a harsh feel on the tongue and a horrible aftertaste.  Honey Raspberry Ale smells decent, but if I wanted to drink rancid Koolaid, I would drink a cheap red wine before I chose this beer. It gets worse as it gets warmer; I don’t know if I can drink three more of these.

The Honey Raspberry

All in all, this selection of Spanish Peaks was decent, but at $1 a beer you definitely get what you pay for. I look forward to trying some of their other brews, but sadly I think I will be disappointed. If their website is any indication, I drank all that they had to offer and then some. I guess if I ever find myself in Montana again (perhaps during my next 27-hour drive to Calgary?), I’ll hit up the brewery and see what else they have!

Aside from Bevmo, you can find Spanish Peaks beer throughout Montana and most of the Pacific Northwest. See their website for more info.

Got a beer we have to try?  Beersurfing will feature a new beer or brewer every Thursday – if you know of one that we absolutely have to try, we’d be happy to hear about it! Send me an email at elliot@beersurfing.com.