Does anyone have a tried and proved GOOD clone receipe for a Samuel Adams Boston Lager? I refused to try it for many years because of my prejudice for “lager” beers. Once I broke down and had one, I fell in love with it and want to brew my own. Thanks for your feedback, Steve
From the website it’s 2-row and Crystal 60. Hops are Hallertau Mittelfrueh and Tettnang Tettnanger Noble hops. IBU’s are 30 and ABV is 4.9%. This should get you going in the right direction.
I have tried a couple of times to clone this beer and missed the mark, although that was many years ago. The notes I have now say to aim for 30 IBUs (not 60 – sorry flbrewer, 60 is WAY too many, must be a typo!!) and to definitely use Wyeast 2206. I think yeast is the key to the whole thing here. In the past I used the wrong yeast, but now based on my great experiences with 2206, I think that truly is the key factor. Beyond the IBU thing, flbrewer is right, use a bit of Crystal 60 and a blend of Hallertauer and Tettnanger all the way through, and 2206, and you should get real close. Ferment cool in the upper 40s. If you can’t ferment cold then try Wyeast 1007 instead, should get you really close.
Now I want to try brewing this again!! SABL is one of my all time favorite beers. I must confess, I’ve mutated into a huge beer snob in the past couple years… but I still always love my SABL. It just really is THAT good!! And to those who don’t agree, just admit that you’re wrong, and we’ll all get along fine!!
I got a 12 pack of fresh cans recently that had the best hop character I’ve found in Boston Lager in years. I enjoyed every can of it - in a glass of course. Yeah, cheers !
While far from one of my favorite beers (I won’t argue with your tastes) there have been plenty of times when I was very thankful that an establishment had Boston Lager. It certainly is a fine beer. no argument there!
Thankful for this beer when I get gift cards to Applebee’s and Olive Garden. Boston Lager and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale are good “go-to” beers. Boston Lager was one of my gateway beers.
Hallertau Mittelfrueh can be hard to find, but Tradition, which is basically a modern descendant of it, is pretty easy to source. Tettanager shouldn’t be hard.