Samuel Adams Octoberfest (USA - Massachusetts - Boston)

Samuel Adams Octoberfest (USA - Massachusetts - Boston) 5.3%

A deep amber, nearly brown in a glass. A delicious deep and full malt flavour as well as aroma. The slightest hint of dark cherries. Somewhat sweet fresh-baked bread taste with a slightly bitter finish. This beer has a great full colour and a wonderful taste. Can't miss this one, it is easy drinking but full of flavour.

Two from Sam Adams

Samuel Adams Noble Pils (USA) 4.8%

Brewed with "all 5 Noble hops from the world's oldest growing regions" according to the blurb on the label. This beer has a great hops taste with tones of cucumber and bitter citrus.

Malty enough to somewhat balance the hops but this is definitely a hop-lovers beer.


Samuel Adams Winter Lager (USA) 5.5%

This beer tastes malty and ever so slightly hoppy with also smoky caramel, spicy and bitter flavours (so much so that certain sips almost taste slightly sour).

Overall it is a very nice winter ale and another great beer from Sam Adams.

Beer Maven's Superbowl Picks

In honour of the single biggest event in American sport, I am reviewing a handful of American beers that I think would go great with this year's (or, I suppose, any year's) Superbowl.

Miller Genuine Draft (USA - Milwaukee - Wisconsin) 4.7%

Light tasting but not without character; it's malty and sweet. This beer is lightly carbonated and as a result does come across like a draft beer. Not at all strong tasting, MGD is a nicely drinkable beer that still has something to its flavour which makes it my pick for Superbowl viewers who are looking for something that is very easy to drink but isn't just another international lager.

Samuel Adams - Boston Lager (USA - Boston - Massachusetts) 4.8%

Reddish gold in a glass. A little malty, sweet, hoppy and pleasantly bitter. Smells of spicy hops. This is a very pleasant beer, if only more lagers were this interesting. A good American drinking beer for the Superbowl viewer with a taste for better, more flavourful beers.


Lagunitas - Little Sumpin' WILD (USA - Petalume - California)

An interesting hop flavour with strong tastes of melon, grapefruit and passion fruit, and a mild bitter bite. Smells a little of pine and is a nice gold colour in a glass with a frothy head. The bitterness does not overpower the aftertaste but instead fades into the background to allow the beer's sweetness to come to the fore. It's hard to believe this beer is almost 9% but it's obviously crafted with care and this beer is well balanced. This beer is included in this list of Superbowl beers for the true beer geek out there that won't even take the Superbowl off from tasting.

Cheers!