I’m waiting for my takeout order and killing some time at the bar. I have to say, as cool as it is for craft beer fans to crap on Sam Adams, they know how to brew a beer that you can put down one pint after another of. Nothing beats a flavorful, dry lager after a long day at work. Yes, if I were to brew this myself I’d brew a richer, maltier version of this. But this is a damn good beer.
now we have consensus- ive been enjoying the winter lager lately. i thought the same thing…a little more malt /richness and it would be spot on i think. very drinkable.
For a macro brewery they do brew fairly sessionable beers…
I like a few of their small batch series quite a bit. And fresh, I think their Double Agent IPL is a really good $8-9/6 pack beer. I’m kind of lukewarm on most others right now. But I respect what they did back when craft beer wasn’t such an easy sell. I drank a ton of Boston Lager back in the day. Still do on occasion.
used to be sam adams guy since they were one of the early ones to the game. I moved to cleveland and really got into great lakes beers -although very pricey IMO.
Now that is a helluva brewery. I’d buy that stuff regularly if it was easier to get 'round here. I love their Dort, Pale Ale, IPA, Edmund, etc. Awesome stuff.
Sam’s summer is one of my go to beers. Nothing wrong with Boston lager.
I enjoyed an afternoon at GL brewery Saturday. Good food and good beer. They had 4 small batches there. Good stuff. My favorite GL and probably favorite of any seasonal beer is Nosferatu.
As far as Winter Lager goes… I drank so much of it 5 or 6 years ago, I can’t do it anymore. Same thing with Boston Lager. Which is a shame, because those are the two SA beers that are worth a damn. All of their other beers taste a little or a lot like Boston Lager IMO.
yeah great lakes is fun, huh. They came out with Wright Pils, and I really like it. Another favorite of mine is Saranac in up sate NY (Utica). My brother lives there and I always enjoy a visit this time of year where I buy 6 cases or so to bring back.
I always enjoyed Sam Adams beer and don’t understand the criticism. Bob Cannon spoke in our area a few years ago and I got to meet him. He is a nice, professional guy, a home brewer, that has great passion for beer.
I look forward to Winter Lager every year and love it more than the Oktoberfest (which I also like).
And it looks like they smartened up and removed the Cranberry Lambic from the seasonal 12 pack. I dumped those bottles every year.
That stuff is awful.
+10. About as much lambic as a wine cooler.
yeah a definite misstep on their part-glad its gone.
+100. almost undrinkable IMHO.
Heh! So I take it no one here likes the Cranberry lambic then? Wise choice for them to remove it.
here here. love that brewery - a few of my own recipes are modeled after their beers, probably more than any other.
as for Sam, I don’t like the mass majority of their styles, but fresh Boston Lager can often hit the spot. Cream stout, Nobel Pils, Oktoberfest are all usually ones I’ll grab every now and then.
haven’t had Winter Lager in years, but based on this thread, I’ll have to order a pint next time i’m somewhere with limited selection.
well id love to get my hands on a few of those recipes and give them a shot if you don’t mind sharing!
Sure - bear in mind they are ‘modeled after’, not intended to be exact clones.
Dortmunder is here: Site Not Found - this one is pretty close to the real deal - (and yes, the real deal uses almost 10% carapils/carafoam)
Porter: [quote]BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Porter’s Porter
Style: Robust Porter
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0)
Recipe Specifications
Batch Size: 12.00 gal
Boil Size: 14.08 gal
Estimated OG: 1.056 SG
Estimated Color: 33.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 36.5 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
Amount Item Type % or IBU
15.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (2.2 SRM) Grain 61.39 %
5.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (7.0 SRM) Grain 19.80 %
2.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 7.92 %
1.50 lb Chocolate Malt (450.0 SRM) Grain 5.94 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 3.96 %
0.25 lb Black (Patent) Malt (500.0 SRM) Grain 0.99 %
1.50 oz Magnum [14.20 %] (60 min) Hops 28.1 IBU
1.00 oz Centennial [10.50 %] (20 min) Hops 8.4 IBU
2 Pkgs Denny’s 1450
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 25.25 lb
Single Infusion, Medium Body
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 43.43 qt of water at 160.2 F 153.0 F
[/quote]
to be more like Fitz, WY1028 is the yeast, though obviously a lot of other ingredients are different, but they do taste remarkably similar nonetheless.
Although I swore I was done tinkering with my porter recipe, my last run, i simplified the grain bill and just went with EKGs cause I have some and don’t have a lot of recipes that use them. Waiting on a keg of Vienna to blow in order to put this on tap, so hopefully any day soon, unless its one of those ‘magical’ kegs. But the one I posted above is solid - many a great batches with that - hope the new iteration is as good.
Will have to shoot you the vienna from home.
Makes me wanna brew a Dort, Paul. Love that GL beer.
EDIT- I may have to brew that porter sometime. Looks great.